Trouble at the Targ

[Karo Veras 0]

The ale was horrible, the décor was in disrepair, and the clientele was less than savory. Veras expected nothing less from the "Snarling Targ Pub". From the bar, he had pretty good view of the room. There was a group of Ferengi at the table nearest to them, talking to some rough looking humans, engaged in some sort of business transaction regarding stolen art. Another group consisting of a Bajoran, 2 humans, and a Trill, most likely some Maquis remnant or similar type separatist group, were talking to a pair of Orion.

 

What caught his eye, however, were the two tables consisting entirely of Klingons on opposite sides of the pub, staring bullets and gesturing wildly at each other. There was obviously some sort of beef between the 2 groups. Karo didn't care who they were, or what they were at odds about, -that- was his opening.

 

It was another 90 seconds before the opening finally presented itself. One of the Klingons from the table nearest the bar stood up and began walking towards the bar. Veras stood up and immediately began towards the door, taking a path directly towards the approaching Klingon. As he approached, Veras stiffened his shoulder. With a slight lean, he knocked the Klingon into a chair, causing him to trip and spill a carafe full of ale all over his garb.

 

As the rival Klingons burst into laughter, he could hear the chairs of his victim's allies slide back in anticipation of a confrontation. However, Veras kept his gaze fixed on the fallen Klingon, who was staring right back at him. Within moments, the Klingon was back on his feet. He was a full head taller than Veras, who just stared back up at him with equal malice.

 

"Do you have a death wish, little man?" The Klingon asked, unsheathing his daqtagh and bringing it to Karo's throat.

 

"I have an appointment, and –you- were in my way. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving." As Karo turned to walk away, he felt his opponent grasp his shoulder and pull him close.

 

"What did you say, little man?"

 

"I said I'm leaving, much like your honor did long ago."

 

The Klingon's eyes widened in anger, and he opened his mouth to let out a warrior's scream. That was the split second Karo needed. He stepped to the slide to avoid the daqtagh and slammed the heel of his foot into the back of his opponent's knee, as he fell forward, Karo struck him in the back of the head with that palm of his hand. With a thud, the Klingon fell to the floor, unconscious.

 

As Karo looked up, the four other Klingons were now out of their chairs and headed straight for him. He dove down somersaulting over the fallen Klingon, grabbing the fallen dagtagh. As he re-oriented himself and prepared to strike the lead Klingon, he was surprised to see the rival Klingon group out of their chairs and in full charge towards his would be attackers. Karo silently swore under his breath, that wasn't his intended effect. He had meant his confrontation only to be an ice-breaker for the rival Klingon faction, now, he had caused a full fledged riot.

 

Karo thought it best to make his exit, not wanting to get involved in the feud. He slipped out the door behind the Klingons, leaving them to their fight. He rounded the corner and slipped into a crowded street. He founded his way to shaded bench. He snapped a quick picture of the crest on the handle of the dagtagh and sent it up to the 'Court, hoping to get a hit on name. He continued on down the street, looking for a place to lay low and regroup.

 

* * *

Rilo Kiley, member of the 'Children of the Maquis' separatist group, slipped out the door after the mysterious fellow Bajoran. He had slipped from view quickly and inconspicuously. He was obviously some sort of trained operative. The obvious questions however were, "Who was he?" and "Who did he work for?" One did not just walk into a bar, much less one as rough as the Snarling Targ and cause a stir without some sort of reason for starting it.

 

After a few seconds, she guessed left, opting to go in the direction of the crowd flow. Still no sign of him. She looked around frantically, trying to spot him. There were not many Bajorans on Ryder-Presit, so one should most likely stick out like a sore thumb. This one, however, obviously knew what he was doing. Then, out of shear blind luck, she caught a glimpse of him across the road, now walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

Karo could see the frantic eyes of the fellow Bajoran searching around from a half a block away, obviously looking for him. He recognized her instantly as the Bajoran from the bar. 'Perhaps some good might come out of that melee after all' he thought to himself. He pulled off his hood to reveal his face, and began walking in her direction, keeping an eye on her out of his peripheral vision. He could almost see her freeze as her eyes found him.

 

He walked further down the road weaving in and out of the crowd, allowing her to keep tabs on him, at least until he got to a point where he could safely question her. He made a right turn down the next street pulling his hood over his head as he rounded the corner.

 

* * *

Kiley was sure that the other Bajoran had not noticed her presence. His pace had not quickened, nor had he made any sudden dash away from her or attempt to confront her. She didn't know whether to just keep following him or try and grab his attention. Her orders were clear. Find out his who he was and what his purpose was here on Ryder-Presit.

 

Just as she thought she had a good trail on him, he disappeared around a corner. Kiley sped up to try and keep pace, but as she rounded the corner, she lost all sight of him. She cursed under her breath as she kept walking, her eyes again desperately searching for that mysterious man from the Snarling Targ. She kept walking a few moments longer, hoping for the same blind luck she had had to find him in the first place. From out of no where, she felt a hand grasp her side, and a dagger pressing against her back.

 

An overwhelming fear suddenly swept over her, the mysterious man had found her instead

 

* * *

"I knew this dagtagh would come in handy." Karo whispered into the woman's ear. "Keep walking, I'll tell you when to stop."

 

He could feel the fear flowing through the girl has he gripped her side. She was young, maybe 17 at the oldest. She wasn't exactly recon or espionage material either, but had been thrust into that type of role obviously by her superiors, whether out of stupidity or necessity. Either way, Veras was going to glean as much out of this girl as he possibly could, he just needed to find a place to do it.

 

He spotted an alley way about 20 meters ahead and angled her towards it. "When we reach the alley, I'm going to let go of you." he whispered. "If you try to run, you'll find this dagger buried in the base of your skull, you understand?" The feel of her muscles tightening in her side told Veras that she understood.

 

As the pair reached the alley, Veras reached around and pulled her phaser from her holdster, tossing it to the side, and let go of her as promised, "Keep walking" he told her.

 

As they walked deeper into the alley, it opened up to a small courtyard, complete with a table and chairs. It looked to be a small break area for the restaurant they were now located behind, but it was as good a place as any to interrogate her.

 

"Sit down." He told her, giving her a shove towards the table.

 

* * *

Kiley obediently sat down, the fear still gripping her. She tried her best to hide, but she wasn't sure how successful she was.

 

"Let's get one thing out of the way first." The mysterious man started, "I'm not going to hurt you."

 

Rilo regarded the man carefully. Despite his earlier threats, there seemed to be truth and sincerity in his voice, even still, part of her did not believe that she would walk out of this alley alive.

 

"In return, you're going to answer some questions for me. Is that understood?"

 

Rilo was still fumbling for words. She should have just nodded, but instead she blurted out "You must be proud of yourself, you just re-ignited a blood feud between the House of Dagh and the Atkad brothers."

 

Rilo caught the hint of an exhale from the man. But she couldn't place its meaning.

 

"What happened in the bar is none of your concern." He said, regarding her coolly. "Your only concern is answering the questions I am about to ask you."

 

"What is your name?" he asked her.

 

Rilo remained silent, which caused the man to lean in with a menacing look. "I've been known to go back on my promises from time to time, you know." His words were cold, sending a shiver up her spine.

 

"Now, I'll ask you again. . .What is your name, girl?"

 

"Rilo Kiley"

 

"Rilo. . .A well known Maquis family. You are Jendo's granddaughter no doubt then."

 

"You knew Rilo Jendo?"

 

"Everyone knew of him, he was a hero of the resistance. His hatred of the Cardassians ran so deep that he decided to become an outlaw of his people to continue is personal vendetta." The man said. "It's a classic case of a man letting the romanticism of heroism get the best of logic and common sense. Your grandfather is a prime example of someone not knowing when to stop. It's a shame he dragged is family into it as well. Your beauty could have served you well in other avenues, but your naïveté is right up the Maquis alley. "

 

Some of Rilo's fear turned into anger at the insults being flung at her family and at herself. Who was this man to judge her?

 

"Ahh, so you are part of some sort of Maquis sentimentalist group. Your emotions betray you my dear."

 

The anger then turned to embarrassment, the man had now figured out who she was with without her saying more than just her name. The man began to chuckle, finding some sort of humor in the situation. "We're much more than a 'sentimentalist group'" she found her self saying in defense of her faction.

 

"Are you really? Then why would they have a little girl such as yourself roaming the streets of Ryder-Presit, in pursuit of a man who's cunning and skills are extremely out of your league?"

 

Rilo did not have an answer to that. . .He had a point.

 

"Precisely. . .But I digress." The man said, shifting gears. "I do not care why you're here, or about your dying cause, I have more pressing matters to attend to. But while I have you, you're going to help me out."

 

"Then what do you want to know?" she asked him.

 

"I want to hear everything you know about Romulan ships, ones of the stolen variety."

 

"I don't know anything about that."

 

"You answered that question a little too quickly, my dear." The man said, taking a seat across from her. "Something in your voice is making me not want to believe you."

 

"I swear, I know nothing!"

 

"Then why are you here?"

 

"We smuggle foodstuffs for some Orion pirates into Klingon territory, to a world that is under blockade by the Klingon military. Ryder-Presit is where we usually receive payment."

 

"Now was that so hard, my dear?"

 

Rilo again didn't answer. She instead countered with a question of her own. "Now, who the hell are you?"

 

"My name is Riva."

 

"Riva. . . ."

 

"Riva is all you need to know." He said sarcastically.

 

"Who do you work for?"

 

"My employer."

 

"And who is your employer?" Rilo asked him, not really appreciating his sarcasm.

 

"My employer is the person that pays me" he told her, not letting up on the sarcasm at all.

 

"Why are you so interested in missing Romulan ships?"

 

"I'm not, my employer is. So you'll have to ask them."

 

Rilo did not like the way this was going. This Riva seemed to have some sort of smart ass answer for every question she asked. The interview was obviously going no where.

 

"So my dear. Are you done with your questions?"

 

Rilo let out a defeated sigh. She knew that she was going to get no where with the questions. It was probably time to end this encounter before she said something that could get her killed.

 

"Now, I'm going let you walk out of here alive since you answered all my questions, my dear." He man told her, standing up from his chair. "Since I still don't trust you, you are going to walk out of this alley first, and I will follow. Understood?"

 

"What about my phaser?" Rilo asked.

 

"I discarded it near the entrance of the alley. Someone will have most certainly picked it up by now. "

 

Rilo swore under her breath, she didn't like the idea of walking down these streets without a weapon, not when she knew what was out there. But, at this point, she didn't have a choice. Standing up, she gave the man one last look before turning around and heading out of the alley.

 

* * *

As the young woman walked off, Karo managed to hold off on a few curse words. . .Nothing. No leads, no information, nothing. The only knowledge he had gained was that there was a grassroots Maquis revival group trying to make ends meet by running food and water to a blockaded Orion pirate base, and that he was the cause of a blood feud between one of the Great houses of the Klingon High Council, and one of the largest Klingon mercenary groups around.

 

Veras waited a few more seconds until departing the alley himself. The young Kiley had proven to be very honest, even if solely out of fear. 'Still, she might prove to be an asset' he thought to himself. He pulled the hood over his head and began tailing the young Bajoran girl. He half expected her to lead him back towards the Snarling Targ. But that was not the case. As they reached the intersection where the Targ was located, she kept going forward, past the bar. Instead, he led her straight to a hotel. He didn't catch the name, but he knew the location. Young Kiley had just made it easy for Veras to find her if he needed to call on her naïve honesty again.

 

With that, he turned back around, back into the fray that was the streets of Ryder-Presit.Trying to figure out what he next move should be.