The Case for Naz: Alpha Trade Wars (Arrow)
| Episode 14 |
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| USS Arrow | ||
|---|---|---|
 LOST | ||
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Characters
| Officers taking part in the mission | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Notes | |
| Randal Shayne | Commanding Officer | ||
| Karrod Niac | First Officer | ||
| Chloe Waters | Mission Specialist | ||
| Connor Dewitt | Engineering Officer | ||
| Nolen Hobart | Engineering Officer | ||
| Artinus Serinus | Chief Security/Tactical Officer | ||
| Zenno | Security Officer | ||
| Seesh | Medical Officer | ||
| Talia Ohnari | Medical Officer | ||
| R'Ariel | Medical Officer | ||
| Quentin Collins | Chief Science Officer | ||
| Jacin Ayemet | Science Officer | ||
| Ash MacKenna | Chief Intelligence Officer | ||
| Mission Specific NPCs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Notes | |
| Goo'py | Sheliak Senior Associate Regional Vice Director Of Exploitation | believes that the Sheliak, with a long claim to power in this region and (from their perspective) any business opportunity within it, have been wronged by the Ferengi who are in essence shouldering in on their business concerns. The collapse of the Sheliak Corporate state has eroded their ability to project this authority though so they are negiogating from an unfamiliar position of relative weakness compared to what they're used to, which is typically 'do what we say or else.' | |
| Damon Grif'ter | Prospect Development Chairman, Ferengi Commerce Guild Economic Outreach | Ambitious and interested in developing new markets for the Ferengi, our Damon here knows he's pushing his proverbial luck but also knows an opportunity when he hears one - the Sheliak are in disarray, traditionally 'closed' markets are suddenly opening up and he intends to make a deal to undercut the Sheliak and establish a permanent Ferengi trade relationship. They feel the Sheliak are unjustified in their hostility, they acknowledge no existing Sheliak relationships to the region, they're just responding to an opportunity presented by the colonists themselves who are in desperate need. | |
| Archinell | Representative of Naz | Entirely aware that by calling the Ferengi to your planet that you could potentially touch off a violent confrontation between the Ferengi and the Sheliak, something you'd wouldn't readily admit to, but your people saw an opportunity to break the Sheliak's stranglehold on your world and don't really care how that gets done. You hadn't wanted to involve the Federation and would be happy to have these meetings resolved as quickly, and with as little investigation into your motivations, as possible. | |
| NPC's & PNPC's | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Notes | |
| Commander Alexander Jayson Cregg | Press Secretary | Caught up in the mission, he ends up underground with a holocamera, in the perfect place for pictures of the exploited Horta below. | |
| LTJG Dukul Nibar | JAG Officer/Lawyer, DS33 | Cardassian JAG officer serving aboard DS33, much to the dismay of the station's Bajoran commanding officer. | |
The Case for Naz: Alpha Trade Wars
Naz, an unassuming mining planet toward one of the edges of the Alpha Isles, finds itself in the center of a bitter trade war. Though independently operated by a collection of wildcatters, the surface of the world is peppered with "leased" equipment from both the Sheliak Corporate and Ferenginar.
Now an unprecedented trade conference is called to hash out the ownership of the world, its mines, and its equipment. With the crew of the U.S.S. Arrow serving as arbiters.
Act 1
Despite the complicated political webs underpinning the orders, the Arrow and her crew's involvement in Naz and the crisscrossing claims started quite normally. Recruited by the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps, the ship was tasked toward Deep Space 33 for the start of the conference.
However, Captain Shayne had a more elaborate plan. While one section of the crew would oversee the talks on DS33, the other would "survey" the planet of Naz in question. Taking the Arrow and her facilities to find out just why this planet had sparked this level of interest from these powerful of parties.
Captain Shayne, Connor Dewitt, Chloe Waters, and Ash MacKenna would lead the DS33 party, complete with a number of the Security staff while Commander Niac, Nolen Hobart, Quentin Collins, and Jacin Ayemet would serve as the planetary team, alongside a number of the ship's Medical staff in case injuries had been sustained by the Naz crews.
After a tense flight to DS33, the teams were dissembled and the proceedings were starting to get underway. Though, not much would go according to anyone's plans.
Act 2
As the DS33 delegations gathered, the remaining Arrow crew disembarked toward Naz.
On the station, emotions were already high as soon as the other delegations arrived. First was Vice Director Goo'py, a Senior Associate of the remaining Sheliak Corporate and Vice Director of Exploration. One of the "major shareholders" of Naz and essentially it's representative for the still limping, but dangerous loyalist Sheliak.
Following soon after was Dai'mon Grif'ter, Prospect Development Chairman of the Ferengi Commerce Guild's "Economic Outreach Program". Meaning more specifically, the hand on the contracts to almost every piece of the Naz's mining apparatus and equipment. Thus providing them an arguable investment in the planet, while the Sheliak claimed mineral rights as it was contained within their space (a fact they had been taking in blood and gold from the Naz crews, seemingly at will).
Though back on the Arrow, more new faces made themselves known as well. Namely delegation member Administrator Archinell, a surly, but hearty representative for Naz itself and Press Secretary Commander Alexander Jayson Cregg, assigned to the away mission as an "impartial observer" at the suggested behest of Starfleet JAG Officer LTjg. Dukul Nibar, who served as the legal entity overseeing the whole affair.
With the pieces in place, even despite the Arrow crew's own heated exchange with the departing Archinell (who haughtily gave the crew leave to explore the planet's surface and apparatus), the board already started to shift. On DS33, tempers flared and odd equipment failures hampered the early talks. While on the Arrow, temperamental tectonics and signs of ship-to-ship combat between looming Sheliak and Ferengi craft in upper orbit suggested shenanigans.
Though the worst would still be yet to come...
Act 3
Soon after, more overt signs and actions launched the bisected crew into action.
On DS33, after a nearly station-wide blackout, the delegations were scattered across the station and local space thanks to some covert point-to-point transports (able only because the station's shields had been brought down). The most severe of which seemed to be Chief Serinus and Ensign Zenno, both of whom seemed to be taken off the board entirely along with most of the station's security contingent, having been transported into a lonely and non-descript cell away from the bulk of the DS33 delegation.
Back on Naz, the planetary away team were dealing with troubles of their own. As the team made planetfall, smack in the middle of one of the planet's largest complexes, odd contractive earthquakes rumbled the lower mantle of the planet. Causing the already moldering mining equipment to start to break entirely and cause even more problems for the hapless crews living on the planet (who naturally greeted the away team with derision and distrust).
However, DS33 was seemingly under siege. As the splintered delegation attempted to restore functionality and order to the station, Serinus and Zenno continued to "jailbreak" themselves from their current predicament. Unaware of the internal problems of the station, which had even started to spread into the team's personal equipment like personal tricorders and even Chloe Waters' "Crown of Voices".
The problems were not exclusive to DS33. As another major contraction of the Naz's mantle swallowed the surface team whole. Sending them cascading into a whole new world below the hardpan of the planet's dust.
Act 4
Things became even more complicated as the surface (now underground) team regained their balance. Though scans on the ship had suggested a network of tunnels below some of the complexes, nothing prepared them for how clean and careful the tunnels looked. The only hint of humanoid hands being the signs of ore excavation and walkways.
Meanwhile, back on DS33, some semblance of function had been restored to the station. Thanks to some quick thinking by Waters and MacKenna, and a fraught flight to the stations OPS Center, more and more systems started to blink back online. Revealing a looming and surreptitious looking bulk freighter just outside the station's superstructure (unknown to the teams at the time was this was the "cage" Serinus and Zenno found themselves in). Having escaped their cells and uncovered the plot to duplicate the head of station security, Zenno and Serinus manage to take the bridge of the freighter, forcing it to decloak and be seen by all. Though before any real progress could be made to salvage the talks, or address the freighter, the very hands and mind who sabotaged them in the first place made herself known.
Administrator Archinell.
Who seemed hard-pressed to hide what the surface team back on Naz had just stumbled into discovering. Though Naz itself had had many paying mines and ore seams, they had been discovered and excavated thanks to the labor of a native species of Horta. Though our intrepid surface team had little time to explore the discovery as another violent contraction of the planet (apparently the work of the scared and fleeing Horta) separated them with another slab of rock.
While on DS33, a showdown of sorts was playing out. Her cover blown, Archinell lashed out at Captain Shayne, imploring him with closed fists to "drop it" or else more and more "accidents" would befall the whole station, thanks to a network of mercenary outside forces and Naz loyalists attempting to restore "order" (ie; capture of the Horta) back on the planet.
Though both front's efforts would be in vain. MacKenna and Dewitt had restored most of the function to the station, while the surface team slowly, but surely made their way to one of the tunnel network's many entryways, gathering rather compelling evidence of the state of the mine and it's indigenous "workforce" along the way.
Conclution
In the end, though somewhat forced by the timely arrival of Commander Niac and the U.S.S. Arrow, cooler heads were forced to prevail.
Faced with the evidence of the abuse of the Horta, the Sheliak and Ferengi were resigned to functionally abandon their claims to Naz. An investigation by Starfleet JAG was launched into Archinell and her loyalists back on Naz. And ultimately, though with more than a few bumps along the way, the Arrow and her crew avoided open warfare once more between Ferenginar and the still wounded Corporate.
But how much longer will their streak of luck continue? Our heroes stand to find out after repair, restock, and respite on the nearby RAFT-ONE.
Important Sims
- - Capt. Shayne: Inc-lemon-t Tidings - Captain Shayne and Commander Niac are called away from the ceremony to learn of the impending arrival of delegates for a diplomatic summit.
- - Ambassador Buford & Cmdr. Stergis - Variable Approach PT1 - Ambassador Buford lays out the details for the talks.
- - Ensign Zenno:Crouching Vulcan, Hidden Agent - Commander Serinus, Ensign Zenno and the security officers of DS33 mysteriously disappear.
- - Lieutenant JG Talia Ohnari ~ Harrowing tales of Housekeeping - Lieutenants Dewitt and Ohnari are caught in a trap not meant for them.
- - Capt. Shayne: A Case of the Cleaned Clock - Captain Shayne discovers the real motivations of the representative from Naz.