Swords and Mirrors
Posted on Sun Oct 16th, 2022 @ 8:11pm by Uhlan Ezra Perez
884 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Chapter VI: Racing the Storm
Location: Drozana Station
Timeline: 238704.20
After their visit to medbay, Perez decided to head to Drozana, both for some distraction and for some shopping. Following a quick bite of lunch at a small stall run by a grumpy-looking Trill, they were wandering across the bazaar when they spotted a shop selling a variety of weaponry. Their interest piqued, they walked over to have a look.
"You there!", the Ferengi vendor shouted out in Perez' direction. "You have the looks of a martial artist about you! Tell me, how are you with twin swords?" The young Terran cocked their head. "What've you got?"
With a wide grin, the Ferengi reached below the table, strewn with knives, axes, and various other close-range weaponry, and produced a box made of dark wood, with copper fittings, roughly pushing aside some of his other wares to make room for it on the table. He then carefully opened it, revealing a pair of short, curved swords, with their handles wrapped in black leather, with blackened metal fittings with copper detailing. The swords were in their scabbards, made from seemingly the same wood as the case, equally with copper adornments.
"There were crafted by a Vulcan blademaster, inspired by the materials and techniques used by some of Earth's finest blacksmiths of old," the Ferengi explained, still grinning. Curious, Perez gently lifted one of the weapons out of the case, and drew the blade. It appeared to be of a layered construction, no longer than Perez' forearm, with the main body of the blade made of blackened steel, separated from the cutting edge by a thin line of copper. The edge itself showed an elaborate damascus steel pattern. When Perez twirled the weapon in their hand, they noticed it was surprisingly light, with a perfect balance. A closer look revealed a maker's mark near the place where the blade met the hilt - styled after a Japanese mon, but with two Vulcan letters. Fine craftmanship for sure, but something about the weapons seemed... odd.
With a nod, Perez sheathed the blade, and replaced it in the case. "Seems like fine work. How'd you get your hands on them?"
The Ferengi chuckled. "Now, now. Don't ask questions you don't want to know. They can be yours, for a very reasonable price!"
Perez chuckled themselves. "You and I may disagree on what constitutes a reasonable price. I've dealt with your kind before, after all." They reached into their pocket, and took out a handful of latinum, carefully counting it out onto the counter. "That's all I have on me. So there's no point in trying to get more."
The vendor's eyes went to the money on the table, then to the disruptor pistol and dagger on Perez' belt. After a moment of silence, he sighed. "My young friend, you do know how to strike a bargain. Fine, then. Take them. Take the case, too, it's part of the set."
"You have excellent business sense." Perez smiled and, taking the case under their arm, took their leave from the stall. They'd be long gone before the Ferengi would notice that half the latinum he'd received was fake. Business sense indeed. They laughed inwardly and headed to a café on another level of the station.
At the café, with a nice, hot coffee in front of them, Perez opened the case once again, and took the two swords out. Something was nagging on the back of their mind, but they could not explain what it was. When they looked again at the maker's mark on the inside of the case, however, they realised what it was. The mark itself! They drew their dagger, part of their old Terran-issued equipment, even though it was now in a plain scabbard, and scanned the weapon for its own mark. And, indeed, it was identical. The twin swords had not been made by any Vulcan smith - it had been the personal smith to the Terran Imperial Court! A quick scan of the swords with a tricorder confirmed their suspicion. These blades had been forged in the other universe!
"Figured it out yet?" A voice behind them made Perez swirl around, one of the swords now drawn. Standing there was a young human woman. "Been a while, hansha."
Perez couldn't believe their eyes. "Shi? What the hell are you doing here?"
Shizune smiled. "Helping. You mentioned your old Captain needed help. Well, I offered her my assistance. I am, after all, a programmer."
The Terran sighed, and replaced the sword in its sheath, and in the case. "And what does that have to do with these?"
Their counterpart laughed. "You didn't wonder why the Ferengi was so quick to sell them to you? Why, I saw them at his stall, recognised the maker's mark, and bribed him. Told him to sell them to you, and only you, and to take whatever you were offering for them."
"I should test how sharp they are by cutting you into slices," Perez replied with a laugh of their own. "So, are you staying around?"
Shizune nodded. "For a while, yes. At least until the end of the operation. I want to try what your ship's cook made of those family recipes you told me about. How about dinner?"
Perez smiled. "It's a date."
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