Captain Scott Bowman was sitting huddled around a small table with three of his officers, Commander Bema Saberwyn, Lieutenant Commander Vail O’Donnell, and Lieutenant Tom Sargent. Their table was situated in roughly the middle of a large group of tables, which were encircled by a large number of shabby stalls, all selling various foods and drinks. They were deep under Stardust City, in long disused service tunnels with large pipes and conduits snaking the walls and roof. They were picking at the remains of a meal that had concluded a while ago, lost in conversation. 

“We need a way to figure out who these invaders are, and what they want.” Scott said, flicking the end of his fork so it tapped down onto his plate. 

“I can tell you what they want, Scott.” Vail said, matter-of-factly, “I watched it happen. They’re rounding up people and taking them somewhere.”

“Forced labor, maybe?” Bema asked, chewing some meat off a bone. 

“Probably.” Vail replied, nodding.

“That leaves us with who they are.” Tom added. 

“And still, kind of what they want too.” Scott replied. “We know they’re here collecting people, probably for forced labor”, he nodded to Vail, “But what would they need laborers for?”

“So, what is the plan for discovering this?” Tom asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“I think we should ditch our uniforms and heads back up to the surface.” Bema said, tossing his now bare bone aside. “Do some recon. Find out what we are up against. Maybe we can even find out how they’re scrambling our comms.” 

“I can make that easy for you.” came a smooth feminine voice from the table behind Scott. A Romulan woman with short, black hair and icy green eyes stood, spun her chair around with a flourish, and sat back down onto it, joining the crew at the table. 

“I’m sorry, who are you?” asked Tom, reflexively leaning forward and moving his hand to the d’k tahg at his side. 

“Easy there, big fella, no need to meet Kahless today. My name is Dathasa, and I’m a Ranger. And for now, I’m on your side.” She said, giving Tom a quick once over with her eyes before turning her attention back to Scott. “I know who they are.”

“Fenris Rangers.” Vail said, knowingly. “We met another one not too long ago. Helped her get her ship up and flying again.”

“That was you?” the Romulan asked, her eyes widening slightly with surprise. “Well, then I owe you thanks.” She raised her hand and signaled to one of the stall owners, who promptly began preparing drinks. “Dranoj is a good friend of mine, and her ship was damaged getting me out of a jam.”

“How lucky for us, then, and you I suppose.” Bema said, his face breaking into a smile. “Now, who are these aliens, and how do you know that, please?’ he added, leaning back in his chair so the man who brought their drinks over could place the tray onto the table. 

“They’re called Vaadwaur.” She said in a low voice, leaning forward into the table. The crew followed suit, leaning in to catch every word. “Come from the Delta quadrant I hear. I don’t know how they got here though, or why they’re snapping up people, but I do know how they keep finding people.” 

“How?” asked Scott urgently. 

“See, Stardust City isn’t like most civilized places.” she said, wiping her nose with one of her gloved hands, “They don’t really have a government, per se. The city is maintained, if you will, by gangs and cartels. And these gangs and cartels all fight amongst themselves for territory.”

Vail crossed her arms impatiently. “Are you going to arrive at the point soon, or are we going to need another meal?” she asked. 

“All business, hey?” Dathasa replied with a smirk, “Alright Starfleet, don’t lose a pip about it. There is a new gang that showed up a little while ago, called the Emerald Razor, looking to prove themselves. Well, when these Vaadwaur showed up ….”

“This gang decided to side with them.” Scott finished. 

“Exactly.” Dathasa continued. “Their leader is in the pocket of these Vaadwaur officers, showing them hideouts, luring people into traps, and so on.” she said, waving her hand in a circle, “And in return, they’ve promised the leader of this gang the city once they’ve filled their quota.” 

“She knows about this place, doesn’t she?” Bema asked, with a concerned expression crossing his face. 

“Yes,” Dathasa replied, “And it’s only a matter of time before she leads them here.” 

“Okay, that’s where we start.” Scott said. “We’ve got to make sure the people down here stay safe, and hopefully we can figure out what their plans are in the meantime.” Scott stood up from the table. “Everyone, get yourselves ready, we leave in 30 minutes. Dathasa, would you mind showing us where this gang sets up shop? We can take it from there.” 

 Dathasa stood as well, and the crew got a better look at her. She was tall for a Romulan, wearing a faded brown duster that hung down to her knees. Scott could see under that coat, a belt that had at least one Disruptor pistol holstered onto it. She was wearing pants that were a dark shade of blue, and black boots that laced halfway up her calf. Into one of these boots, Tom noted that she also had a d’k tahg, which was sticking out of the top.  “Oh no,” she said, waving her hands in front of her, “There’s no way you’re going in there without me. That gang has caused me a lot of trouble, and I want some retribution.” 

“Where did you get that?” Tom asked, sounding aggravated. 

Dathasa just smiled at him and pulled the knife out of her boot. “Our friend Dranoj, of the house K’mpecta, gave this to me after I saved her life. The second time.” Tom gave her a knowing nod, and she stuffed the blade of the knife back into her boot. 

Half an hour later, the crew and Dathasa were standing back at the edge of the hovel food court where they had met. Scott, Bema and Tom had traded in their Starfleet uniforms for some civilian clothes. Vail, who never came to Stardust City in her uniform, was wearing the same outfit she had put on this morning. 

“Are we ready to go?” Scott asked them. They answered one by one in the affirmative, and Scott turned to face Dathasa. “Can you show us the way to their hideout?” he asked her. 

“It would be my pleasure, Captain.” she replied, lowering her head in a mock bow, and extending one arm to point in their intended travel direction. “This way” she said, and began walking. The crew fell into step behind her, walking silently through the claustrophobic corridors of this underground city. Eventually, they came to a door, and Dathasa stopped them. “Hold on here for a moment” she said, “ This is a Ranger safehouse. I’m just going to nip inside and grab some supplies.” She punched a code into a pad beside the door, and it slid open. She disappeared inside, leaving the crew standing in the dim corridor. A minute or two passed, and Dathasa re-emerged from the room, carrying a black bag slung over one shoulder, and five Starfleet issue Type III phaser rifles. She handed one to each member of the crew, and said with a sly smile to Scott, “You’re not going to ask where I got these, and I won’t tell you.”

“Works for me.” Scott said, checking the weapon quickly before slinging it over his shoulder. “Shall we press on?” 

The rest of the journey felt like it took hours, weaving in and out of the snaking halls, ducking under conduits and over sewer pipes, but eventually they came to a ladder, at the top of which was a trap door. “This opens up to a building across the street from the Emerald Razor’s hideout.” Dathasa said, climbing the ladder and pulling back a deadbolt on the trap door. “We can watch them from here, and wait for their Vaadwaur contact to show up. 

The crew climbed the ladder after Dathasa, moving silently into the room above, which looked like some kind of eclectic boutique, selling all manner of religious symbols, ritualistic minutiae and cultural knick-knacks. It was hard to navigate in the darkening evening light, but the large windows that faced the street would immediately alert someone if they turned on a light. The crew made their way to the window, taking up hiding spots to watch the street without being seen. They didn’t have to wait long, however, before a small alien looking ship landed in the street outside, and a large, imposing figure wearing heavy greenish body armour got out, their heavy boots landing loudly on the ground, and they made their way into the building opposite. 

“Okay,” Scott said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, “Let’s go.”