Baiting the Hook - Part 1

Posted on Thu Oct 12th, 2017 @ 5:13pm by

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/3
Location: Karen Walker's Quarters
Timeline: Current - June 15, 2399 - 1845

ON:

Walker looked around her living area as she walked in from the bedroom. Everything was in order for what she had planned for the evening, The lighting was set to forty percent, Saurian brandy and two glasses on the table in front of her sofa, and some mood-setting music playing softly in the background while a faint scent of incense hung in the air. Only one ingredient was still missing from this recipe - a recipe that when fulfilled would leave her WELL satisfied by morning, and that missing ingredient was one Charles Damian.

She was wearing a loose-fitting low-cut blouse and skirt set. She had purposely picked something loose-fitting so as to be easy to remove but not so loose as to hide her more than ample assets. Beneath her outer garments she wore the item she had found on the station at Frederick's of Risa - an almost sheer bustier that cradled her voluptuous breasts just at the nipple line. It would accentuate them right well and she was happy about that. She was proud of her girls and wouldn't mind showing them off, 'Especially to Charles if he would ever get here...'she thought to herself.

Almost at that exact moment, her door chime rang.

'It appears that my final ingredient has arrived...' she thought to herself as she hurried toward the door. 'And none too soon, so let the fun begin...' She opened the door to find that it was indeed Charles standing there. "Come in," she said, motioning him inside.

"So where are these things you wanted me to see?" he asked, looking around her quarters.

"You'll see them in just a few minutes, I promise..." she said, guiding him over to the sofa. She sat down and motioned to the seat at the other end of the sofa. "C'mon - take a load off. I've got some fifteen-year-old Saurian Brandy here. We can have a drink and relax after this hellacious day in the science labs.

Against his better judgment he accepted her invitation to sit. She poured a drink for each of them then handed him a glass. After returning the bottle to the table, she lifted her glass and held it out. "To the future and whatever it holds..." she said, looking directly at him. Charles stalled for a moment, unsure whether or not he should return the toast. Finally he hesitatingly raised his glass. "To the future..." he echoed. He took a sip then nodded appreciatively. "That's smooth..." he said as he felt the warmth of the alcohol coursing through his system. "Ten years old, hmm? Where did you get it?"

"Ferengi merchant on Deep Space 17. The Phobos put in to Deep Space 17 after you left. I was doing some shopping and happened to come across this little hole-in-the-wall shop that specialized in spirits from all reaches of the galaxy."

"Bet it set you back a few credits," Damian said as he studied her over the rim of his glass.

"Credits my ass!" she responded. "Told me right quick he wasn't interested in Federation credits. He wanted cold hard latinum. THREE BARS he wanted! Well I leaned over his counter, making sure to let him have a good look at the twins of course, then politely told him he could shove that price up his ass and sit on it. Well, I'd never seen a Ferengi look so indignant," she said with a giggle. "I told him two bars and not a slip more just to see if he was willing to negotiate, then I gave the girls a little jiggle just to keep his attention. We went back and forth for a little bit and when he came down to two bars and three strips, I considered it a win, called it a deal, and walked out of there with my bottle." She gave Charles a look for a moment, then added "You know how persuasive I can be."

"I know you can be persistent," he replied noncommittally. "As for persuasive, well I'll give you credit - you tried.

"Would have succeeded too if that spotted bitch hadn't been around..." she muttered half under her breath.

Charles heard the remark but chose to let it pass for the moment. He knew she was referring to Laurana. It was no secret to all who knew them that she and Laurana had never liked each other. When they had all been on the Phobos Walker's name for Laurana had been 'the Spotted Bitch' and Laurana's name for her had been 'Tits with Attitude'. If they were within fifty meters of each other it was like two cats with their tails tied together - constant hissing and spitting at each other.

Figuring it best to try and get this deal over with as quickly as possible, he tossed back the remainder of his drink in one swallow and set the glass on the table. What he had not figured on was her pouring another drink before he could tell her he did not want another one - which she did.

"So what have you been doing between the time you left the Phobos and when you got assigned here?" she asked.

"Not much to tell, really..." he said. "Did four years on the Bon Homme Richard, and four more on the Edmund Fitzgerald before coming here two years ago. I was damned glad to get off the Fitzgerald too, I'll tell you."

"Were the crew that bad?" she asked.

"The crew were fine," he answered. "It was the ship itself."

"Oh? What was wrong with the ship?"

"Nothing was wrong with THAT ship, but the one she was named after was a hard-luck ship." Seeing her puzzled look, he continued. "The original Edmund Fitzgerald was a steamship that existed on Earth over 400 years ago. She was a Great Lakes ore freighter that disappeared in a storm on Lake Superior on November 10th, 1975. To this day, no one knows for certain why she sank. She might have split up, or she might have capsized. She may have broke deep and took water. Her wreckage was found on the bottom of the lake a year or two later, just fifteen miles outside of Whitefish Bay. If she had made it into Whitefish Bay she would have been safe, but she didn't - and no trace was ever found of the twenty-nine members of her crew." He shook his head slowly. "Bad juju to name a ship after one that's gone missing. It's as bad as if they'd named a ship 'The Flying Dutchman, or Titanic, or..."

To be continued...

OFF:

Lieutenant Charles Damian
Chief Science Officer
USS Wellington

Lieutenant Karen Walker
Science Officer/Astrometrics Officer
USS Wellington