Year 2402, Traelus System
It was during intense negotiations with his quarries that Ocard preferred to fire the Badi Dea's primary weapon personally. He relished the minute he took to decide upon a target every time he was forced to fire a disabling shot. Normally, blasting a ship's engines - the starship equivalent to kneecapping a sentient - was his preferred method of disabling a vessel, but once in a while whim or wrath suggested he blast the bridge to instantly disable it. He typically refrained from being wrathful though; he'd been careful to build up a reputation for granting mercy to cooperative crews and for not completely emptying a vessel's cargo holds unless provoked.
This time, however, he held off. The freighter in his sights scanned as hauling explosives to a mining colony as well as medicines, foodstuffs, and machines. Normally not a group of items he'd want to steal, but he'd been hired by a Ferengi - and paid 15% in advance - to interdict this particular ship. Insurance fraud, neutering a rival operation, or just wanting discount supplies...there could have been any number of reasons for this attack that didn't matter to Ocard. All he cared about was getting the full amount for getting the machines.
"Happy Trails, this is Gentleman Ocard of the independent vessel Badi Dea. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance and demand your unconditional surrender," he broadcast, idly tapping around the trigger.
The Toffli-class freighter began to heave to port, away from the Galor-class cruiser menacing it. The captain obviously hoped to make for open space, but Ocard's trigger finger had an itch to scratch, sending a powerful disruptor beam into the freighter's engines.
"Happy Trails, I commend your daring and unwillingness to surrender. I will forgive you making me have to shoot at you once," Ocard transmitted. "If I have to shoot twice though...well...the results would NOT be gentlemanly. Perhaps you'd like to reconsider your position?"
The freighter, already slowed immensely by the loss of its primary engines, came to a complete stop. Ocard quietly signaled Gthath to prepare their boarding shuttles for launch and waited for the freighter captain to reply.
"This is Captain Pisko of the Happy Trails," a gruff, human voice stated. "If we cooperate, will you guarantee the safety of my crew?"
"Captain Pisko, I will guarantee your safety as long as you guarantee mine," Ocard answered. "Give my slicers access to your computer systems and load up the cargo they tell you into our shuttles, then you shall be left alive to limp to the nearest starbase or shipyard.
The cruiser turned to show its side to the freighter. Immediately, four banks of disruptors locked onto the freighter.
"I would, however, consider any ungentlemanly conduct on the part of your crew a personal offense, however, and you don't want me to feel offended," Ocard hissed. "Understood?"
"C-completely, sir," Captain Pisko gulped. "We'll ready our airlocks."
"Excellent! My representatives shall be over shortly," Ocard said before cutting the channel. "Gthath, launch the shuttles. Put on a show of slicing into their computers, but don't take too much time. We're on a schedule."
"Aye, sir," the Gorn engineer answered. "You sure you don't want Talash to set a timer on those explosives?"
"Only if they refuse to cooperate. Even then, I might say to put an auto-pilot on the ship and let it finish its run without its crew," Ocard confirmed. "Shear the sheep and they'll keep lining up for us. Slaughter the sheep and they'll warn the shepherd."
"As you wish. Shuttles are prepped and launching."
A minute later, a trio of trooper-laden shuttles crossed the distance between the two ships. The captain's chair creaked as Ocard leaned back. It had only been two years since he'd become the master of his own fate and it felt splendid.
No comments:
Post a Comment