Local intel

Posted on 25 Feb 2021 @ 6:44pm by Captain Jonathan Reynolds & Commander Amelia Fox & Lieutenant Xu Chang Lau & Ensign Gwen Leighton

Mission: Mission 5 - Season of the Witch?
Location: Meladoste (Epsilon Sigma 4)
Timeline: MD4 tbd
2022 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

The second runabout touched down a few meters short of the small market place that the Captain had indicated to Xu and Gwen. Their second avenue of investigation now laid ahead but this was Ensign Leytons show, sitting so far outside of Xu's comfort zone that she was glad she was along simply as pilot and second pair of eyes. That being said, Lieutenant Fox had insisted on going for a ride in the runabout and was sitting just behind Xu in the cockpit.

"Here you go Ensign, do you need me to do anything to help?"

"Want to come along and do some local shopping?" Gwen looked towards the brightly coloured awnings of the traders huts, "If not you can just stay here till I'm back." She awaited the response while eyeing the area, "I would be glad for the company though."

"Given the predicament we find ourselves in its probably not wise to split up Ensign" Xu started to move from her chair but caught sight of a leg from what looked like a stuffed animal poking around the corner of the door to the aft section. "Amelia... I thought you were staying with the Doctor?"

Gwen followed her line of sight, "Well this makes things interesting."

The rest of the grey teddy emerged from around the corner followed by Amelia. "Teddy wants to come too, and so do I."

"I'm very angry at you Amelia... But whats done is done. Stay close and do not leave my side!"
Xu took the women girls hand and followed Ensign Leyton from the runabout.

The market was laid out in thin lanes with a dazzling array of vendors, all with a stall different than the next. Food of all scents and designs beckoned and, if one wasn't hungry, there was a multitude of wares to peruse. Some looking a little less legal than others. Her stomach rumbled and she stopped at a fruit stall before continuing on. Popping a berry into her mouth she chose to stop at an Andorian's stall to comment, "There's quite the variety at this market. I'm impressed given its size." She directed her question to the stall owner, "Is it usually this busy?"

"Ahh human, are you inflicted?" he asked. Next to him on a stall was an alien not recognised. "Look they have sent reinforcements."

"Inflicted?" Gwen looked to Amelia, "By what?"

Some of the traders on other stalls who were listening in to the conversation smiled and shook their heads as if to say "Tourists..."

The other alien wandered over and looked her up and down. "I hope you're going to make her pay for the berry," he muttered unimpressed.

"It has not been busy of late. Most avoid your planet due to the season," he told her.

"Of course I will pay," Gwen hastily commented. She handed over the amount for the berries and then asked, "Season? What kind of season could justify the act of taking goods?"

The aliens shared a confused look. "Few sell during the spring here due to your unique ailments. Only the ones not affected still come until it passes once more. Maybe she is inflicted."

"Could you clarify what you mean by Ailment?" Xu had wandered over with Amelia in toe, catching the latter part of what the trader had said. "We could use any information you can offer!"

Amelia hugged the teddy closer to herself. "I'm not affllikted." she pouted, then asked Gwen quitely, "What's that? Can I have a berry? pweese?"

Gwen smiles and passes her a handful of berries, "One at a time."

One of the traders noticed Amelia's swollen stomach. His face fell "Oh no! Is she with child? It always affects them the worst. I'd keep a close eye on her if I were you before she wanders off and gets herself killed."

"Did you hear that Amelia... You must stay with me!" Xu put her arm around Amelia's shoulders, hugging her slightly to try and lift her spirits, unsure if she could fully understand what the trader was telling them.

Amelia didn't like the look of this guy and pressed herself closer to the security woman clutching her teddy tighter.

"Have you not noticed that a lot of the people here are acting oddly. Like children? They are inflicted. It happens during this season every year and after a few months people return to normal. I've seen it with the other group who live here," the first one told them. "It has never luckily affected me.

And before you ask I don't know what causes it. We thought your Federation would be clever enough to have worked it out."

Gwen looked to Xu, "So this season ailment, it passes though safely?" It reminded her of allergy season back home. But worse. Much worse.

“Oh.... Sure it will pass..... In about 4 months.” The trader said with a worried expression. “But judging on how she's regressed it will be lucky if she lasts to the end of the day. They become completely innocent you see, ” he went onto explain “They eventually lose all sense of danger and basically end up walking off a cliff or get eaten by wildlife or something equally pointless. Pity.” he added with a lecherous glance at Amelia.

"We appreciate the intel but is there nothing or no one that can give us a true medical diagnosis of this illness?"
The slight Asian women asked, holding tight to Amelia. She and Gwen needed to find something out and soon, she couldn't let the Captain down, or the crew that seemed to have been affected. Then something occurred to her. "Why do only some people come down with this illness. I've been here as long as Lieutenant Fox but I am unaffected. Ensign Leyton has been here longer still and is still unaffected!"

He held his hand up "Hey, I just come here to trade and I'm lucky enough not be affected by this so I don't ask questions and I get on with my business. Some people are, some people aren't. Ones like her" he pointed at Amelia "tend to get it worse. That's all I know. Now, do you want to buy something? If not, make room for someone who does, ok?"

"Could we make an unusual request?" Xu looked at the trader in a serious manner, knowing her next questions would be something he likely would never have expected to hear. "Could we take a small sample of your blood for analysis? It may help us find a cure for this illness!"

He looked at her with a wicked smile. "You want my blood ehh. And how are you planning to compensate me? I have an idea," he placed his arm round her. "I'm a lonely man you know."

"And you'll be lonely and immobile if you even finish that idea," Gwen cut in, "She's asking nicely." She looked to Xu, "I could always punch him to get it."

"I must admit I was considering breaking his nose, working towards the same outcome", Xu turned her attention from Gwen and back to the trader, a sweet smile tugging at her lips. "So I could use the hypospray to draw a small amount or you can grab my backside again and we can take it from there!"

The trader looked back and forth between them and sighed. "You Starfleet type are all the same. You talk peace but just take what you want when you want." He held out his arm. "There! Take some. I do hope some will actually buy something from me in compensation." He groused.

"Well I'm not giving my veins up that easily. Its not often we see many women and exotic alien ones at that. So if you want my blood I'm at least having a little fun," the other vendor stated grabbing the one brandishing the hypo sprays pert backside.

"Oooo nice and toned too. Like a ripe Jomi fruit ...."

On instinct Xu reached, whirling round, grabbing the rump on his neck firmly before driving his face into the nearest countertop. It all happened in an instant, as if something or someone else had taken control of her for a moment, a rage had bubbled up at being so manhandled, she had wanted to do more than just break his nose but she had firmly taken the reigns back before anything else happened.

"Now see what you made me do... We will pay for the damage to your stall" she turned apologetically to the compliant trader. "And could we have a punnet of something sweet on top of that!" she asked sweetly as she drew the blood from his arm.

Gwen blinked and had to hold back the laughter that wanted to burst forth. Xu had definitely handled herself well. Hell, she'd handled HIM well, "I'll make sure to connect with local security. I'm sure they want to know that their visitors risk being assaulted if they cross paths with this ...." Gwen left it merely at, 'this'. She didn't want to finish what she'd preferred to have titled him as.

"Are we good now?" Gwen asked Xu, "We definitely have information to relay. And snacks."

The little Asian women felt more than a little powerful right now, it was unnerving her but the feeling was fading fast.
"We need to get this sample back to the Doctor!"

"Now you see this is why you Federation lot have such a bad reputation. Savages," the other trader shot at them. "Complete savages. And not a drop of humour among you. We best get you to a doctor too. Not one of there's. He was paying you a compliment and alluding to you being beautiful. Did you really think he wanted sexual advances off you and wasn't going to help you? Come on really."

"I was just joking about," the other man said rubbing his head his hand pulling away covered in purple blood now flowing down his face. "You have two faces. And one of them although as beautiful as a goddess is far too powerful and dangerous.

And you, you wear security colours right. To stand there and allow that behaviour from one of your officers. When your captain gets back I will be lodging a formal complaint against both of you and don't go throwing threats around to us. Your in our part of the galaxy now. If we go off and tell all our friends not to trade with you people your colony is definitely going to falter. More than it is now. Your threats are useless and will only bit you in backside now.

Your not getting anything more sweet or otherwise off of us."

The trader not bleeding shouted out to the rest of the market in an alien language one their translator could barely get 2 words from as they had been kind enough to learn and speak some of the Federations language in the last few years.

Every single trader there looked at them angrily and started shutting up their stalls and beaming away. "Oh you can't do this can you," he said. "We were in negotiations to share how to do it safely with this planets environment but as you just showed us your real face.

Watch you back, word of your deeds travels fast and we all know a lot of people. We also know your mission Federation and you will need to trade yourselves one day soon. It sure as hell won't be with our people."

With that they beamed away.

Xu watched the final trader evaporate within the shimmer of a transporter beam before turning back to Gwen with a forlorn look on her face.
"Well... that could have gone better. The Captain is not going to be happy!"

Not liking all the violence, Amelia tugged on Xu's arm and whispered to her "I don't like him. Can we go now, please?"

OFF:

Trader 1
Npc Lieutenant Amelia Fox

Trader 2
Npc Jonathan Reynolds

Lieutenant Amelia Fox
XO
USS Andromeda

Lieutenant Xu Chang Lau
Chief of Operations
USS Andromeda

Ensign Gwen Leighton
Security Officer
USS Andromeda