The Invitational (Denali Station)
Denali Station welcomes the Aavaro Wilds and beyond for a good old-fashioned space race.
The Race
During the first leg of the race, all the contestants took off in a crowded field of 33 contenders, and a total of 8 Starfleet affiliated teams. Right off the bat, several teams kicked in their unique special attributes, including the Vela, a refurbished Caitian rescue craft which sprayed the entire field with Kryptilithium, a compound known to gum up impulse engines.
As the racers approached the city proper, preparing for a flyover of the city and the stadium where a large crowd was gathered to watch the race, one of the teams experienced engine problems and crashed in the forest on the outskirts of the city.
At the last minute, the crew of the Foxy Lady was able to mitigate some of the damage to the crashing ship with a tractor beam, probably saving the lives of the crew and inhabitants in the city.
Later in the race the Foxy Lady itself was damaged in an encounter with the large animals living in the Oort cloud around the system of Ring 42 and was assisted by both the Gott Speed and the Phelshant United pit crew, a vessel known simply as 'The Wharf'.
Spectators
Right in the middle of the crowd, many visitors to Denali and crew gathered to watch the race at the newly explored and refurbished Akycha Stadium. Many of them have seen the crash of the racer and are preparing to assist.
Food
Commander Alora DeVeau along with Lieutenant JG Freck and Ensign Araxxu Vahin come back together after checking with vendors in their assigned sector. Taking the opportunity to get some food for themselves, they elected to have a meal at a Klingon vendor called “Wejwa' Xpress”. The owner himself takes their order and pauses to talk with him while they eat. As they converse, a commotion beings nearby at another vendor’s tall. People begin to clamour for the food in a rather desperate way. The officers leave their own meal, with a promise from Mekor to watch over it, in order to investigate. As they do so, DeVeau gets knocked over, but by that time, Mekor has also joined and prevents her from falling. They discover Ferengis handing out food samples. After it’s announced tehre’s a second location and some of the growing mob peel off to try and get food from there, Vahin and Frek split off in an attempt to get a sample of their own and have to deal with an increasingly hostile crowd.
Meanwhile, Alora calls in security. As she and Mekor remain to try and calm the crowd, they come across one of the Ferengi workers. The Klingon nabs him, and while he has no more samples, they question him. He admits he does not know the name of the person who employed him, for he got the job from a broker, but there’s a PADD with information in the vendor’s tent. The trio go and retrieve the PADD and Alora calls for Freck and Vahint to rejoin them. They do so with their prize, a sample of the food that has caused all the uproar.
After Vahin scans the sample, he discovers it's laced with delactovine, a substance that’s not dangerous is small amounts, but is rather addictive. The group question the Ferengi, Gibit, further in an effort to get more information about who’s behind it all and Vahin alerts the clinic about the situation.
The group begin to question Gibit, the Ferengi Mekor apprehended, in an effort to find out who is behind the laced food. Eventually, he admits that he was employed through a broker and doesn't know who the actual employer is, only that he's called Mr. Fox. After releasing Gibit into the custody of security, they begin to investigate further. Vahin accesses security footage of the ship associated with the Big Lobebowski which reveals three suspicious non Ferengi, two who are Orions in strange armour, but the other is in a cloak shrouding their face. They decide to lure Mr. Fox into the open. Using Gibit's personal device, Freck requests an audience to 'renegotiate' contract terms and intend to use him as bait to lure the man out of hiding. Another search reveals that part of a strange symbol on the armour is Breen and indicates hazardous materials, though why it is used in that manner is unknown.
As they discuss details on how to accomplish their goal, DeVeau receives a call about a new ensign who has just arrived. She directs the officer to bring the ensign to her. Ensign Xiron arrives and DeVeau updates her. Mekor returns to his stall, while the four officers prepare to meet Mr. Fox.
Once preparations are done, they wait in the alley at the appointed time, DeVeau, Vahin, and Xiron hidden behind crates while Freck remains visible. Fox arrives and Freck points out he knows something bigger is going on. Fox brings out a vial which contains a more potent version of the substance, and reveals drones laden with the stuff. He prepares to get rid of Freck, but a firefight breaks out as DeVeau and the other officers fire their phasers. Freck is briefly taken by an Orion, but manages to get out of his grasp, grabs a phaser and stuns one. Eventually, Fox is subdued and Vahin sees to Freck's nose which was broken in the fight. Xiron deals with the drones, has the substance beamed into space, and readies them for redeployment of an antitoxin.
Diplomacy
Ambassador Lukin Zorkal arrives on Denali station, sent by Cardassia to investigate the progress of the Federation and report back details on the Invitational specifically and Denali in general. He is escorted by Lieutenant Vitor Silveira and Ensign Cirus Almonaster. As they make their way to the Stadium, a Cardassian in the crowd throws some green goop. Cirus manages to intercept it and gets hit, then begins to experience mild hallucinations and coughing. As they arrive at the box seats reserved for the Ambassador, they discover the substance is merely Bitter Ivy, a prank and the consequences are short lived.
Bored with his predicament, Zorkal intends to head out into the crowd, and his escorts follow. They wander through, looking at stalls, and the ambassador stops at one selling toys. They are then joined by Ensign Clara Halloway and accosted by the Andorian reporter, Jarn Th’Braxa. Th’Braxa soon hurries off and the group continue. Zorkal indicates he’s interested in seeing the behind the scenes of the stadium, and ignores the protest of his escorts. The Cardassians who pulled the prank earlier greet them just before they step through to the inner parts of the stadium, but Zorkal ignores them and the group plunges down. They traverse through several hallways then come to some sort of lift. After fiddling with the controls, Zorkal figures out how to work it, and it goes into motion, taking them deeper into the bowels of the stadium.
They come out deep in the depths of the stadium into what looks like some sort of basement or storage area. Cautiously, they emerge, and hear some sort of machinery. Although a lot of junk is in their way, Zorkal finds another door leading even further in, behind which they can hear the sounds. The group ponders about how to get in and it's suggested they could phaser their way through, but Zorkal notes that Captain Aria might not appreciate the damage done because of it. With their way bared, the group retraces their steps and come out where they entered. They see their dreadlock friend, then head back to the box where they witness the end of the Invitational. Afterward, a reporter approaches them.