U.S.S. Corsair - NX-011979
Nebula II Prototype
“Sic Parvis Magna”
(Greatness From Small Beginnings)
“Progeny of the Progenitors – Part Five”
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### Deck 24 – Starbase 343 ###
“Ramius”, Akina shouted grabbing the captain by his arm. “We cannot just walk in there pretending to be one of the faithful. They would see through us instantly and blow any chance we have of getting in there.”
“We”, Ramius asked with an amused tone.
“You, me, us! Look. If you want in there why don’t we do things my way for once huh? No phasers, no rushing in, no fistfights, no injuries. We can play this calm, cool, and still get whatever it is you think you are going to find in there.”
Ramius took a quick look at the heavily patrolled door and then looked back at Akina. “Alright captain. What do you have in mind?”
### Sometime Later ###
“I should have listened to my instincts”, Ramius muttered as he followed Akina through a crowded corridor. “This is never going to work!”
Zane quickly stopped and turned toward the captain. “Just keep your head down and your mouth shut and this is going to work perfectly. Whereas you would prefer piloting a shuttle right through the door I prefer a more subtle approach. Just let me do the talking. Agreed?”
“Fine. It still isn’t going to work. The guards are not that dense.”
“No they are denser. I’ve done this routine dozens of times on everyone from well trained mercenaries to high tech criminals…it always works.”
Rounding the corner the pair arrived at the entrance to the suspicious cult’s place of worship. Their presence was immediately noticed by the three followers nearby who quickly moved to block access to the door.
“What do you want”, an imposing male stated with a gruff voice.
“I’m Ted Berkin and this is Mitch Wilkins. I..I am terribly sorry to intrude gentlemen but we have a serious problem inside that needs some attention.”
“Problem? What problem? Who are you?” Ramius bit his tongue wanting nothing more than to jump these two bit hoodlums and make his way inside. It was taking a sizeable amount of restraint to stand quietly watching Akina make a fool of himself.
“Oh I am terribly sorry. We’re from deck 7, maintenance division. You see a Ferengi captain was caught attempting to sell some well…illegal merchandise. Well I don’t want to name names, but it seems that tribbles were among some of the confiscated contraband and well some of them escaped into this area. Needless to say we have to take every precaution to avoid a serious problem from developing. Yes indeed. Have you ever seen these rascals? I mean they can breed like a ….well they can really um…”
The men were glaring at the both of them making Ramius doubtful of Akina’s confidence. Despite his misgivings he would grant the captain a few additional moments before taking matters into his own hands.
“Alright so some merchandise went missing pal. What does this have to do with us?”
“Oh, well tribbles are terrible pests. They reproduce exponentially, has something to due with some accelerated reproductive genes or something, but anyway they can get into ventilation systems and electrical conduits and wreak havoc. One becomes two becomes ten and before you know it you have thousands of these critters everywhere chewing on wires, falling out of the ceilings, literally crowding you out of house and home. Well in your case that’s house of worship, but you get the idea. To make a long story short we need to install some traps and bait as a precaution. Shouldn’t take long we just have to ensure we don’t end up with a major infestation on our hands here. Uh, may we go inside?”
The imposing men glanced at one another before returning their gazes to the two maintenance workers before them.
“Alright mac, do your inspection, but make it quick. We don’t like outsiders within the temple. And don’t touch anything while you’re in there or else you’ll have more problems than these furballs you’re after!”
“Don’t worry. Mitch and I are both extremely respectful of all cultures and beliefs aboard. Comes with the job if you know what I mean. Uh, yes well we’ll just go inside and set a few traps and bait and get out of your way as soon as possible. I just hope they aren’t chewing on the power cables like the last time. Nothing worse than a smoldering lump of scorched hair.”
“Get movin pal”, one of the men muttered.
Akina nodded and dragged Ramius along with him as they stepped through the doors and into the unknown interior of the cult’s house of worship.
[ TBC..]
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Captain Taverain Ramius
Commanding Officer, USS Corsair
Captain Zane Akina
Starfleet Intelligence
