Welcome to Zulg's
Posted on Wed Mar 5th, 2025 @ 6:00pm by Brexis & Commander Daynah Ral & Lieutenant Jayden Meran
1,868 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
The Foragers
Location: Zulg's bar, Empok Nor.
Timeline: One week after Get the Party Started
Brexis pulled on the hookah pipe, held the smoke in for a few seconds, then vented it through the secondary duct under his left ear. The Ferengi this Ferengi tobacco was his favorite and he was allowing himself to indulge after a particularly long, but profitable run through Cardassia space. He let more smoke leak from both ducts and his nasal passages, wreathing his head in a fog.
Next came the Andorrian brandy, poured perfectly in the perma-ice tumbler sitting near his elbow and he leaned on an elbow as he looked around the space. Zulg’s wasn’t necessarily his kind of place, but it was too. He needed to see and be seen. Let people know he was back on Empok nor.
It was part of the game.
Zulg had swept past of course. Made sure he’d been seen by Brexis and that the Ferngi had his eye on him. And more importantly would want a cut off any deal that might be at hand in his bar.
Brexis would have to negotiate percentages with the bothersome troll at some point. But that was part of the game too.
Daynah had not had time to take in the sights of her former assignment. Empok Nor was an entirely different place since she had first arrived with the first crew. But there was not time to reminice. The one thing that did not change was Zulgs. Like most Ferengi Zulg would find a way to survive no matter what. She walked into his bar and saw him in the distance. She knew it would be a matter of time before he come over and made a bid to get her to give Umox. She looked around for their contact and leaned over to Lieutenant Meran. "You see our contact?"
Jayden followed Daynah into the bar. He is not really fond of bars, despite his cousins seemed to drag him in those all the time. That was a particular O'Donnaghue thing and Jayden wasn't an O'Donnaghue by blood. When the commander spoke to him, he went on alert and looked around. He shook his head. "No, ma'am." He continued to scan the bar and then noticed Brexis sitting secluded in his smoke. "Oh, it could be the person sitting secluded over there smoking." He made a nod towards the person." Jayden was good at keeping his cool, but Daynah left Jayden a bit overwhelmed. He wasn't sure if it was the symbiont or Daynah herself, Jayden wasn't sure. And this wasn't even a rank thing.
Daynah saw the Daloni as they pulled some smoke from a hookah. She smiled and punched Jayden in the shoulder. "Come now we can't keep them waiting." Daynah was tall, and beautiful and she knew how to use those attributes when needed. So as she moved through the bar a number of eyes moved toward her hips as they swayed. Just before she arrived at the table she grabbed a Ferengi waited and stroked his ears gently. "Tell Zulg his favorite Trill is here and she needs some Aldebrean Brandy and three glasses." The Ferengi seemed to enjoy the brief umox and when she finished he nodded and scurried away. "There now we have some refreshments on the way." She added as she pulled up a chair.
Brexis glanced up, assessing the arrivals to his table as they approached. They seemed to feel free sitting down with him and he glanced toward the bulk of Jixil a table away. His bodyguard had noted the arrival as well, but was following standing orders.
This was a place for business.
"Hello," Brexis said, his voice taking an low, lilting quality. "We have not met before I think yes yes yes?"
"That is correct. But I know you by reputation, and a stellar one at that. Now, I know you are a person of business, and I have come to do business. So shall we?" Dayanah knew people like Brexis the kind of person who thought they held all the cards and actually held none. This should be relatively simple to get the information that they needed.
"Business? Yes yes yes, I am a Business being," Brexis confirmed as he looked the two over. They had the smell of... officiousness. Maybe law enforcement. Sipping at his drink, he gave them a few moments to form wrong opinions of him before he asked, "What sort of business are you in and how can I be of service?"
"We are in the information business. You are someone with information, or so we have been told. So, if you are willing we would seek you out when needed. You will give us the information we need and in return you will be paid handsomely. I believe this is the time that you set a price and then we haggle." Daynah smiled a little seductively. Although she was not sure if that tactic would work on Brexis.
Jayden was just sitting next to Daynah. He observed how she was negotiating with Brexis. He could tell she was trying to throw her looks into the mix. He was now looking at Brexis to see how he would react. He knew as chief counselor he would technically also acts as diplomatic officer. He would probably had to use his own talk tactics. But for now he would let Daynah do her thing.
Elbows on the table, Brexis steepled his long knobby fingers and regarded the two newcomers. "What is needed depends on the price. Trust is a must, yes yes? What is it you seek?" These two were a little clean cut and he didn't recognize them. He'd seen the Trill greet Zulg and planned to press the Ferengi later.
Daynah knew that everything literally hung on how the next few minutes progressed. "Brexis, you are too right. There is a group making waves in this area. Doing some things that perhaps they should not be doing. We would like to know where they are getting their support from. Ideally we would like to meet them and perhaps even join them. Now, we are willing to pay handsomely for the information. Of course it would mean some mutual faith between us. You would get half payment now, and half when the information proves to be correct."
Brexis peered at the two and shuffled thoughts in his mind, then smiled wryly, "So. You have money and are looking for trouble. Maybe, but only maybe to be a part of that trouble. You want to know who that trouble is and who they might or might be pulling the puppets strings, yes yes yes?"
After a couple of more beats and a pull at his glass, Brexis said, "You sound like trouble to me. Maybe for me. There is no telling whether I can find out what you seek. Perhaps a small test then, yes yes yes? But generic trouble is too vague and would take days to relate. What specific trouble are you looking for.....Starfleet?"
"No Pirates..." Daynah deadpanned. She now realized that at least where it came to Brexis the tried and true seduction technique would not work. He seemed to like everything straight forward, so that would be how he would get it.
Brexis grinned, picked up his glass and toasted the duo. "Artfully dodged, yes yes yes, no. You smell of Starfleet I think. But you want to know about Pirates. And not just any old pirates either, no no no yes?"
Daynah would not acknowledge or deny Brexis' thought that they were Starfleet. Fact was that if she did it would confirm it in his mind. So, she continued without the acknowledgement. "No, not any old pirates. These are particularly nasty and operate in this area of space. Now, do we have a deal or not?" To emphasize her question Daynah placed a bar and two strips of latinum on the table, out of Brexis' reach. But close enough that he could see it was genuine.
Nodding, whether to himself or his potential customers wasn't clear. "It is a good start. Perhaps tell me a little more about these pirates you seek? Is there anything particular about them. I would hardly be right to sell out the wrong band, yes yes yes?"
"This particular band is said to be made up of Federation escapees. We want to know where their funding comes from, who is in charge of keeping them in operation. Everything and anything that you may have or can get from them." Daynah dropped two more strips onto the pile. She felt that she had Brexis right where she needed him. She just had to get the right amount of money on the table.
Brexis hardly noticed the money. Well. He noticed it but his eyes strayed toward the two, a smile playing at his mouth. "Close to a deal maybe, yes yes. But who am I dealing with? You know me yes. But I do not know you. Even names."
In the immediate Daynah knew two things. The first was that she could not give Brexis her real name or any name associated with Ral and the other was that whatever she said in the next moment would have to be created in a computer somewhere for Brexis to find. "I am Matea Sita of Trill. Who I represent is of no consequence to you. Should you accept this deal you will be dealing with us."
Jayden looked from Daynah to Brexis. He remained cool. "Elmer Nestor." Using his human father's second name and last name. "I am just Matea's associate, I don't think you need more than that." He fell silent again and let Daynah continue the negotiations.
Humming slightly, Brexis looked at the two then down to the latinum and then back up again. "Hmm. Group causing trouble. But not a local bunch you seek, yes? Just one that is reaching out. Hmm. Maybe the Ashen Hand is who you are looking for? Pirates they are called and call themselves. You look Federation and they are a Federation plague. Or see themselves so. By your own words, you think they are not their own true masters?" Reaching down, Brexis scooped the first pile of money his way. Then looked the Trill and quiet one over, then scooped the rest of the strips.
"Double this when information proves true, yes? We'll call it three bars more I think, yes yes." Smiling, Brexis ran over what more to say. These two were looking for trouble alright. He just wanted to make sure none of it followed them back to him.
"Say yes, yes yes," he purred slightly, smiling and taking another pull from the hookah. "And I can tell you where to look for them. And perhaps name names."
"Agreed. Three more bars when the information proves valid and correct. Now continue." Gone was the flirtatious nature that Daynah had when they walked in. At this moment she was all business and had decided that at least for the moment she would play the game that Brexis wanted played.
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