Whispers in the Shadows

Posted on Tuesday August 27th, 2019 @ 10:28 hours by Mayterial Droz & M'erah & Taben Natal

Mission: Hot Couture
Location: Cargo bay 2, Deck 3, S.S. Fawkes
Timeline: MD02 - 14:00 hours
1297 words - 2.6 OF Standard Post Measure

The cargo bays were large, and without much of the cargo space rented out and loaded up M'erah felt a bit lost in all of that space. After their last leg he had come to grips with what had happened in this bay while he had been under the influence of the dust. He barely remembered. The report on the incident had been vivid enough for him to paint a picture in his mind's eye though. He swallowed hard as he paced the bare floor boards of the bay and turned abruptly as the doors parted to allow entrance to one of his crewmates.

Taben wandered into the cargo bay last, holding a flask in his left hand while reviewing a PADD in his right hand. He didn't bother looking up to greet the crew as he entered--he was far too busy studying the information that had been given to him so far as his mind raced running tactical scenarios through his mind as he tried to calculate and anticipate the possible outcomes. He made a few notes on his PADD before he abruptly looked up, realizing he was only inches away from running into M'erah. He gave a curt nod to the Caitian as he took a couple of steps back before looking back down at his PADD and continuing his work, leaning on a nearby cargo container.

The doors opened one more time and through the opened doors Mayterial stepped in, hair in a messy bun, eyes only half open, this was not turning into the best days of her life. She had picked a hell of a day to quit drinking, "T'Kisha provided us with some contacts and this info" She waved the PaDD, just starting off the conversation. "We know where they are holding up, but it doesn't help us a lot. They're shipboard, keeping away from sensors and weapons platforms. Hiding behind some sort of metal-infused astroid." She gave a nod at Taben, "What did you get?"

"Not much else that's helpful," Taben said as he shook his head, "The intel I could find confirms all that T'Kisha found. The few contacts of contacts of contacts I could actually locate in this godforsaken part of space seem to indicate that this ship's been involved in all sorts of dodgy activity--but that's just about it. I also have the sense that we're dealing with a ship that is going to be fairly well armed for its size." Taben scratched his stubble as he continued, "I get the sense that if we were willing to throw some latinum around, we might be able to get more concrete intel. Most people 'round here aren't keen on talking without it." He bit his lip as he let out a sigh, "Of course, if we start throwing around latinum, we might get the wrong sort of attention too."

"After T'Kisha provided us with the information she decided that further involvement in this would be too damaging to her reputation." Mayterial added, she tossed the PaDD she was holding in the direction of a container, which it bounced off of before clattering to the ground, "So that's all fucking useless." She sighed and rubbed her forehead for a moment, "and I don't have that kind of latinum laying around."

"How arrre the plans prrrogrrressing in rrregarrrds to acquirrring the museum piece?" M'erah hoped to take the Captain's mind off of things, focusing on things that might be going more smoothly. At least more information should be available on the museum, the security systems and how to get around them.

May shook her head a bit, "I'm checking in with them later. Our best bet is to pull off the heist, but I need a contingency because I'm not leaving Kari at the mercy of those criminals."

Taben nodded in agreement, "I don't think this is going to be an either/or option. Even if we pull off the heist, there's no guarantee they'll honour their part of the bargain." Taben continued speaking in an analytical tone, clearly blind to the lack of tact he was displaying, "The question also is--will we honour our part of the bargain if they do? Our latinum problem becomes much less of a challenge if we get an inside person at the museum to help us out in exchange for a cut of the profits we get after fencing the item. We could focus more of our resources than on the rescue mission. They probably wouldn't expect for us to launch an attempt while we're in the middle of the heist, after all."

May knew he was right, she also knew that if Landau smelled any sort of foul play Kari would be put at risk, "We'll have to see how plausible that would be, perhaps we need all hands on deck for the museum." That said she didn't want to dismiss the idea outright, "either way I'd like to infiltrate their vessel and disrupt some of their operations. We need to leave a mark, so they don't come after us again in the future."

Taben shook his head in disapproval as he continued in a sardonic tone, "I hate to be Mr. Killjoy---actually, that's a lie, I love being Mr. Killjoy. Anyhow, with the resources you have, you can't expect all hands on deck if you want us to have success at both options." He brought his hands together with a loud clap and then thrust his hands away to demonstrate the point, "If you put our energies into two plans that you want to be executed contemporaneously or close to it, you're gonna decrease our chance of success by 50% or so. Keep in mind these plans on their own aren't at a 100% success chance as things stand with 'all hands on deck' either."

"The only thing we have to go on is, if we get this dress we will get our crewmate back. I know that's perhaps a hollow promise but that's the only one we've got." Mayterial looked over at the PaDD she had thrown away earlier and pointed, "If that's all we have to go on then I don't see another option than to pool all of our resources into the heist. Perhaps we can think about doing something during the exchange to make up for our lost resources."

"Understood," Taben replied stoically with a nod, "I'll do all we can to have that contingency plan ready while making sure we don't sacrifice critical resources for the heist." He still wasn't thrilled with the plan, but they were between a rock and a hard place. There was no obvious solution--but at least they weren't spreading themselves too thinly.

Mayterial walked over to the PADD she had tossed aside and picked it up with a heavy sigh.

"Sorrrry I'm not morrre help, Captain." M'erah shrugged apologetically.

"You'll get your chance, M'erah, don't worry." May gave him a friendly smile before making her way over to the exit of the cargo bay, "Keep your ears and eyes open, any new information should come to me directly!" She ordered the two men she was leaving behind in the bay.

Taben nodded curtly in reply to the Captain's instruction as he leaned back against a cargo container. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, placing it in his mouth as he grabbed a lighter from his other pocket. "We're fucked, basically," Taben muttered, his words slightly muffled from the unlit cigarette in his mouth as he flicked open the lighter, igniting his stick of nicotine as the blissful smell of burnt tobacco began to fill the cargo bay.

[OFF]

Mayterial Droz
Captain

Taben Natal
First Mate

M'erah (NPC)
Deck Hand (Able)
(as written by Mayterial)

S.S. Fawkes