A Pelian has found a way into the Below. He’s working with Oma-Saan to carry out something… I don’t know what, but it doesn’t bode well. Here’s the deal, we’re going to pursue him and capture him for questioning. -MCapt. Raymond Hughes
StarBase 118 opens new commercial joint venture - (TRINITY SECTOR — Following the successful clean-up operation of a derelict area of StarBase 118, the Federation have entered an unusual external regeneration contract for the popular frontier station with the Lurtz Corporation.)
"So, what do you have in mind because we can't just walk in there and start pointing fingers?" -Lt Zinna
The Raven vampire styled nightclub in the StarBase 118 Dungeon level
Situated in the dank underbelly of the commercial district is the "Dungeon" level, a place filled with adult-oriented shops, seedy nightclubs and shops that try to bend the station rules while keeping in the good graces of Starfleet security. In this level The Raven club caters to all manner of vampire fanciers across multiple cultures. Full of blood-tinted cocktails and pulse-pounding music, it is the perfect cover for one of the only remaining entrances to the fabled criminal underground level of StarBase 118 called 'the Below'
The Raven Club gained the attention of Starfleet intel some weeks prior, and Marine Captain Raymond Hughes, a special ops officer had been casing the joint when the Pelian criminal Janker entered and slipped behind the scenes of the club to force his way into the Dungeon area. Janker hoped to gain control of the dungeon and open it up to expanded humanoid trafficking in conjunction with Oma-Saan and Chennel. Hughes connected with a larger Starfleet team led by Lt Commander Theo Whittaker and including Lieutenant Zinna, Lieutenant Trel'lis, and Lieutenant JG Diego Beyett to clear the Raven and follow Janker into the Dungeon. Meanwhile multiple security teams enter the dungeon to investigate Oma-Saan. Evidence starts to mount against the Orion bar owner, revealing that Chennel has been trying to traffic innocent humanoids through StarBase 118!
Sirs? Sirs?! These were Starfleet people? Janker ogled them in shock. Since when did Starfleet get all 'I'ma shank you' in personality? -Janker
Starfleet Officers uncover the horrible past of The Below
As Lt Commander Kaitlyn Falcon, Ensign Taelon, and Lieutenant Antero Flynn close on Harkin's Den, Theo Whittaker's team pierces into The Below. There they find a ghost-town of horrors, including abandoned slaving pens, torture chambers, luxurious offices and long-desiccated corpses of unfortunate souls trapped when the atmosphere was vented after damage from the elemental force Cinder several years prior. They are following Janker's trail, but are stymied when the Below's automated defense systems are powered up. Even when the team manages to catch Janker, he is able to escape deeper into the Below, leading Whittaker's team dangerously close to the phaser turrets protecting the central command tower.
Meanwhile, at the Ops hub, the diplomats and medical personnel devise a clever false alarm to evacuate a considerable portion of the Dungeon level so the teams investigating Oma-Saan can search Harkin's Den.
Commander Falcon gets information about the criminal activities going on in Harkin's Den from a contact
Act III: Deadly Mistakes
::A sudden sensation washed through Hughes, an odd feeling of dread as one of the turrets off to the side twitched towards him. Both human eye and machine eye locked against each other as two sudden realisations hit both of them. First, triumph for the machine as the perfect lock was established on it’s quarry, the second came from Hughes as for the first time in his career he had made a grave error of tactical judgement.::::It didn’t last for long as the weapon let out another fearsome blast of energy and caught the human directly in the chest, throwing him back to the ground with a horrific finality. There was no pain, death as swift as the fall of a guillotine blade as the veteran marine fell backwards to the floor with a look of indignation on his face.::
A shot fired in the darkness
The hunt for Janker takes a turn for the worst as Marine Captain Raymond Hughes trips an automated phaser turret and takes a fatal shot while trying to cover his teammates. In the aftermath Theo Whittaker grabs Janker, and with the help of Trel'lis and his teammates they ensure that the little Pelian criminals is put into custody. Captain Sal Taybrim sends teams of intel officers and engineers down into the Below to remove the plasticized tritanium mesh that prevented sensors from piercing the level and to clear out all other equipment and evidence. The bodies are identified and the remains are returned to the families, while the evidence is processed in the Black Tower.
Taelon, Flynn and Falcon scour Harkin's Den with aid from security and marine teams, finding a group of abused youth who were being processed into Chennel's trafficking ring. They rescue the kidnapped civilians and arrest Oma-Saan, turning the area over to Lt. Commander Trellis Vondaryan who bring in his intel teams and scrubs the entire area for evidence. Intel ends up finding a raft of valuable information, enough to put Oma-Saan and Janker away for good, as well as enough evidence to ferret out the mole in the StarBase 118 Ops hub.
Major Tatash and his marine corps arrange a funeral service for the fallen MCapt. Hughes. Afterwards the crew of StarBase 118 Operations is allowed a much-needed shore leave.
In the aftermath, Madame Lurtz approached Commander Taybrim, with an offer to purchase the area known as The Below. After settling on a price, The Lurtz Corporation is allowed to develop the level into the Nuova Eleganza, a trendy district modeled after Venice, Earth. Construction is completed in late 2393, allowing a whole new culture to move into the once-nightmarish level.
