Chapter 41: Bounty
March 2414
“Are you out of your mind?”
The Ferengi whose sanity had just been questioned was flanked by Nausicaans and standing beside an unconscious red-haired woman. Though her ears were hidden, the green blood pooling beneath her betrayed her heritage. The Ferengi laughed, “Ten thousand bars of gold pressed latinum say my mind is just fine.”
“Ten thousand? Who would pay that much for… for this?”
“Some Klingon General in the Archanis Sector. Take us across the border, and you’ll get ten percent.”
“You’re going to deal with Klingons?! No. Nononono. You blew up the entire transport! Do you have any idea how many people were onboard? I’m not a murderer. That wasn’t part of the deal. Look, I’ll take you to Risa, just like we agreed. And I expect my usual ten bar transit fee. After that, you’re on your own. I don’t want any part of this.”
The Ferengi shrugged, his nonchalance in stark contrast to the Human’s growing anxiety, “Suit yourself, Hewmon, more profit for me!”
“Get out of here!” the Human barked, before motioning to the woman exsanguinating on the floor of his ready room, “And clean up that mess! If this gets traced back to me, I’ll make sure the Federation Magistrate knows all about your role in it!”
91174, four days later…
“If you’re wasting my time, Ferengi, my targ will dine well tonight.”
The well-dress Ferengi looked totally out of place in the dilapidated cargo bay of the Klingon freighter - especially without his Nausicaans. “You’re going to be very pleased with what I have to offer.”
“Impress me, little man.”
With a subtle touch to a device hiding below the cuff of his sleeve, the red shimmer of the transporter deposited a targ cage beside the Ferengi. Inside, sat the small red-haired Romulan. She was pale. Paler than any Romulan should ever be. Her abdominal wound appeared to have been treated with nothing more than a crude bandage. But she was awake, even if only barely.
“What is this?” the Klingon snarled.
“This, my friend, is Doctor Kirina t’Nalah. Too many aliases to list. Formerly of the Tal Shiar; formerly of the Romulan Republic; And formerly a treasured occupant of General Wrot’Ka’s brig. From what I hear, Captain, he’s very interested in her … safe return.” The Ferengi pauses to kick the cage, “Just think of the prestige you’d gain from bringing him such a valuable prize.”
The Klingon Captain laughed, “You think I’m a fool, Ferengi? You can’t find anyone else to take you across the border, or you’d already be on your way to FOB: Kargas.”
“I’ll give you one percent of the bounty, that’s a hundred bars of gold pressed latinum. You could buy a new ship for your house!”
“Try again.”
“Two percent!”
“Thirty.”
“Three!”
“Thirty.”
“You’re smarter than you look, Klingon. I’ll give you five percent.”
“You’ll give me twenty, up front, right now. And I won’t kill you where you stand.”
“Up front?”
“Consider it a very small down-payment for your ten thousand bars.”
The Ferengi tapped his foot against the cage nervously for a minute or two. The Klingon already knew what he would decide, so he had no problem letting him think about it.
“I can do fifteen percent up front, the rest after I get the reward.”
“Done. Make the transfer.”
The caged Romulan spoke quietly, scathingly, “Veruul.” The Ferengi kicked the cage again in response, before pulling out his PADD. He tapped in a few commands, and then turned it around for the Klingon’s thumbprint. The Klingon smiled and gladly provided his thumbprint.
“The latinum’s been transferred to your account. Now, I’ll just get my-…”
Before he could finish the sentence, he hit the floor. The Klingon Captain reholstered his disruptor and walked over to a wall shelf. It didn’t take long for him to return to the unconscious Ferengi with a small box. He set the box down on the floor and rolled the Ferengi over onto his back. Then he opened the box.
A small, pink, six-legged creature emerged and made a beeline for the Ferengi. Without any prompting, it crawled up the man’s lobes, onto his face, and into his mouth. The Klingon Captain looked on as the Ferengi’s eyes snapped open and he hoisted himself to his feet. He shuddered.
“Disgusting creatures, these. You couldn’t have found someone more palatable?”
“You’ll find him useful.” The Klingon pauses to look at the Romulan, “And this one…”
“This one will be useful as well.”