Nikita Pike

Reports and Brandy Commander Lazarus Mench was getting an early start on clearing space in the cargo hold. He leaned over the table in the officer's lounge and took a long sniff of the steaming sirloin steak. There was a whole freeze-crate of them in the hold, pillaged from a cargo transport a month earlier, and he planned to clear it out before they reached Gandora. The Klingons were not fans of beef, nor did they have a taste for the brandy that was grabbed on the same raid -- Mench likely would not be able to finish that off, but he already planned to put it on the 'essential cargo' list. Lieutenant Nikita Pike did not bring an appetite to the mess hall. She'd spent the last six hours checking QoB from stem to stern to determine the extent of the damage from the Oberth-ship's explosion. Crawling through the maintenance tunnels near the ship's hull was soiling and exhausting work, and she was too tired to eat. But she knew that the Commander did not like waiting for reports; being left in the dark for long was one of the things that could raise his ire. Mench was pouring a bottle of Andorian gravy over his steak when Nikita entered the lounge. He glanced up and noticed the annoyed look on his face. "May I join you?" She asked as she walked to the nearest chair. She sat without waiting for an answer. "Yes, you may, Lieutenant," Mench answered with a smirk, noticing that she'd already taken a seat. "How bad is the damage?" "It could have been worse. There are a few repairs that are going to have to wait until we can get the supplies. Nothing we can't live without for a few days. Though, I hope you like cold showers." "I was a marine once, remember?" Mench smiled as he cut into the steak with his marine-issue knife. "Lucky for you, we'll be stopping at the market district. Gandora colony in Federation space. We're going to be offloading a lot of cargo, so you'll be able to get whatever supplies you need." "Are we selling the tank whole, or parting it out?" Nikita asked. "We're not selling the tank," Mench answered. He stuck the knife into the steak morsel and transferred to his mouth. He continued while chewing. "We're keeping it. We're selling the cargo that we need to offload to make room in the hold." "Keep it? What for?" Nikita made a face. "We work in space, last I heard." "We're going to be robbing a mining colony, Nikita," Mench gave her an annoyed look as he took a large gulp of his brandy. "Weren't you paying attention when I explained this?" "Not really. You tend to ramble." "You tend to not pay attention," Mench refilled his glass. When he put the bottle of brandy down, Nikita grabbed it and took a swig from the bottle. "But then, I didn't and still don't have all the details of our mission. Some confusion was understandable. Until we get the tank into the hold for a closer look, I can't be sure what use it's going to be to us." "I suggest keeping that science officer away from it," Nikita remarked with disdain and gulped down more of the brandy. "Unless you want him to blast a hole in the side of the ship." Mench smiled at her. He enjoyed it when there was strife between his officers, especially the Lieutenants. "What was going on between you two on the tank, by the way? No trouble in paradise, I hope?" "None at all," Nikita answered, leaning against the table. "As long as Sargh stays the heck out of my way. He is crazy, and that is being nice." "Not to worry. I plan on splitting you up when we get to Gandora." "You're too kind, Commander," Nikita tilted her head and put on a sarcastic smile. "Because if I was with him, I would bury him there." "Hm," Mench looked up, smiling and savoring both another bite of the steak and the budding animosity among his crew. "The other Klingons on the ship wouldn't like that, now would they, Ms. Pike? For the time being, however, I'll be keeping him away from you -and- the tank. I don't want to spend too much time on Gandora, so I'll be sending him into town to negotiate the sale of our cargo, while you and Smokey stay behind to oversee the repairs." "So I get stuck back here while everyone else has fun?" Nikita leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Joy." "Don't whine so much." Mench said, half complaining and half warning. "This will be a good chance for you and Fox to ... bond or whatever. Besides, Sargh was on the crew when we first visited Gandora. He knows Gimok, the Ferengi that we'll be dealing with. I'll send Xandra along with him, though, to make sure there's at least one pleasant face in the negotiations." "Whatever. Why do I have a bad feeling about this whole thing?" Nikita wondered out loud. "Gandora? Or the whole Goldrock job in general?" His thoughts were still on the other Bird of Prey that made an appearance in the Cepheus Gamma system, the Bird of Prey which seemed to be aware of QoB's presence even though QoB was cloaked. It was another strange and unwelcome twist in the Goldrock mission. "Gandora," Nikita answered. "It's just a feeling. And not a pleasant one." "It's our kind of place," Mench replied, continuing to work on his steak. "It's in Federation space, but it's far out of Starfleet's gaze. Lots of illicit marketing, lots of plotting by the underbelly of society -- you know, our kind of people. Of course, we will be cloaked when we land. We're red hot in this region after hitting that cargo transport." "Well, I think I am happy to stay on the ship now." Nikita slid the emptied brandy bottle across the table and stood up. "I am going to take a cold shower and pass out. It's been a very stressing day." "Enjoy," Mench raised his glass and winked. "I'll be thinking of you." "Why Commander, I didn't know you cared," Nikita said as she strode out of the lounge. "When it comes to you in the shower, my dear," Mench muttered to himself as he watched Nikita leave. "I care."