Bulok's Antiques

Posted on Mon Aug 31st, 2026 @ 11:44pm by Subcommander Kaiae t'Lien & Sublieutenant Juno Langley & Captain Freya Mannerheim
Edited on on Mon Aug 31st, 2026 @ 11:45pm

2,486 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Chapter IX: Shady Business
Location: Bulok's Antiques, Drozana Station
Timeline: 2387-10-18, evening

As soon as Ourainavassa dropped out near Drozana, Freya had ordered the ship to hold position in transporter range. This time, there was not going to be any shore leave, or any shenigans. This was business, plain and simple. Once the ship was in position, Freya and Kaiae transported over to the Station to meet with Bulok, the Ferengi merchant that had contracted them.

It hadn't taken long to find Bulok's Antiques, a small store just off the main bazaar. Freya had decided to fully adopt the 'Raven' persona, and swapped her uniform jacket for Raven's old signature trench coat. Dressed all in black, with her katana and dagger hanging from the belt, she appeared more pirate than mercenary - which was precisely the intended effect.

Before entering, the Captain turned to Kaiae. "Right then, here we are. Let's get the info, shall we?"

Kaiae nodded, and avoided any of the otherwise somewhat snarky comments she might have had at the moment: The Ferengi sense of hearing was exceptional, and she couldn't be sure that Bulok, or any of his associates, couldn't hear them even now. She had also gone with black for her outfit, but it was rather less pirate-esque than Freya's; a simple black silk tunic and pants, with a bit of decorative stitching in silver at the waist and wrists; and while carrying several weapons, all were concealed with the exception of the disruptor at her hip; Drozana was an environment where making it blatantly obvious you could make anyone messing with you regret it was of benefit.

Freya stepped forwards and pushed open the door. Inside, the store was reminiscent of a small warehouse, with shelves full of things all over the place. Behind the till stood a Ferengi in a garish purple and gold suit, casually counting a stack of latinum slips.

"We're closed," the Ferengi called out as he heard the Captain and the Subcommander enter, before looking up at them. "Oh. Right. You must be from that Romulan colony. Raven, was it?"

The Captain nodded. "Captain Mannerheim to you. You're Bulok then. We'll make it quick. Where's the cargo?"

Bulok held up his hands. "Oh, wait, now," he stammered. "That is not a way to conduct business, surely! No decorum! Seriously!"

One of Kaiae's eyebrows notched up a bit. "What would you consider to be decorum in this instance? I would think you would be concerned with moving as quickly as possible to get your cargo returned, given it's nature and value."

"I mean, of course, but still, manners and such!" The Ferengi appeared as if he was about to panic. "You know, proper conversation!"

Freya closed the distance to the merchant. "You hired us to recover your stuff. What else do we need to even have conversation about? So tell us where to start looking."

"Ah!" Bulok shrieked as he stumbled backwards. "Okay, okay, yes, you're right. Hang on." He rummaged around under the till for a moment, until his head popped back up. "Langley! Where's that chip with the flight records!"

Without a single word, Juno slammed the chip down on the counter. She kept her hand over it for a few seconds, before removing it and pushing it towards the Ferengi. Even though Bulok was all who was keeping her out of the clutches of Section 31, thoughts regularly entered Juno's head about what he would look like without his head. But until she found better employment, a thought is what it would remain. Her wages were measly, but enough to survive. She considered him sleazy, repulsive. Thankfully, her trusty blade to his throat had made it clear. She would not be satisfying Bulok's sexual urges. Defending him from his enemies made her feel dirty, but it was money. And it kept her from a far worse fate.

Freya raised an eyebrow at the woman who had just appeared seemingly out of nowhere - or, more likely out from behind the door right behind the till, she realised. She nodded, and turned back to the Ferengi. "So, flight records, eh?"

"Yep! Complete flight records for the cargo. Right up until we lost contact." Bulok picked up the chip and held it in his hand.

"Hand it over and we'll go recover your crate, and our weapons." The Captain held out her hand expectantly.

"If you are expecting some sort of compensation before providing the information, Mister Bulok, you are mistaken." Kaiae shrugged her eyebrows. "You hired us; you can either provide the information necessary to do the job, or we can leave, cancel the contract and find other employment, and you can explain to whomever purchased whatever you wish returned that you will, instead, be refunding their money." She cocked her head sideways slightly. "I would not be surprised if they demand adding interest or such to the amount as compensation, at that point."

"What? Why would?" Bulok shook his head. "Have it then, Romulan. But you bring up a good point, actually. How do I know you're actually going to hold up your end of the contract and not just grab the cargo and disappear? No, no. Langley, you go with them. Make sure I get the merchandise back."

If that wasn't an opportunity worth taking, what was? Any time away from Bulok was welcome. Maybe she'd even get some extra money. Or find an attractive woman to bunk up with. The close company of a woman was something Juno had missed, her last encounter a couple of months prior. "As you wish." she responded.

Kaiae rapidly considered the state of affairs: Taking anyone associated with the Ferengi aboard was a risk; but it was one she knew they would have a hard time refusing, give Bulok's statement on the matter was...actually quite sensible, really; she'd have absolutely done the same in a similar place, for similar concerns. And during what was admittedly an exceedingly brief observation period, it so far didn't seem like the woman even liked Bulok much, which hopefully meant she was be much less insufferable to have around than the Ferengi himself would have been. After a moment, she glanced briefly over at Freya and ever-so-slightly dipped her head to the captain.

Freya observed Kaiae's reaction to the suggestion, then turned to look at the woman Bulok had called 'Langley'. All in all, the woman appeared to look like a perfectly normal human, not much older than the Lynn twins. Of course, she knew far better than to assume anything about a person by just looking at them. After a moment, she nodded. "No point in arguing, is there. If the positions were reversed, I'd be doing just the same."

"Still," the Captain added, now turning towards the woman. "Langley, was it? If you're going to be on my ship for this ride, I need to know one thing. Are you going to be useful, or are you going to get in the way? If it's the former, great. If it's the latter, I'd recommend you stay in the guest quarters."

She looked at Freya, Kaiae, then back to Freya. "I'm being paid by my employer to travel on your ship to ensure the safe return of his property. Any services you want me to provide during the voyage will require payment." began Juno, assertively. Sure, being away from Bulok was a good thing. But it was he who paid her, not Freya. "The terms are half of the agreed fee into my account before departure, half into a holding account until my safe return." a pause. "If you don't agree, I won't be taking orders from anyone on your ship."

Freya couldn't help but chuckle as she shook her head. "That was not my question, Miss Langley. My question was whether you are going to slow us down. As for payment, since your employer, who in this situation also is our employer, insists on you being on board our vessel, your payment remains his responsibility. He is certainly not paying us enough to also pay to bring one of his people along." She shot a glance at Kaiae, then directly at Bulok. "In fact, he isn't really paying us at all. The main part of the shipment we have been tasked to recover is what he is trying to sell to us. Now, he said we'd get our items for free as payment for the safe return of one particular crate, but, I mean, he's a Ferengi. Personally, I'm still waiting for the small print."

"And I'm sure it would be an extra fee for the magnifying device required to actually read it." The sarcasm in Kaiae's voice was palpable, but vanished again when she then turned to Juno with a more serious tone. "As for not taking orders from anyone aboard, keep in mind that even a passenger or those aboard a ship for certain discrete purposes - such as the purpose of serving as your employer's representative for the recovery of his cargo - are required to obey certain orders from its commander and their designees, not to complete tasks but to avoid endangering the ship and crew, or for that matter, themselves."

"My Number One makes a good point as far as passengers taking direction is concerned, but then that should be obvious to everyone anyway," the Captain stated. "But regardless of that. Bulok." She stepped closer to the Ferengi. "I have changed my mind. If you want Miss Langley here to be on our ship, you will pay for that. We are not a charity, or a cruise liner. The fee?" She smirked and nodded her head towards Juno. "Well, she just stated her conditions for her service on board. We're not going to take her with us as a passenger."

Bulok's eyes swivelled between the three women, visibly panicked. He knew he had been outmaneuvered. "But... damn you all. Fine. You're getting your usual fee for deployments, Langley. Not a slip more. And you'll be under their command until the cargo is recovered. From that moment onwards, your job is to make sure that I get my property back."

He turned to Kaiae. "And you, Romulan. Do yourself a favour and don't come back into my shop. I knew it was a mistake, dealing with your kind."

Kaiae didn't bother dignifying Bulok's comment with a response, but thought that if she never set foot in this regrettable establishment again, it was not herself that would be a favor to, but the Ferengi; because if she did, it was going to be to mount his head on the bulkhead by the ears.

Freya simply nodded. "Works for me. Miss Langley, is that arrangement acceptable to you?"

"Where did you find these veruul?" asked Juno, looking at Bulok. She now considered staying with him, or even being captured and killed by Section 31, to be preferable than spending another second in their presence. Juno did not like, trust or have any intention of taking orders from either of the women opposite. "I'm sure Taryn and her associates would be happy to provide their services again." a pause. "For a fairer price. And they wouldn't steal the cargo."

The Captain raised an eyebrow at the mention of the name "Taryn", but decided against mentioning it. "I highly doubt they could offer a fairer price than practically free of charge. As for your cargo, Bulok, no member of my crew has any intention of not meeting our end of the contract. It is you who has started to change the agreement."

She sighed. On one hand, this was becoming far more troublesome than she'd like it to be. However, Haven Colony needed those weapons. "This is getting entirely pointless," she finally remarked. "I've been dealing with types like you for a long time, Bulok. Driven by nothing but greed. No shred of honour, let alone decency. I don't even want to know how this young woman here ended up working for you, let alone the conditions of her employment." She glanced at Kaiae, already knowing the Subcommander would not at all be happy with her next words.

"Miss Langley. We did not get started on the right foot, and for that, I apologise. The Subcommander has history with Ferengi, to put it diplomatically. I was trying to negotiate in a way that gets through to his big-eared head. And that left you out completely." She reached into one of the pockets of her trenchcoats and pulled out a small leather pouch filled with Latinum. With a smile, she held it out to Juno. "That should cover your fee, and then some. If you take the payment, you'll be a full member of the crew for the duration of this mission. I'm sure there is a position that would be suitable."

She turned to Bulok. "We will recover the cargo. We will bring you your crate that you are so worried about. You will pay Miss Langley's fee, in addition to any payment she may receive from our side for services rendered. Upon delivery of your crate, you will reimburse us for any expenses incurred during its recovery. Miss Langley's participation in this operation is her choice, if she chooses not to come along, we will still go get your stuff. No further changes to the deal, unless you want to take it up with the FCA. I do believe they'd be interested in all these changes you are trying to make to a contract that has already been signed."

Bulok, still in panic, simply nodded. "Fine. Langley, go. Or don't, I don't care." He threw the chip with the flight records in Freya's direction. "You better bring me my crate. You don't want me to tell the buyers who stole it."

Without a word, Juno snatched the latinum and walked away. It was a start. She was not looking forward to having to spend the foreseeable future with either Freya or Kaiae. Doubt set in about whether there was going to be a single person on their ship who Juno was going be able to tolerate. Probably not, she mused. Staying in her quarters for the duration of the voyage could only be a good thing. If only she'd found Taryn before she'd found someone to point and shoot Penka's weapons.

Freya smirked as Juno marched past her. "Bay 17. I'll let ship security know to expect you." Then, she turned to Bulok. "Don't piss us off even more, or I might just tell the Subcommander here to go ahead and do what she's been itching to do this whole time."

Kaiae gave Bulok a grin that was about the exact opposite of reassuring; then started out after Juno, careful not to turn her back on Bulok as they made their way to the exit.

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