A Little Bit of Loot

Posted on Sun Jul 29th, 2018 @ 5:35am by Captain Charybdis MacGregor & Commander Yuna Raza & Commander Maur Weaver
Edited on on Sun Jul 29th, 2018 @ 5:35am

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Present Tense
Location: USS Victory, Deck 17, Hangar Deck
Timeline: Pre-Launch 21 days, 07:14 hours local time

Hanger +45 hrs since Change of Command

It started innocently enough. To keep her out of trouble and out of sight of the Captain, Chief Engineer Weaver had assigned Able Spacer Apprentice Susan Carver to clean the Captain's Yacht, stowed out of sight and out of mind against the bulkhead furthest away from the aft clamshell doors. With Chief Weaver out of sight and out of mind, ASA Carver collected some cleaning supplies from aft stowage and made her way into the cabin.

Carver wasn't necessarily ignorant, or incompetent, just young and inexperienced. She'd enlisted in Star Fleet actually days before she graduated from Secondary, and stars filled her eyes. She and Rissa were among just a few hand-picked just weeks into training to crew a new starship, and by a Captain, too!, and quite frankly, it wasn't what she'd imagined being in space would be like. It was a lot more drudge work than she'd thought, and she felt the fool, especially after being taken in by Captain Herod. Still, she began to clean, scrub, and...

Oh, crap. Her hands went to her mouth, she hadn't meant to break it, the panel had just been poorly secured...it fell open and parts fell out. She might have been assigned to engineering, but she didn't have a clue and she stood there, hands over her mouth, frantically wondering what to do, she realized that the string was still tied from her left wrist to the communicator at her belt. That was another small embarassment, but the Chief had made his point: she'd never misplace that piece of equipment ever again. Flipping it open, she hesitantly used it for the first time: "Chief Weaver? Chief Weaver? This is Able Spacer Carver, I have a problem in the Captain's Yacht."

Maur rolled off his bunk, closing his own communicator. All he'd managed to do is kick his boots off and lay back before the call came. Two days without sleep was finally taking its toll on his mind and body, but he still recognized that fit of terror in the poor girl's voice. He was pretty sure that as a piece of coal, she could be pressured into a diamond...but it would take time. Within three minutes, he was aft and climbing into the small warp-capable craft.

"What's the problem, Carver," he asked gently, so as not to startle her even as his eyes took in the damage. Hesitantly, then with more speed and less fear, she began to pour out the story in far too many words and gestures. Hushing her, he took a knee and looked at the parts that had fallen out - a block of metal about five centimeters across, a centimeter deep, and broken...

"I didn't mean to break it, honest, Chief!"

"s'all right, Carver, you done good...I think." he pulled his communicator and said, "Security Chief to Hanger." His voice was cold.

LT Commander Yuna Celes was working out with her troops in the ships gym, running them through a grueling routine involving cardio bursts interspaced with heavy duty resistance training.

" Now drop and 20 push ups!" She called, hitting the deck and pumping out 20 pushups on her toes in short order. Her shoulders burned with the effort but she wasn't going to give in before her team. They were a team, they trained as one, and they acted as one.

Just as soon as she jumped back to her feet, the call for her to report to the hanger came through the ships comm.

" Crap in a bucket. Alright everyone, cool down and grab a shower, I'll be back shortly" She puffed, grabbing her towel and dabbing her spotted brow to absorb the sweat.

5 minutes later she jogged into the hanger, still dressed in her workout gear, but her weapons holster slung low on her hips.

Taking a look around, all she saw was a single young woman standing around the Captains Yacht...

" Okkkkay, someone want to tell me what's going on?" She asked, approaching the girl - she was younger than she appeared at first glance. She was also blonde, curvy, buxom, and one of those types that would never have trouble attracting her share of lovers. She also looked frightened and out-of-place. Her rank was that of Able Spacer Apprentice.

Standing in front of the Captain's Yacht, Susan Carver snapped to attention, that had at least taken hold during her abbreviated training, then she saluted. "Uh, ma'am, sir, uh..." and she defaulted to her superior. "Chief Weaver wanted me to bring you in, I didn't mean to break it..." she was definitely frightened at this point. It had probably been brought on by Herod's inappropriate-at-best sense of discipline.

She looked askance at the Security Chief. "I told him I didn't mean to break it, honest!"

" Didn't mean to break what crewman?" Yuna asked, looking at the Captains' Yacht. How the hell did Char end up with a Yacht? Obviously things were going well with Starfleet Command lately.

"The console!" The poor girl was almost ready to cry, or so it seemed. From inside the open hatch, there came a call, a man's voice. "Carver! Is the Security Chief here yet?"

"Don't put me in a cell," the poor girl almost begged. "It was an accident!"
" Yes the security chief is here" Yuna shouted so whoever it was in the hatch. " Is all this really about a damaged console?" She asked, wondering why they hadn't just called engineering to get the unit repaired.

"Great, c'mon in, you too, Carver!" came the call back. The young woman obeyed, though her body language was saying, 'run' to anyone with half a brain. She followed Yuna on board...

It was a yacht, sure enough. It was a double-sized shuttle mounted on a warp sled, and the word yacht certainly fit: the consoles were inlaid with wood and high cost metals, the controls were state of the art, even perhaps a little in advance of what was standard throughout the Fleet. The deck was carpeted, and there was an air of excess in the forward cabin. Under one of the consoles, a man in uniform was working, a pile of somethings just behind his head, just slightly out of sight.

He looked up and swung himself up to his feet. "Commander Celes, right?" he said, offering his right hand in a handshake. Chief Weaver was about six foot, mostly broad across the shoulders and definitely balding, with a fringe of still-brown hair around the backside of his head, stretching from ear to ear. "Glad to meetcha, I heard yer in with the Captain's team...I think she'd like a look at this."

Maur held out the small block - it had to be gold-pressed Latinum.

Yuna took the small block, turning it over in her hands. It felt like latinum, looked like latinum. But what was latinum doing in a shuttle?

" Glad to meet you as well Chief. Please tell me, when was this found?" She asked, her eyes still on the golden brick.

"Carver here," Maur said, "was doing standard maintenance and housekeeping, and stumbled across it. I doubt many other folk would've found it, she dun good." He gave Carver a smile - the young woman's mouth fell open and her eyes were filled with something akin to amazement. "'bout, what, ten minutes ago, fifteen? She called me to verify, and I called you."

Susan Carver couldn't believe it. She wasn't going to the brig, she...she didn't know what she was, but it certainly wasn't in trouble. The young woman just nodded agreement, unsure of what to say.

" Well, it seems to be latinum, where's abouts did you find it?" Yuna asked, pulling a tricorder unit off a nearby console to scan the brick. Oh what a lovely little shiney brick it was. She really didn't notice the tricorder was not only brand new, but essentially, 'next year's model'. And gilt with precious metals.

"Careful, Commander, can I call you Yuna?" Maur asked, "damn stuff's addictive, just like gold
back in the day. You look at it, your soul gets captured just that little bit, then a little bit more." He took a deep sigh. "Carver? Go ahead, show her, then I'll add my bit."

"Um, yes, Sir," the young woman said slowly, uncertainly. "Uh, I was cleaning and I bumped this console here," she indicated the one that had by this time been disassembled from the bottom, "and the end fell off and that brick fell out."

Maur gave Carver a reassuring smile. "I've found six more, I'm now going to have to get a team in here to disassemble and reassemble this damn ship to see what else Herod hid in here." He leaned tiredly against one of the very comfortable seats before a console. "I suspect that we'll need to bring in Sciences and Navigation to pull everything out of the nav systems, and I'm sure Skipper and Ex will want to see this."

" Until we know more information, it's 'owner' will remain unknown." Yuna cautioned, wishing she could ping this on their old gastly Captain. Many years in the field had taught her that even though something looks like cat, smells like a cat, and walks like a cat, didn't make it a cat.

" I'm going to quarantine this entire area including the hanger until we can ascertain if there are any more bricks and their 'owner' is confirmed. Only security personnel and those with the appropriate clearance will be allowed entry, is that understood?" She asked all the occupants of the shuttle.

"I'll put a team together to strip the ship and put 'er back together," Maur nodded. "Once yer folks show up, I'll swing out and get mine here. Until that happens...Carver, damn fine job. Take the rest of the day, you've earned it, dont' miss your morning shift. " Yes the security chief is here" Yuna shouted so whoever it was in the hatch. " Is all this really about a damaged console?" She asked, wondering why they hadn't just called engineering to get the unit repaired.

"Great, c'mon in, you too, Carver!" came the call back. The young woman obeyed, though her body language was saying, 'run' to anyone with half a brain. She followed Yuna on board...

It was a yacht, sure enough. It was a double-sized shuttle mounted on a warp sled, and the word yacht certainly fit: the consoles were inlaid with wood and high cost metals, the controls were state of the art, even perhaps a little in advance of what was standard throughout the Fleet. The deck was carpeted, and there was an air of excess in the forward cabin. Under one of the consoles, a man in uniform was working, a pile of somethings just behind his head, just slightly out of sight.

He looked up and swung himself up to his feet. "Commander Celes, right?" he said, offering his right hand in a handshake. Chief Weaver was about six foot, mostly broad across the shoulders and definitely balding, with a fringe of still-brown hair around the backside of his head, stretching from ear to ear. "Glad to meetcha, I heard yer in with the Captain's team...I think she'd like a look at this."

Maur held out the small block - it had to be gold-pressed Latinum.

Yuna took the small block, turning it over in her hands. It felt like latinum, looked like latinum. But what was latinum doing in a shuttle?

" Glad to meet you as well Chief. Please tell me, when was this found?" She asked, her eyes still on the golden brick.

"Carver here," Maur said, "was doing standard maintenance and housekeeping, and stumbled across it. I doubt many other folk would've found it, she dun good." He gave Carver a smile - the young woman's mouth fell open and her eyes were filled with something akin to amazement. "'bout, what, ten minutes ago, fifteen? She called me to verify, and I called you."

Susan Carver couldn't believe it. She wasn't going to the brig, she...she didn't know what she was, but it certainly wasn't in trouble. The young woman just nodded agreement, unsure of what to say.

" Well, it seems to be latinum, where's abouts did you find it?" Yuna asked, pulling a tricorder unit off a nearby console to scan the brick. Oh what a lovely little shiney brick it was. She really didn't notice the tricorder was not only brand new, but essentially, 'next year's model'. And gilt with precious metals.

"Careful, Commander, can I call you Yuna?" Maur asked, "damn stuff's addictive, just like gold Shoo."

Susan's eyes were wide and she just nodded. "Yes, sir, thankyousir."

Before she could bust loose, Maur raised a finger. "Not a word of this. To anyone. Capice?"

"YES SIR!" and the girl was gone.

He turned to Yuna. "I need a bag, for damn sure. Or a lockable case. This stuff doesn't ride through transporters that well."

" I can store it in the security office if you like, we have a number of secured containers for this kind of thing" Celes offered, knowing that if she let those bricks out of her sight, they'd be goneskies.

"They're yours, I don't want 'em near me, for all I'm concerned, you could space 'em and I'd be happy." Maur shook his head. "Tell you what, you want to file the report of that to the Skipper or should I - and when you take this batch, make sure one of yer folks bring back another case. Where there's one, there's more." He looked at the small pile. "Already got a passel, which is a
baker's dozen less six, and..." the engineer looked about. "There's more. There has to be."

Yuna looked around the partially disassembled cabin and noticed little glimmers of latinum stashed just about everywhere, it was the proverbial treasure trove, enough to buy small planet if you wanted too. What the hell were they going to do with it all.

" I got an idea. I'll get this sent to the brig with a 24 hour guard. Forcefields the works. My holding boxes aint gonna hold this much loot" She commented.

"Your call, not my problem, Commander," Maur said tiredly. "What I know is I need to get at this ship, get a team in here to weasel out all the crap, and maybe get a few hours sleep." He looked around. "I hadn't paid attention before, and now I'm too tired - but does this look right to you?" he gestured around the cabin. "Screw it, I need to get back to work."

" I can get a security detail in here to pull out all the latinum - but I can't guarentee they'll leave it in the best condition when they're done" Yuna offered, seeing how tired the Chief was.

"No, thank you, though, I'd like to keep this bird in one piece, especially since I figure that there's all sorts of codes and coordinates in the computers, just waitin' for someone to take this ship wherever it is they're supposed to go, so I figure we're gonna need to bring in Sciences and Navigation to get that out - I'm good with computers, but I ain't touchin' these." He grinned. "'sides, I 'spect the Captain wouldn't mind having her very own yacht for missions that require a delicate touch, and I'd hate to break her little toys." He waved his hands. "Let me get back to work, and we'll figure it out as it goes. Just get your folks in and I'll bring in a team to do the work."

" Sounds like a plan, thank you for your efforts Chief" Yuna smiled and turned back to the small pile of latinum, her eyes lighting up like a miser. If only it were hers.

 

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