MSNPC DaiMon Slek - The Slek Gambit

[David H]

   ((FMS Fortuna - Bridge))

Believing he had the upper hand, Slek squealed with delight as he was about to harvest the dark secrets of Starfleet Intelligence from the pretty head of Commander MacKenna. That was until he saw the little Federation starship move closer to the Space Hulk on his viewer. He turned his head to his Ops officer and barked.

Slek: What is he doing!?

The Ferengi bridge officers were in a panic as they tried to refine their scans and ascertain what exactly the Federation ship was up to. Slek snorted hot air from his pig-like nose in frustration.

Ops: The ship is heading toward the hulk on an intercept course. We're being hailed...

Slek: Open a channel!

Shayne: =/\= DaiMon Slek, I am retrieving my crew from the hulk. If you’d care to have your staff rescued, let me know. Otherwise, keep clear. =/\=

A furious indignation overtook the Ferengi leader. Of all the nerve! 

Slek: =/\= You do not have my permission to advance on my property, Captain! Withdraw, immediately! =/\=

Shayne: =/\= The moment I take orders from a slug is the moment you hold sway with me, DaiMon. =/\=
 
Insults and witty barbs! And they say never do business with the Federation. Slek was losing his temper rapidly. He scanned his bridge with a stern look, noting those of his officers who had heard the Federation Captain's remarks and might have found them amusing. He was beginning to lose interest in his guests, now only revenge and recompense were swimming in his four-lobed brain.
 
MacKenna: ::To herself.::You will regret this, DaiMon...

He half-heard the wench in the black uniform. She was of no use to him now. His plans hadn't been executed properly, and he would never get away with secret stealing now the Federation were advancing on the hulk. What disgusted him even more was that they were right. Time was of the essence now. A battle between the Feds and himself. Who could get to the Hulk quicker?

Collins: You feel it now, don't you, DaiMon? How all this "easy money" is slipping away. Just because you had to throw your weight around before you really had it.  It's RICH isn't it? Well, YOU aren't, obviously. But it's rich in irony. You can't buy that feeling, DaiMon.
 
Slek: =/\= Do not test me, Hu-mon! I am not like the simpering lobe-less animals you may have encountered of my species before today! =/\=
 
Shayne: =/\= On the contrary, DaiMon- each of their lunches proved more threatening than you. Go be charitable, you semi-sentient defect… =/\=
 
The silence on the bridge now was deafening even to Ferengi hearing. His men were beginning to look around at each other, silently questioning whether Slek had the advantage he claimed he had. If he lost the men, he was done for! And after all the money he'd paid them! Insufferable little ingrates!

MacKenna: You're in trouble now.

A red fury overcame him, and his first instinct was to lash out. He grabbed her by her pretty throat. The size difference amused him. His large orange paw enclosed around her petite alabaster neck. 

Collins: Let her go, Slek. And The Captain MIGHT let you live.

Killing her would only satisfy him for a moment. He had bigger fish to fry now. He cast the woman aside with a grunt and returned to his command chair.

Slek: Tell him to withdraw! Or by the Blessed Exchequer I will open fire!
 
The viewscreen flickered to life and once again brought him face to face with his Hu-mon foe. This Federation Captain had a lot of brass to go head to head with him. While Ferengi weren't known for their prowess in battle, he wasn't about to turn tail and run like others' would.
 
Collins: He's about to dock with the hulk. You really wanna risk the damage to your "priceless" find? You fire on us while docked, you could crack that hulk like cordwood.

MacKenna: Indeed, perhaps making a run at it is not the best idea. You should have the maps. You can save them that way.

The fat Ferengi merely grunted in response. He would do nothing to assist the Federation this day. However the terse look on Shayne's face before he cut the line spoke volumes. Slek cast a curious eye over to MacKenna, and the red welt he'd backhanded onto her face moments before. The Captain spotted it, and everything about him changed. You didn't need to be a world-class Tongo player to spot someone's tell. 

He had feelings for this Starfleet spook. And that was the greatest piece of intel Slek could have gained in this confrontation. How else could you hurt a man aside from his finances? His heart, of course.

MacKenna: You can yet save yourself, maybe.

Slek: What is there to save, Starfleet?

On the other side of his chair, the tall man spoke again. 

Collins: I bet my family's money is looking pretty good right about now, huh?

MacKenna: You've already lost.

Slek: This was never about profit, Hu-mon. Don't you see what that Ark represents? Latinum is all well and good on Ferenginar, but what is latinum without the power it also brings? This expedition was about restoring my name. Regaining my lost influence and position in Ferengi society...

Collins: Even if that's true, the Captain is about to have our people back AND yours. Are you going to try to sue for them back or try an exchange? Because, I'll tell you right now, The Captain isn't going to come to the table with anything less than a dozen photonic torpedoes.

Slek slumped in his chair and exhaled.

Slek: Revenge, Commander? For over two hundred years Starfleet has been the extolers of peace and virtue. And now you're prepared to blow me out of the universe because you don't like the way I do business? Is your Captain that cruel, sir? That evil?

Tactical Officer: DaiMon! The Starfleet ship is powering weapons!

Slek removed himself from the command chair again. This was becoming a regular exercise of late. He could almost feel the pounds shedding from his rotund frame as he stomped down the bridge to the tactical dome.

Slek: What are they targeting?

Tactical: Primary shields. It looks like they're channeling warp power to their phaser banks. 

Slek: All power to the forward shields! Prepare to return fire on my command!

Just as he finished his command the ship rocked as the phasers from the Arrow crippled the Marauder. The shields held - briefly - as the bridge of the Fortuna erupted into a shower of sparks and console smoke. The decking seemed to come away from Slek and he fell on his back, upturned like a tortoise, and he writhed and wriggled to turn himself over. 

Power was leaking from his ship. The bridge team were running around shrieking in typical Ferengi style trying to put out the fires which popped around the bridge. Others were trying to stabilize the power grid and keep the ship from buckling. Around him he was aware of a scuffle. The Science One seemed to have a concealed weapon and was thwarting his would-be captors. The Red Head was nowhere in sight. Slek rolled onto his front and regained his footing.

Slek: Report!

Tactical: Shields are at nine percent! Massive damage to structural integrity, and the EPS grid has been fried. We won't stand another barrage!

MacKenna: Response

Collins: I think the antimatter containment has been damaged. It won't be too long before it has a full-tilt leak.

His ship was lost. The attack from Starfleet had sealed its fate, but all was not lost. He could still deal a blow to his Federation foe.

Slek: ::To Tactical:: Phaser status?

Tactical: Minimal, DaiMon! We need all available power for the life support systems and structural integrity.

Slek: Bah! ::He almost spat.::

MacKenna: Response

Collins: A few hours, Commander. Tops.

MacKenna: Response

He had lost. Within hours his ship would explode, he and his fortunes with it. He turned to the Federation intruders and snarled, his pointy teeth bared.

Slek: ::Spitting.:: Never do business with Starfleet! They teach us that in Junior Business School!

MacKenna/Collins: Response

He stomped over to his command chair and keyed in a few commands.

Slek: Open a channel to the Arrow!

The Comms officer pressed his domed console and the Hu-mon Captain was face to face with him again.

Shayne: Response

Slek: Was it worth it, Captain?

Shayne: Response

Slek had only one thing to say. He glanced at the pretty Red Head one more time, then back to the Captain. He smiled a toothy grin.

Slek: See you in the Divine Treasury, Captain!

Shayne: Response

The line cut, and Slek pressed a final button on his console.

Slek: Computer, initiate emergency procedure "Slek07"! Prepare for emergency transport!

With the last vestiges of power the computer had, it clicked and beeped the affirmative. A new series of klaxons bleeped and deep within the ship the warp core grumbled and coughed like a sick bear. Before his communication with Shayne, Slek had keyed in the internal transporter system to lock onto himself and the Starfleet scum on his mark. Now it was time.

Slek: Energize!

The shields of the Fortuna dropped, and the transporters kicked in, using every last ounce of power available. Slek, Collins and MacKenna disappeared in a shiny orange swirl before the containment of the Fortuna's warp core disengaged. The self-destruct sequence had been rigged to silent, so not even his own bridge crew - loyal to the last - were aware of their impending doom as their leader made his cowardly escape.

   ((Exterior: Space))

The bulky toad-like form of the FMS Fortuna cracked with the pressure of the warp core breach. As the matter/anti-matter containment failed, it suddenly and ferociously atomised into nothing, the shock wave of the massive explosion rocking the little Saber class and the Hulk simultaneously. Space dust was all that was left of the Ferengi vessel in the wake of the breach.

   ((The "Space Hulk" - Cargo Bay))

The Ferengi transporter deposited them roughly in the vast cargo bay of the hulk. Slek had used his knowledge of the schematics of the vast Ark to pinpoint a safe transporter site, and he was grateful the interference hadn't been too bad on this side of the ship. He grinned to himself at the irony that the schematics the Feds were so rapturous about did actually save the day. 

The Fortuna was lost, but it wasn't the end of the world. He had enough latinum to buy a new ship and crew. A better ship. And a better crew. What was much more delightful was the righteous Starfleet Captain believed he had killed Slek and his own crew in his moment of rage. 

Time was running out now, and he knew he had to get moving. His shuttle was docked beyond the next tunnel, and he knew now that Bregg - his Second - was dead. Either that or it was a rather convincing fake severed head looking back at him from atop a storage crate across the room. He quickly checked his phaser and pulled out an emergency tricorder. He didn't have much time to find the treasure he'd been tasked with retrieving and get to his shuttle. As quick as his pudgy arms would allow he drew his phaser and pointed it at the two Starfleeters.

Collins/MacKenna: Response

Slek: Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you, Starfleet. ::Beat.:: See you around...

MacKenna/Collins: Response

Slek: ::Tutting.:: Gratitude costs nothing, y'know! I could have left you on my bridge to be atomised. Luckily, I have the lobes to recognise future investments when I see them.

MacKenna/Collins: Response

TAG

MSNPC DaiMon Slek

Commanding Officer

What Was Once The FMS Fortuna

As simmed by:

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Lt. Commander Maz Rodan

First Officer

USS Arrow, NCC 69829

C237708DW0

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