Sun & Sand

Posted on Sat Aug 27th, 2022 @ 7:18pm by Captain Ivan Petrov & Lieutenant Johnathan Anderson III & Lieutenant Sovas Nyseth & Callie Marshall & Lieutenant JG Kassandra Selin & Lieutenant Christoph Ivers

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Bridge - Deck 1
Timeline: Mission Day 8 at 1300
1198 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

The Shadow Fleet had been traveling for eight days after they had overtaken the Lovarr, heading toward the Alpha Quadrant and, all the while, looking for ways opportunities to capitalize on their newfound wealth. Besides a few trade vessels with little of interest other then bobbles and strange foods, they had seen nothing of interest. That is, until a planet appeared on sensors with significant activity around it. Since it was on the way, Captain Petrov had decided to pay them a visit. As the Fleet dropped out of warp, Ivan stood and walked toward the center of the command area.

"What do we see out there, Sovas?" The Captain asked, looking at the image of the golden world on his viewscreen.

The half-Vulcan looked over the sensors after pulling his gaze away from the rather spectacular planet, the surface like burnished gold as his fingers tapped away at the touch screens of his station. "It appears to be a Class M planet with a rather pristine atmosphere as I'm picking up only trace elements of pollution, though more arid than the typical Class M world as the planet is nearly covered in a planet wide desert with much of plant and animal life centered around oasis pockets though I am detecting pockets of flora and fauna in other areas of the planet as well."

Sovas continued to run his scans before looking back to the Captain as he a slightly bemused expression form on his features. "The largest oasis, which I think might better be described as a lake, appears to be dominated by some sort of structures. There are a variety of species from Delta Quadrant, some that we have encountered already with a population of approximately population of 31,000 individuals on the planet and some of the larger ship still have crew aboard them so it appears that we've found where the cool kids hang out."

"Hmmm..." Ivan seemed to think for a moment. "And all of these ships in orbit. Most of them look like personal shuttles and transports. Anything dangerous out there?"

"No, sir." Christoph replied. "Minimal armaments and shields on all craft currently in orbit. Quite a few fancy looking ones too, really." He added with a smirk.

"Looks like a good place to unwind to me." Ivan said, and then turned to face the majority of his Bridge staff. "What do we think?"

Kass was considering it a place to do recon and maybe some propaganda. "Be a good place to get some intelligence." she said calmly.

“I think it might be nice to be able to relax for a little while” Callie was officially still on maternity leave, but she smiled as she stepped slowly onto the bridge. Her body was healing nicely from the trauma of the phage, and childbirth but she was still feeling the after effects. “Hope you don’t mind if I take a comfortable seat Captain” She made her way across to a seat at one of the unoccupied stations rather than the hard seating area next to Petrov.

"No, Lieutenant, please." Ivan said, gesturing to the XO's chair that used to belong to her husband. They were the two most comfortable positions on the Bridge."

“Thank you Sir” Getting up she moved across to the XO’s chair, taking a seat. To say it felt odd being there without Troy was an understatement.

"Looks like a good time to me." Ivers spoke up from his station and leaned forward on it.

Johnathan's eyes moved over the image of the various ships. "I wonder how they all handle in flight?" The pilot in him was forever hungry to try new ships.

"Sir, incoming hail from the planet." Christoph said and keyed it up to put it on the viewscreen at the inevitable order.

“On screen.” Ivan responded quickly.

Within the next second, the viewscreen changed to an imagine of a sunny office where a pretty Vidiian woman smiled far too brightly, her bubbly energy pouring through the screen. She wore a red lipstick that drew the eye.

“Hello, fair travelers and welcome to Anorra! This Vidiian oasis in the desert exists for your relaxation and fun. Beaches, water parks, fun in the sun! We have it all.” She said, bouncing in her seat. “Will you be paying our ship rate, a deal we have for crews like yours which allow your crew unlimited use of our facilities for a set amount of time, or coming down to stay individually? Prices have been dropped to your computer.

Ivan walked back to the command console and pulled up the information on his screen. Reviewing it, he considered in silence.

“How much is 350 Vidiinar worth in Dalium-Cobalt?” He asked, figuring that one of their Dalium Crystals was worth around 5 million Imperial Crowns. And that one Cobalt chip, a slip of strong glass with a tiny spec of Dalium in it was worth around 100 Imperial Crowns.”

“50 Vidiinar make one chip and 2.5 Million make make one Crystal. “The woman responded with widening eyes. “But if we’re talking big money like that, we might have a hard time making change for you.”

Ivan did the calculations and understood that he would need to pay V57,750 for their two week ship package. He didn’t have any Vidiinar, but he was sure he could work it out. Filling it out, he sent over the form and gave an uncomfortable smile at the girl on the screen.

“Thank you so much for your business! Don’t forget to visit the Annora Grand Market where you’ll find exotic items you won’t easily find elsewhere, hint hint!” Then the screen went back to the image of the planet.

“That woman gave me the fastest headache of my life.” Ivan said.

“For what it’s worth she was as genuine as she seemed” Callie offered a wry smile. “Can’t say I’m keen on being around Vidiians too much though, it’s enough Troy having them amongst his crew.”

Johnathan turned to face Ivan. "Captain, as your Second Officer, I feel it is my duty to suggest that we simply take the planet over. Then, the funds that they generate would belong to the Terran Empire and you."

Christoph's brows lifted and an amused smirk appeared on his face at Johnathan's words. Christoph hoped the younger man was joking. He chose to believe it, at the very least.

Kass was eyeing Ivers. She did not trust him at all. And she made it clear. She leaned back against the wall and watched him. "We could use the funds" she said idly. "And a better knowledge of the economy would assist with our goals here."

“The tenacity in the suggestion is laudable. But taking over a planet in Vidiian space and holding are not the same thing.”Ivan said. “A fleet of four ships is no match for the Vidiian Armada when the descend on us for taking over their planet. No. Let’s rest, sow some propaganda, and buy some interesting things.”

"My team can arrange that propaganda Captain" Kassandra said calmly.

“So be it.” Ivan said simply. “Get your sun hats, everyone!”