“Commanding Officers Log: Stardate 78175.8. I have never been so thankful to gaze upon the ample Lobes of a Ferengi. It seems we owe our salvation and gratitude to the impeccable timing of one Daimon Tal; whose arrival in search of a greedy fortune seems to have sent the Breen Ship into retreat. Of course, the Ferengi seldom provide a service for free; therefore I have agreed to let the Daimon on board to discuss his price.”

C.O. Ready Room – USS Thyanis – 04:30 hrs

LT Garcia escorted the short plump Ferengi officer into Commander Jone’s office, whilst she was grateful for the Daimon’s role in ending their battle with The Breen; she did not trust the Ferengi one bit and was therefore armed with a hand phaser, holstered at her hip.

“Captain! Are your turbo-lifts out of order? I had to climb…Ladders just to get up here, how barbaric!” The Daimon said as he greeted his Federation allies, though he saw them more as a mark to be exploited of course.

Wallace chuckled, “It’s Lieutenant Commander actually, and there are no turbo-lifts on my ship, a little exercise is good for the soul in my opinion anyway.”

“No turbo-lifts at all?” Tal brought his hands together and began fiddling with his thumbs to try and contain his excitement about the prospect of maybe being able to profit from this journey after all. “If you’re interested, I know a guy who can hook you up… for a small broker’s fee, naturally,” The Daimon opened negotiations with a smile, bearing his sharp fangs.

“Daimon, I appreciate you have profits to be made, but we are on a very tight schedule, and as you probably already know The Dominion has allied with The Breen again, so can we cut to the chase…I’m guessing you’ll be wanting something in return for scaring off our attackers?” Wallace set the record straight and folded his arms in a slightly defensive posture. He was not over-thrilled about being in debt to a Ferengi, but he couldn’t deny that had the Daimon not shown up when he did, he and his crew might be on the way to a Breen slavery camp by now.

“Now now Captain, rule of acquisition number two-sixty-four; ‘Never rush the closing of a deal, especially when you’re the one who stands to profit from the transaction.” Tal pointed out as he took a seat on the other side of Wallace’s desk.

Both Wallace and Harris gave each other a glance of scepticism, if the Daimon was being honest then this would surely be a galactic first for the Ferengi.

“Okay, Daimon… I’m all ears,” Wallace opened his posture and prepared to listen to Tal’s peddling.

Daimon Tal recognised the commander’s mildly offensive play on words but decided to take it in jest, for he had an agenda that transcended inter-species relations. “All in good time Captain, for now, I’m willing to lend you and your crew a little friendly assistance… In good faith that the next time we meet, you might return the favour.”

“Don’t play games with me Daimon, you clearly want something!” Wallace was growing impatient, a feeling that was only being aggravated by the faux position of friendship that Tal was clearly presenting.

“Very well – I can see you’re a busy Hew-mon, Captain, how about you present me with an inventory and I’ll see what you have to offer.” Tal grinned with anticipation, an expression that only further made his hosts uneasy.

“I’ll have it transmitted to your ship, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate Thyanis is not exactly a ship of the line, we may have very little to offer that we have the authority to trade” Harris warned the Ferengi.

“Everything has value, I’m sure we can reach a beneficial agreement…for both parties” Tal smiled, standing and leaning over the desk with an outstretched hand, the other slipping below its lip.

Wallace initially remained still but was prompted to bat away the hand of Harris whose naivety led him to forget the well-known proverb ‘Never shake hands with a Ferengi’

Tal bowed his head and made his way to the exit, where Garcia was waiting to escort him back to the transporter room. As the door sealed shut, Wallace took a sigh of relief and reached under his desk, feeling around he discovered the product of the Ferengi’s sleight of hand attached to the underside of his desk where the Daimon was sitting. Retrieving it he brought it up to his eye level and examined it.

“A subspace transceiver?” Harris said in surprise.

“No, a decoy made easy enough for us to find, so we might miss the real one.” Wallace corrected his X.O. 

“I’ll get security to head him off…” Harris said as he reached for his Comm-Badge

“Belay that! Let him go, but when he’s gone… Have security do a full sweep for other devices” Wallace ordered as he handed Harris the device.

“Shouldn’t we at least question him? He’s clearly up to something.” Harris asked, examining the device for himself

“Oh I’m counting on it, No doubt the Daimon will find something useless to deprive us of in the meantime…so, we play into his reuse… and be prepared to spring the inevitable trap.” Wallace smiled cunningly. “Once The Daimon has concluded his business with us, plot a course for Farpoint Station, I want to be underway as soon as possible.”

Harris acknowledged his orders and made his way out onto the bridge without further question as Wallace swiveled his chair to face the window and focused on the Daimon’s vessel off the starboard bow, putting his feet up against the wall and interlocking his fingers behind his head he began thinking about the events that had transpired this morning. 

He was exhausted after the stress of his first combat situation and having barely slept for the past 24 hours but his mind turned to the solemn duties he would have to attend to in the coming days, the loss of any crew member was difficult enough, but his first as Commanding Officer was even more difficult to bear. “Computer, list the next of kin for Crewman Savok,” he commanded as he reached for a PADD to draft his first letter of condolence.