Ferenginar

Izi was fuming.  The three men from the Orion Syndicate had gotten the drop on them and she felt it was her fault.  She was in charge of keeping Hok and herself safe, but they were now at the mercy of dangerous criminals.

“Let’s get down to business,” said the one that was the leader.

“Business?” said Izi.  “We’re Starfleet officers.  Tread carefully.”

“Don’t you just love Andorian bluster?  They’re outdone only by Klingons.”

Izi harrumphed.  “I’ve made Klingons twice my size back down.”

The Leader studied Izi.  “Perhaps.”

“I still don’t know what you want.  I don’t have the item,” said Hok.

The Leader appeared to be confused.  “Item?  What do you mean?”

It was Izi and Hok who were confused now.

“The item.  That’s what your thugs demanded every time they roughed me up,” said Hok.

The Leader pondered for a moment, which was followed by an expression of realization.  “I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood.  Perhaps you should get your lobes checked.”  He chuckled.  “We’re not looking for some item, we want the Ay-tim.”

“I still don’t know what that is,” said Hok.

The Leader sighed.  “The Ay-tim is a small statue, about twenty centimeters.  It’s a representation of the goddess of life on Lorica.  Whoever possesses it is said to be blessed by the gods.  It’s literally priceless.  By returning it to the Loricans, we’ll have their unending gratitude.  As a former businessman, I’m sure you can envision what that means to the Syndicate.”

At the mentioning of Lorica, Izi noticed the look on Hok’s face.  It was there only a moment, and the Leader missed it, but it was there.  Izi was certain Hok knew what the Ay-tim was.

“Your father and brother stole the Ay-tim from us after we stole it from the Loricans.”  The Leader looked at Izi.  “We did it under the noses of a Starfleet protection detail.”  He chuckled.

“I presume you’re the ones that sent the message about Hok’s mother,” said Izi.  She saw Hok wince.

“An excellent idea, don’t you think?”  The Leader showed a satisfied smile.

Izi laughed.  “Yeah, and it took you nine years to do it.”  She enjoyed watching the smirk disappear from the Leader’s face.

“We tracked Hok to Earth, but we lost him again.  Who would have thought a Ferengi would join Starfleet?”

“How did you find him again?” said Izi.

The Leader seemed to be considering if he should say.  Apparently his ego won.

“About four months ago, we tried to make a business deal with the leaders of the Red Heaven cartel on Lextis III.  After bribing several government officials, can you imagine our surprise when we learned the Ferengi working for the cartel was an undercover Starfleet officer?”

Izi didn’t bother to look at Hok’s reaction.  “And it still took you all that time to think of the message idea.  Your bosses must be proud.”

“The people responsible were dealt with.  There’s accountability in the Syndicate.”

“Glosh is obviously innocent in this and it’s unlikely you’re going to escalate something with Starfleet by harming us.  So what happens next,” said Izi.

“We still want the Ay-tim.”

“And Hok doesn’t have it.”

“Yes I do.”

Izi didn’t know who was more surprised that Hok admitted having the statue.  “Hok?”

“Well now.  We’re finally making progress.” said the Leader.

“It was in my mother’s closet.  I thought it was just some gift my father bought her, so when I left, I took it with me,” said Hok.  “It’s in my quarters on the Eagle.”

Izi burst out laughing.

The Leader scowled.

“I’d hate to be you!”  Izi’s antennae bounced, matching her mirth.

The Leader pointed his disruptor at Izi.  His face was an explosion of fury.

“I’m giving the Ay-tim back to the Loricans,” said Hok.

The disruptor shifted to Hok.

“You’re not coming out ahead on this one,” said Izi.  “You kill us and I promise you our captain will make it impossible for the Syndicate to do any business in our sector.  There’s accountability in the Syndicate.”

The tension in the room was so thick, it was like being shrouded in a heavy, wet blanket.  Seconds ticked past, feeling like time had stopped.

The Leader roared in anger and quickly spun around, striding to the door.  His thugs followed him out.

Glosh let out a huge sigh.  “Thank you!”

Izi nodded.

“Let’s get out of here,” said Hok.  “We’ve got something important to do.”