Mistress Of The Winter Constellations

[T'Astra]

The Tendi family estate, Orion.

D'Vana Tendi stood at her window, her gaze lost in the grey, rain-soaked streets below. Her slender, green fingers drummed a melancholic rhythm on the windowsill as she lost herself in thought. The dull colors of the sky matched the somber mood that had settled over the entire household. The air was heavy with anticipation, yet it was a strained, anxious silence that filled every room.

With a sigh, she turned away from the window and began to walk, her feet barely making a sound as she made her way outside. Several minutes later, she found herself in front of the crumbling hull of an abandoned starship, its once-sleek lines now weathered and worn. This was, and had always been, her sanctuary – a symbol of hope, her place of escape.

D'Vana climbed through the hatch and into the musty darkness of the ship. The air was thick with the scent of decay and neglect, but to D'Vana, it was the smell of adventure. She fumbled for the lights, and the ship's interior flickered to life, casting eerie shadows on the walls. She made her way to what must have been the Captain's ready room and settled into the worn-out chair, feeling the familiar contours mold to her body.

She picked up her pseudo-Starfleet tab, with which she pretended to be a Starfleet officer, turned on her recorder, and began to speak.

"D'Vana's log, or...no, Science Officer's log, Stardate...whatever the Starfleet guys would say," D'Vana said with a chuckle that was quickly replaced by soberness.

"Today is basically a continuation of one of the worst days of my life. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever make it out of this phase and achieve my dreams, or perhaps the concept of achieving dreams is only a myth.

I've completed 14 years of training for a position that I'd been chosen to occupy long before I even knew my name. And just when I'm to assume my position, Mother withdraws her approval, saying I must do something to earn it. Do what, exactly? Something she doesn't know yet.

To add to my misery, some of my family members get kidnapped by some damn aliens. My anxiety grows every minute.

Nonetheless, I and my family will overcome these challenges, and I will become a Starfleet officer someday.
End Recording"

Taking a deep breath, she hit play, saying to herself, "Let's see how Starfleet-y I sound."

A few seconds later,

"Shit! This sounds awkward," she muttered to herself as she stopped the recording and deleted it.

This was a therapeutic activity – at least, to her – that she engaged in whenever she faced a tough challenge, and this was no different. She would keep recording and deleting logs, which typically began with a summary of her challenges and ended with a positive affirmation, until she finally recorded one where she thought she sounded confident like a star fleet officer.

* * *

Why would anyone dare kidnap any member of one of the most revered families in the whole of Orion? One may ask.

Well, here it is:

The Tendi family had launched an attack on a shipment of weapons being transported to a new starbase by one of Starfleet's largest arms suppliers, who happened to be a Tamarian, Darmog.

However, a day prior, Darmog had suffered a devastating loss. His family's priceless heirloom, a special dagger, had been stolen from his personal quarters.

This dagger was different from the Betoken of Uzani presented to every Tamarian male once they turned ten as a rite of passage into adulthood.

This one, in particular, was presented to every male member of their family when they made their first major life accomplishment.

Darmog himself received his from his father when he delivered his first shipment of weapons to Starfleet, and he intended to present it to his son Kayshon, who had just graduated from the Star Fleet Academy and was about to get commissioned as a Star Fleet officer. This loss left Darmog feeling vulnerable and betrayed.

In a state of heightened paranoia, Darmog ordered the arrest of his closest servants, including a loyal servant (or so he thought) named Ti'Kor, who, unbeknownst to Darmog, was a genetically modified spy of the Orion family planted on him.

He also promoted a new team of servants and made changes to his original travel plans, which included renting a new vessel and hiring escort vessels from the Tamarian Space Forces to beef up security.

The attack by the Tendi pirates had failed terribly, as Ti'Kor was unavailable to inform them of these changes, to enable them to adjust their initial plans to match the new situation on ground. This led to the capture of three important members of the household, including D'Erika, D'Vana's sister.

The Tendi family enlisted the help of some Orion merchants who were trading partners to the Tamarians to negotiate for peace and the release of the Orion pirates.

* * *

A couple of hours later, and a slightly relieved D'Vana was back in her room, going through pictures which depicted her various adventures over the years. This emotional moment was interrupted by a knock on her door.

"You may come in", she responded.

She turned, (curious to know who was knocking) and saw D'Grt, a muscular Orion slaveboy about her age, bowing in courtesy as he delivered his message with quivering lips.

"I do not mean to disturb, but Mistress Shona requests your presence in the meeting chamber. The negotiation delegation has just concluded the first part of the meeting with Darmog, and formal reports are about to begin."

"Thank you, D'Grt. I'll be right there," she responded.

As she walked towards the meeting chamber, her mind went back to D'Grt. He had a frame that reminded her of her teenage romantic fantasies. "Were he not bound to me as a slave, I might even consider him a suitable husband," she mused to herself.

"We do not have all day, D'Vana!" Shona yelled irritably at her daughter, who was at the door of the chamber walking leisurely towards her seat, jolting her out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Mum," she replied, hastening her footsteps as she walked towards her seat beside her dad in the dimly lit chamber.

As D'Vana sat, her gaze drifted from the ethereal light cast on her father's face to the holographic display projecting the image of her uncle, G'hirk, who was making the report all the way from Tama.

Her thoughts slipped away like sand between her fingers, carrying her back to the inner conversation she was having with herself.

D'Grt wasn't the only slaveboy that appeared to catch her fancy; she also had a soft spot for Dlith, who once offered himself for punishment on behalf of her and D'Erika after they broke a special vase belonging to her mum while playing as kids. It had been ages since she'd last laid eyes on him. Shona had placed him as a deep-cover operative on Ferenginar.

She finally brought her focus back to the conversation going on in the room, just in time to hear G'hirk, her uncle, who was also the leader of the delegation, reeling out Darmog's terms for releasing the captured Orions.
These conditions were stated thus:

1. The Tendi family must swear an oath promising to relinquish all vessels and weapons seized from them during the failed raid and not attempt to reclaim them on any occasion in the future.

2. The Tendi family must locate and recover the heirloom stolen from Darmog within three days, starting from today.

3. Upon returning the stolen heirloom, the Tendi family must swear a binding oath, promising to refrain from attacking Darmog's ships, personnel, or interests in the future.

4. If the Tendi family fails to return the heirloom within the stipulated period, the kidnapped pirates will be donated to a Borg Cube. In addition, the attack will be treated as an attack on the entire Children of Tama. Darmog will influence the Tamarian Tribunal to impose trading restrictions on all Orions.

5. Failure to accept these terms and conditions will lead to the carrying out of the threats above with immediate effect.

A heavy silence fell upon the chamber as G'hirk finished outlining the conditions. A silence that perfectly encapsulated the fear, confusion, and rage brewing in their heads.

"Why would Darmog want us to find his heirloom when we didn't steal it?" She pondered.

To D'vana, These didn't sound like conditions her mother would agree to. They rather sounded like those that would make her declare war on a household.

But these weren't from an Orion household and for the first time ever, the lives of important family members were involved.

Her heart rate increased rapidly as she awaited her mother's pronouncement.

Shona, D'vana's mother suddenly broke the silence that seemed like it was never going to end.

"Save my daughter D'Erika and her fellow numskulls who let themselves get captured, I would have declared a war on that lizard head !!''

"Pledge of non-aggression, fair enough but forfeiture of our weapons and vessels and recovery of some heirloom we know nothing about in 3 days? that's extreme!! " D'vana's Dad, B'rt chipped in.

"If he gets the trade restrictions imposed on the Orions, we will be ostracized by the Syndicate and our dear queen will dissolve our household" He continued.

"That means we'll be accepting his shitty terms or does anyone have a better suggestion?" She asked, her tone reflecting a mix of fury and helplessness.

The room was silent as everyone nodded in agreement with her suggestion.

"Tell him we accept his conditions while we work out a strategy" Shona ordered G'hirk

"Yes Ma'am" he replied

Just then D'Vana spoke up. "I have a question mother"

"What happens to Ti'Kor? We have not been able to establish contact with him ever since this tragedy occurred."

G'hirk responded quickly, "We do not know yet but we suspect Darmog may have discovered him."

"We'll find out anyways, but right now our top priority is to get our captured kin out." Shona uttered with a tone of finality.

First things first, we find out who has the damn heirloom.

"D'Vana you'll be in charge of that mission, mobilise our black market intelligence apparatus across all quadrants, leave no stone unturned and no whisper unspoken until we find out who has the heirloom"

"Yes mother!!" D'Vana responded with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Speaking about leaving no stone unturned, I hereby request your authorisation to announce a 50 latinum bars reward for whoever first provides accurate information leading to the discovery of the heirloom" she continued.

"Granted", Shona responded and continued listing her plans.

"I do not mean to be negative but just in case we are unable to meet up with his deadline, G'hirk will map out all the Borg Cubes nearest to Tama.

Prepare all our flighting vessels, restock all ammo and have men ready on stand by.

That said you are all dismissed" She declared, bringing the meeting to a conclusion.

Quatri, a ghost town somewhere in Ferenginar, home world of the Ferengi, same day the 50 latinum bars reward was announced.

The atmosphere was equivalent to a cool quiet evening on planet earth. The last batch of shipment was being loaded into a ferengi pseudo-merchant ship by her crew.

"We are going to make a lot of profit !!!" Young Gant exclaimed, walking into the dimly lit storage room of his merchant ship rubbing his hands, as his aging uncle trudged along behind him.

His mammoth earlobes tingling at the mere sight of his merchandise.

His money-hungry mind was already estimating how much latinum he was going to make from his goods as well as how much more profit he would have made if he was in full control of the entire business.

Over the years, Rogg, Gant's uncle had run a successful smuggling network which involved contraband and stolen weapons, endangered animals and animal parts from different planets, stolen antique items, jewellery, fake items and whatever he felt would give him profit especially if it was illegal.

This network comprised of a few smaller merchants and gangs of different species who supplied him with stolen goods. There were also extremely aggressive klingon thugs who were responsible for protecting Rogg and his crew on their trips as long as he was able to maintain a steady supply of blood wine to them.

His merchant ship was like a modified pakled junk-ship. It was made up of many different parts from different ship models mostly military vessels.

As Rogg neared the end of his days, Gant gradually took control of the business although his uncle still came in to supervise every now and then much to Gant's displeasure.

"Is that a box load of starfleet trichorders?" Asked the old ferengi.

"Oh yes it is" Gant replied pride beaming in his voice.

"And you know what? They are not even original star fleet trichorders but I'll sell them at five times the price of the original." He boasted confidently.

"I would have been impressed if you wanted to sell for ten times" Rogg replied sharply giving Gant whose face had turned pale, a disappointed look.

"You still do not have eyes for profits" He continued, not minding the displeased look on his nephew's face.

As they resumed their tour of the storage room examining their merchandise, they came across a box containing a Tamarian heirloom.

They had acquired it from Jafad, a Tamarian member of their criminal network who was a junior servant to Darmog for a mere two bars of latinum.

"Is this not the heirloom on which the bounty of 50 latinum bars was placed?" Rogg asked

"It sure is" Gant replied.

Rogg's eyes gleamed with excitement as he carefully lifted the Tamarian heirloom out of the box. He examined it meticulously, taking note of every intricate detail. Gant watched with interest, a sly grin spreading across his face.

"Alright, here's the plan," Rogg said in a low voice. "We create a fake heirloom, one that's identical to this one in every way. We'll submit it to whoever placed the bounty and claim the 50 bars of latinum, we then sell the original to a collector and make more profit."

Gant nodded enthusiastically. "I think I've already got someone who can help us with the forgery. D'lith the artisan, was born for this. He'll be able to replicate the heirloom perfectly."

Rogg's eyes narrowed. "And what about the materials? We'll need something that matches the original's quality and authenticity."

Gant chuckled. "D'lith has established connections with suppliers of all sorts of manufacturing materials. I am sure they can provide the required materials."

 

[Daddycool101]

Description and story are reversed and post the story in threadmarks please, index doesn't show the word count.

 

[T'Astra]

Description and story are reversed and post the story in threadmarks please, index doesn't show the word count.

Click to shrink...

Thanks, I'll correct that.