Desperate Measures

Posted on Fri Dec 21st, 2012 @ 11:35pm by Eldren Tohr & Ignatius Reilly & Elijah "Eli" Samuels

Stop that! Iggy had the tarsi at the end of one long leg hooked onto the male tarantula’s femur in just such a way that he could neither get away from her nor get his fangs into her. She was lucky he was small as he kept struggling and kept trying to fight her.

The little guy’s fight was getting old. Fine, keep up with the struggles there, little man, Iggy thought at the creature before pulling his original box closer to him and stuffing him back into it. The task required four of her eight legs. She then closed the lid and spun several lengths of silk around the box. I will let you out to feed you. Till then, stay put!, she admonished him and moved towards the glass that formed her current cage.

Looking through it, she saw the man, Eldren Tohr, moving about the small cabin. What were his plans? How long would it be till Oralia came for her? Would he always feed her nasty, pre-killed crickets? Hey, how about a nice hissing cockroach, hmm? Juicy little critters. Or a mouse; that would be good, as well. Might even be enough to feed some to the little guy you gave me, she projected at him.

”You can share with it if you want.” Tohr responded checking methodically the equipment he’d ordinately placed on the floor. “Food is rationed from now on. Perhaps you could just kill it and relieve yourself from the burden.” With a loud clicking sound Eldren finished assembling a strange small hexagonal metal box with two straps of cloth attached to it.

Carefully he put it on the floor near to the other apparel and turned to the glass box.

“You don’t have to worry though.” He grinned “You’re going to paradise. The stupid and filthy rich man that wants you has had a special terrarium built for you… Several hundreds square meters with vegetation, temperature adequate to your species and teeming with insect life.” He paused to let his words sink in.

Oralia would not send me away, Iggy said quietly, though the idea started taking root.

“And many specimens like the one in the box with you with which you will be able to do anything you wish… Mate…. Kill them… Eat them.”

This one is not yet old enough to spin a semen mat. Who am I going to? I do not wish to leave Oralia or to live confined in a terrarium.

“Frankly I don’t care. That man is the stupidest I’ve ever seen. Willing to spend ludicrous amounts of money for an insect.” Tohr scoffed. “But business is business, and you’re money to me. As long you behave no one gets hurt, including your precious commander of security. We fly off, you get to your new proprietor and we’ll part ways forever… With a more than discrete sum in my pockets, that is.”

He then returned to his previous occupation, this time taking a disruptor and checking its levels.

The weapon made Iggy nervous. Was he checking it in order to use it? He'd said he would use it on Oralia if she wasn't a good, quiet spider and, just now, she hadn't been good and quiet. The chime of the door rang and Iggy grabbed her pet's box and curled into a corner of the small glass box.

And I thought my place sucked., Eli thought as he stood outside waiting on an answer. At least this guy was a paying customer, something that had been in short supply lately. Hell, seeing as how he'd had to spend most of his reserve funds repairing the plasma leak those damn aliens had inflicted on the JR, Samuels concented that he was pretty much desperate for a job right now.

So it was, when a vague message arrived needing his delivery services, he'd jumped at the chance, even if the meeting place seemed odd.

Reaching behind his back, he fingered the tommahawk tucked in his belt, glad that most modern weapons detectors tended to go for energy based weapons and tended to over look something that appeared as a big hammer to most overworked security people manning scanners. Pulling his jacket back in place, he tapped the chimes again, wondering if anyone was home.

“Come in” Responded Tohr caressing the handle of his disruptor, conveniently held out of view behind his back.

The doors hissed open to reveal the newcomer and Tohr relaxed leaving the weapon and slowly inviting him to enter with a wave of the hand.

“Welcome Mr. Samuels.” He greeted him “The replicator is there have your fill of any beverage you may desire right now.” He ended indicating the corner with the replicator.

Letting his right hand fall away from the tomahawk, Eli acknowledged the invite in and ordered a black coffee. "Much abliged."

Taking a sip of the hot drink, he looked at the other man with a raised eyebrow. "So, I understand you've got some work that needs to be done?"

“Ive been informed that you’re the best in the trade around here and I’m in need of your services.” Tohr sat leisurely on the chair “I have to admit that you’re the brave type and that may well fit me. Flying with that piece of junk deserves admiration.” The scar on Tohr’s left cheek emphasizing his grin.

Taking a seat, Eli bit back his intitial reaction at having the JR called a piece of junk. Clearing his throat, he took a long draw of coffee to compose himself. Finally, the scraggly looking smuggler replied. "Let me assure you, the Jolliet's Revenge may not look like much, but you ain't gonna find a faster piece o'junk outside a full blown Fed starship. She'll knock down warp 6 in an emergency and can hold 4.5 all day long."

Sitting his coffee cup down, he looked at the scarred man, pale grey eyes meeting Tohr's as he leaned forward. "She'll get ya where ya need to go and back. You can trust me on that."

Sitting back, Samuels let the tension in his posture lapse, once again nothing but a laid back spacer. "Speaking of which, what sorta trade you looking to move?"

“The cargo is me and my luggage. Trip back isn’t needed, if your JR’s able to cloak that would be greatly appreciated but it isn’t mandatory and this is your advance pay.” Tohr explained taking out five pure latinum bars from a box close to him putting them on the table.

“Take them.” He offered “You’ll have twenty more after boarding and fifty more on safe arrival to destination.”

Tohr paused to let the smuggler realize the offer.

“Discretion is mandatory though.” He reprised without waiting for Eli’s answer “Destination will be revealed after we’re out of the system and… No questions. It’s a deal?”

Luggage? Despite herself and what little fear she had that the male, Tohr, would harm her, Iggy sidled forward and visually searched the room What lugg... Oh! Me? I am the luggage? No, no, I belong to--. She immediately shut up when Tohr turned a glare her way.

Samuels thought he” heard” a squeak that seemed to come from no where and everywhere. Certainly not something that was audible. A mental communication perhaps?

Betazoid?

He’d communicated telepathically once with a Betazoid engineer back in his Starfleet days and the niggling sensation in the back of the skull had been similar. From the jump Tohr made, Eli could tell he’d felt it as well.
Quickly letting his expression fall back to that of a simple spacer to cover his surprise, he eyed the proffered latinum. Lord knew he needed the money, but he didn’t do slavers. Nor, did he like the whole not knowing destination or cargo bit.

That being said, he saw no where to hide a Betazoid or any other sentient sized telepathic species in the small apartment. And, from his understanding of the subject, any species with enough mental juice to communicate with a total stranger from more than just a few feet away, would be able to just telepathically call for help from anywhere on the station. That or fry Tohr’s brain and escape.

In the end, there was only one thing Samuels could do. With a mental shrug, he looked back up at Tohr.

Screw it!

“Awright, ya got yourself a captain. The Revenge is docked in berth X43. I can ship out as soon as you’re ready. No cloaking device, but I’ll get ya in most anywhere this side of Sector 001 without anyone being the wiser.”

He didn’t bother to mention the fact that he had part of a cloak, just not the functioning parts. Seemed the Romulans were picky about letting those pieces go. Nor did he mention the patchwork repairs he’d been forced to do on the port nacelle following the incident on the other side of the wormhole.

"It's a deal then," Tohr responded with his dark grin "I'll fix a couple of things and then we're ready to take off. Warm up the engines of your ship Captain. You've got your cargo for the run."

*************************************************

Elijah Samuels
Broke Skeptic

Eldren Tohr
Soon To Be Runaway

Ignatius J. Reilly Zeferino
Passing Check-In