From: Shawn _ (alamo_nate_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Jan 14 2008 - 16:33:31 PST
=Picking Up The Pieces=
(cont'd from "Our New Bitch And The Ghosts")
LOCATION: GATEWAY Station
SCENE: Promenade
STARDATE: [2.8]0114.1502
Although the efforts of Engineering teams (as well as teams of civilian volunteers eager to get their businesses back up and running) had gone a long way towards repairing most of the damage on the Promenade, it was obvious that it would be another few weeks before things would return to some semblance of normalcy. The grimmest part of the cleanup efforts, the removal of bodies, had been completed quickly and in a single day, the Starfleet cleanup coordinators wanting to spare civilians returning to the station the potential trauma of finding someone they recognized half-buried in the rubble.
After that, the next major step of cleanup was clearing the Promenade of all debris. Structural damage to GATEWAY Station had been severe after the Dominion attacks, and several support trusses and maintenance access-ways had to be rebuilt or reattached. In addition, blown-out storefronts had scattered their goods seemingly all over the places. Cleanup coordinators wanted this debris cleared before the bulk of civilians returned as well, if only to reduce the amount of looting and reduce storeowners' losses.
At this point, the majority of debris had been cleared, and many storefronts were in the process of rebuilding. The Promenade was beginning to look like normal again- even though part of it remained closed-off as Starfleet Engineering teams repaired a destroyed walkway. But even with the rapid return to normal, the economic damage had been done- most storeowners had lost over 90% of their stock, and with the suffering economy caused by the closure of the wormhole and the Dominion blockade of the station, a large number of merchants simply couldn't afford to absorb the loss. Even as many storefronts repaired and returned to business, many more were emptied out, their display-cases darkened, and their owners left with no choice but to pack up and return to the Alpha Quadrant.
But even as many transport ships and merchant vessels flew *away* from GATEWAY Station, many new ships were flying *toward* it. News of the Dominion War had reached the far-reaches of the Alpha Quadrant, and like always, the scent of death had started to attract vultures. Weapons-dealers, con men, gamblers, and criminals, all looking for a way to turn the deaths of thousands into profit, had already started to converge on GATEWAY Station.
One of them looked down on all the rest.
Budo Pumbular was a short, fat, bald man, dressed in the finest exotic silks and wearing gaudy-looking jewelry. He had a perpetual air of polite distaste for everything and everyone around him, and in his left hand, his fat fingers clenched a fine, silk handkerchief scented with the most expensive alien colognes, which he routinely waved beneath his wide nostrils as a means of protecting his highly-refined sense of smell and taste from the more... *unpleasant* odor of the common folk. Like many of them, Budo Pumbular had come to GATEWAY Station because his keen mind had seen vast potential for profit- but if one were to compare him to them, Budo would be profoundly upset. Budo might have had a somewhat... liberal attitude towards law and order, but he was hardly some common thug.
That was what K'reshh was for.
Looming behind Budo, 7-feet tall and over 200 lbs, Budo Pumbular's personal Nausicaan bodyguard walked with one of his hands on the butt of the disruptor hanging from his belt. K'reshh's eyes shifted from left to right, daring anyone to meet his gaze and finding very few volunteers. He grumbled every now and again- whether as another way to seem menacing, or out of an actual sense of anger or irritation, it was difficult to say.
"Temper temper, K'reshh," Budo said as he waddled down the walkway, taking stock of the Promenade. "Be polite to our new neighbors."
"You're *really* going to set up shop here?" K'reshh growled. "I thought the KING MIDAS was-"
"It is very fortunate indeed that I don't pay you to think," Budo interrupted, sounding rather bored with the conversation. K'reshh was a loyal servant and an excellent bodyguard, but the Nausicaan wasn't good for much beyond base thuggery. And he certainly wasn't a good conversationalist.
"But why bother having one of the most advanced merchant vessels in the galaxy if you're just going to open up a pathetic little shop on a Federation starbase?" K'reshh asked, frowning (which made him even uglier than usual).
"Because, you simpleton," Budo sighed, rolling his eyes, "..the KING MIDAS is hardly equipped to enter Dominion-controlled space. GATEWAY Station is as close as we can get to the action without being in the thick of it. And if things should get too... ahem... 'noisy', the wormhole remains as a convenient back-door."
"Still don't see why we need some rinky-dink shop," K'reshh grumbled.
"I admit, I much prefer our facilities aboard the MIDAS," Budo nodded, waving the handkerchief beneath his nose again as he looked around. "This place still resembles a refugee camp more than a center of commerce. However, if we are to become a presence on GATEWAY Station, it will be important to project an image of stability to potential customers. A place where they meet with us on... neutral ground first, before coming to the ship. It will put them at ease."
"Still don't like it," K'reshh said.
"Yes, you've made that point eloquently more than once," Budo said, shaking his head. "Anyhow, you needn't complain so much. It's not as though we'll actually *live* aboard the station, and besides... just because my shop is a front doesn't mean it needs to be some hovel."
As he said that, Budo came to a stop, his eyes moving up to behold the large, abandoned storefront before him. It was a two-story shop, and had once held one of the largest stores on the Promenade. It had sustained severe damage during the attacks, and the owners had been killed by Jem'Hadar, so it was available- but at a rather steep asking-price. Budo immediately made arrangements to pay this price, as well as 15% *more*, to ensure he would not be outbid.
"It obviously needs some work," Budo said, smiling as he imagined what he could do with the property. "But I believe this will suit our needs nicely."
Behind him, K'reshh grumbled, "I *still* don't like it."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION: Engineering Module
SCENE: Main Engineering
Jake Crichton was still settling in to his new position as CEO. He likened it to being the superintendent of an apartment building- only *his* apartment building included some of the most advanced technology in the Federation, had roughly half a million tenants, and had just been the target of two separate attacks by a race of alien conquerors. Crichton was pretty sure that modern medicine had eliminated "the ulcer" over 100 years ago, but he still imagined he could feel one beginning to form in the lining of his stomach.
He finished repairs on the environmental control subsystems and reattached the panel-cover before taking a moment to wipe the sweat off his forehead, leaving a long smear of soot from the burnt-out cables and wiring across his face. He didn't mind- it was just another of many, and he'd given up trying to wipe his hands clean on the front of his uniform a few hours ago, after it started making his hands *more* dirty.
Without a moment to lose, Crichton raised himself up, barked some orders at a group of Engineers who seemed to be lollygagging, and started towards another control console when a voice stopped him.
"Lt. Crichton?"
Crichton stopped, and turned to see a young Lieutenant JG standing there, looking around at the hustle and bustle in Main Engineering.
"Who's asking?" Crichton asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Thomas Varn, Lieutenant Junior-Grade," the young officer replied, holding out a PADD for Crichton to accept. Crichton took it and skimmed it briefly.
"This says you're assigned as Lt. Yao's assistant Science-officer," Crichton said. "Why are you reporting to me?"
"Right now, all available resources are committed to repairing GATEWAY Station," Varn said. "Commander Davidson was fairly specific in her instructions. She said that I was supposed to report to you and assist in whatever repairs you-"
"You're my new bitch," Crichton said, smirking a little. "Looks like Daisy included a personal note at the end of the PADD."
"Great," Varn sighed. "I'll have to remember to thank her for that."
"You know how to handle a hydrospanner?" Crichton asked.
"Yes sir."
"Good, you've just volunteered to take care of recalibrating the isolinear circuitry in the waste-reclimation system," Crichton said, slapping a hyrdospanner into Varn's hand and pointing him towards the control-console he'd been heading towards himself.
"Um.. thank you, sir?" Varn asked, heading towards the console.
"And welcome to the GATEWAY," Crichton said, falling in-step beside the Lt. JG and patting him on the back. "It's going to be a barrel of laughs."
============================================================
NRPG: Thought I'd start fleshing out some of the new NPC's.
JUSTIN: Hope I did okay with Thomas. Let me know if you want to do a JP, and welcome to the GATEWAY!
Shawn
a.k.a.
Jake Crichton, Lieutenant
Chief of Engineering
GATEWAY Station, GS-2
---------------------------------
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Oct 13 2008 - 03:10:16 PDT