To New Adventures...

Posted on Tue Apr 14th, 2020 @ 1:27am by Colonel Sehan t'Varis & Major Ashley Rogers

1,636 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Prologue: Before the Inferno
Location: Somewhere in the neutral zone
Timeline: 238610.05

It had been a successful few weeks for the crew of the Raven's Claw, and thus they had earned some shore leave. So, the crew had found a small, backwater tavern, on a small, backwater planet, and they were drinking away their hard-earned latinum. In a corner of the tavern, Raven was sipping on a glass of dark rum - her favourite beverage. Suddenly, there was a commotion. From the corner of her eye, she saw a gorn and one of the new engineers on her crew - a hotheaded half-klingon - stand with clenched fists. She was just about to stand and break up the looming fight, when she saw a human woman nearby respond to the commotion. With a smile, Raven leaned back in her seat and watched the situation unfold.

Ashley Rogers was enjoying some quiet time... her last "adventure" paid well, but took entirely too much effort. She took a long gulp of her drink... not exactly sure what she ordered, but it tasted like hell. She chuckles to herself. Hell. A fitting place for her. How the mighty have fallen... she almost had it all: a career... a wife... a home...

Out of the corner of her eye Ash looked up and saw a familiar face approaching a new face. The Gorn... a man whose name she can never remember... talks a good game, targeting fresh faces in the crowd, seems to have found a new victim. Ash downed her drink and winked at the bartender, who just rolled her eyes at her and said, "I'd care more if I didn't know you're worth the trouble to keep around..."

Ash smirked. Game on.

She kicked a chair towards the Gorn, buckling his leg as he was about to strike the half-Klingon. He turned to look at her, "Stay out of this, human. This is none of your concern."

"Oh... but it is. That there... is my friend," Ash said almost gleefully as she leapt across the tables and was upon the Gorn with a knife drawn against his neck, pinned against the wall behind him. "Now, are you going to leave my friend alone?" The Gorn nodded subtly to keep the blade from his throat. "Good," Ash smiled and she released him.

The half-Klingon looked over at the Gorn and said to Ash, "I could've handled..." The thought was unfinished as Ash pushed her new friend to the ground, as she fired a phaser blast hitting the Gorn in the chest.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" the half-Klingon yelled. "IS HE DEAD??"

"No..." Ash said as she walked over to the Gorn on the ground. She picked up his weapon and tossed it at her new friend. "But you would've been. Welcome to hell, friend."

The fight was over as quickly as it had begun. Raven knocked back the rest of her rum, before standing and walking over to her Klingon crewmember. "Hey, you. You're fired."

The young engineer looked at her with a bewildered look on his face. "Wha- what do you mean, fired?" "I mean, you are going to get your kit from the Claw and then disappear. I don't need people on my crew who just stand there and scream like a little girl while others take care of the dirty work. Now get out of my sight."

Without paying any more attention to the young man's whimpering and complaining, Raven turned to the woman who had saved his neck. "Thanks for helping me realize what a waste of space that idiot is." She looked at the Gorn on the floor. "I could see from the start that this one there was looking for trouble. And I was curious to see what would have happened." With a smirk, she turned back to the woman. "Can I buy you a drink for your trouble? Name's Raven, by the way."

"It was nothing... that Gorn can smell weakness. Your guy... former guy? Was going to get robbed... probably beaten... maybe killed," Ash shrugs. "It happens a lot here. Every so often I step in... keeps the riff-raff honest. I felt like being in a giving mood today. So... Raven, eh?" She quickly assessed the woman in front of her... one can never be too careful nowadays, anyone can be an enemy, no matter how attractive... Raven looks young and stands a full head shorter than Ash, but appearances can be deceiving. Anyone with a ship and crew that they can fire at will is someone that probably someone that should not be toyed with.

"A free drink is an offer I definitely can't refuse." With a smile, Ash extends a hand, "I'm Ashley Rogers. My friends call me Ash. So what brings you and your ship out this way?"

Raven shook the extended hand and smiled. "Ash. Pleasure." She waved to get the barkeeper's attention. "I'll have another rum, and one of whatever this good lady is having." Placing a few pieces of latinum on the bar, Raven turned back to her new companion. "To answer your question, shore leave. We've been having a few successful runs lately, so I'd say the crew earned a few drinks. What about yourself?"

Ash continued to consider the newcomer. "Successful runs, eh? Legal or illegal?" Seeing the brief hesitation from Raven, "I'm not law enforcement... not like there's really any laws out this way anyways. I haven't been that in a very long time. I'm actually slightly relieved that you have no idea who I am. One, it's a little refreshing to not have your past come back to haunt you every moment. Two, unless you're damn good at lying, you're not trying to collect some bounty on my head. But... allow me to enlighten you... A long time ago, I used to be Lt. Commander Ashley Rogers, Starfleet." She pulled out a comm badge out of her pocket: dirty, scuffed, and looking far worse for wear than in should, much like herself. "I'm sentimental fool for keeping this thing. But it reminds me, of why I'm out here." Ash held up the comm badge. "Years ago, I chose this because this was what was right. This... told me... that I'm more than the assassin that Section 31 trained me to be and that I shouldn't be the assassin that the Section brought out in me. That I'm better than that. That the high and mighty Starfleet was the right way to do things." She slammed the badge on the bar counter. "This was wrong. And it's a mistake that I'll never make again..." Ash looked up at Raven, "I tell you this... as a warning. Don't mess with me. Don't mess with those in which I protect. I have a lot of wrongs that I need to right..." She took a drink from her glass before changing the topic, "So.... your successful runs... what exactly, do you do?" Ash glared at Raven menacingly, silently implying the unspoken threat that belied the question.

Raven's eyes narrowed slightly as she listened to Ash. Why did she share all this with her, a stranger? Was this supposed to be a threat? Or a test? Or, indeed, a job application? When she finally finished speaking, Raven paused for a moment, carefully considering her reply. The short sword and pistol she carried on her belt, along with her general attire, would not have made her appear to be someone that was easily threatened - so what were the other woman's motives?

Finally, Raven spoke. "Impressive. A trained S31 assassin? Not normally information that is so freely shared." She chuckled. "As for our business, if you need a ship and a crew, we are for hire. Our specialities are providing armed escort or transportation. If what you need transported would invite undue attention from the authorities, we levy an additional fee." She took a sip from her drink. "Or are you looking for employment, now that we have one crewman less?"

Ash downed the rest of her drink and laughed at Raven, "I answer to to no one, but myself. But my services could prove to be valuable to what your specialties are. I'm not opposed to employment, if you were to offer it. But, loyalty is earned," she eyed the sword and pistol on Raven's belt as she lifted up her pant leg to expose a knife. "I'm not afraid of you. And I can see, you're not afraid of me, either. However, I'm open to a mutually beneficial agreement... which begs my original question... legal, or illegal?"

Raven chuckled. "I believe I already answered that question. As for mutually beneficial, I don't handle the financial details of the operation, but I am more than happy to call over our, how would you say, business manager. If he isn't drunk beyond his lobes yet, that is." She swiped a strand of her dark red hair out of her face. "Interested?"

Ash nodded at Raven, "Intrigued... pickings have been slim here lately. I'd like to broaden my horizons... I'm sure we can come up with a reasonable rate with your business manager... and looks like you hired yourself an assassin." She extended her hand again, "When's your next run?"

Raven took the offered hand and shook it. "Welcome to the crew. Report to the spaceport at 1300 hours tomorrow, bay 7, and we'll hammer out the details and get you settled on the ship. Departure is scheduled for 1730." She handed Ash a small card. "My contact details. Another drink?"

Ash took the card, reads it, and puts it in her pocket, "Sounds like a plan. I'll always accept another drink..." Ash flagged down the bartender and gestured for another round. When their drinks arrive, Ash raised her glass at Raven, "To new adventures..."

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