| Author |
Message |
    
Kari
| | Posted on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 07:37 pm: | |
The laugh was haughty and blustering, condescending in its own masculinity. “First time on the Maggy, eh there, girl?”
Clinging tightly to the leather strap, Mandie Sobel looked up at the brute but didn’t respond, fearing her lunch would follow any attempt at a comeback.
=/\=
“Any questions before I brief the rest of the team, cadet?” a pause, “good.” The colonel left the small room.
Ma’Aru was now alone, sitting in a straight back chair, in a space not much larger than a closet. Outside in the conference room the colonel was going over elements of the mission that she didn’t need to know. Or, at least, that is what she thought he was doing. This was her first actual assignment and the structure of it all was very strange, even for Starfleet Intelligence.
A few minutes later there was a faint click and the automatic door slid away. “…which brings us to the next stage of the operation. Ms. Ma’Aru, will you come in here?”
She stepped in the conference room and quickly glanced around. Through the dim light she could just make out the figures of at least seven people sitting around the table. As she moved to an empty chair a holographic display burst to life on one wall.
A cutaway image of a deep mineshaft appeared and the colonel nodded at the still picture. “Mr. Soandso?”
A short, broad man wearing commander’s pips stood and moved towards the display. “This is the Bylan Crysanti latinum mine, one of the largest of its kind. It’s nearly 4 kilometers down at its deepest point, and produces an average of 3 liters of pure liquid latinum a day. Two years ago, in the middle of an intense political crisis, the consortium who’d owned it up until that point sold the mine and all of its holdings to a Betazoid by the name of Riche Brekit.
“Brekit is a self made man who’s spent his life moving from one profitable enterprise to the next. One of the greatest commercial successes Betazed has ever seen, he’s bordering the line between local hero and legend. He was able to use his reputation to bring a swift and decisive end to the negation problems the mine was facing. However, our own internal reports have, surprisingly enough, uncovered a darker side to his dealings.
“As soon as he had resolved the conflict at Bylan Crysanti their recorded earnings fell dramatically despite production levels remaining nearly the same. The EER became suspicious and was able to trace the missing funds back to, you guessed it, our own Sams Dalva the third. However, they need more data if this particular tie is going to be used in their case. This is where our cadet comes in.”
In response, most of the heads in the room turned towards Ma’Aru. She continued to stare at the commander as he talked about her specific means of getting inside the mine.
“We have already arraigned for the lead foreman’s secretary to be called away on important personal business and have arraigned for Ms. Ma’Aru to fill in her position while she is away. Once she has established herself she will install a piece of software engineered by R&D into their main computer network. It will find and retrieve all the data we need and download it to a holonovel reader in the cadet’s possession. She then has only to wait approximately one week for the real secretary to return and then make her way back here with the reader and the information inside.” The commander, having finished his brief, returned to his seat.
Across the room someone stirred a little. A Denobulan by the look of his profile, he leaned forward, resting his arms on the large conference desk. “And if the infiltration software gives her away, what then? It wouldn’t be the first time R&D has fouled their end of an operation.”
The colonel, who appeared to be in charge of the meeting, responded, “The instances you are refereeing to are long past and the problems have since been rectified. Besides, M.G. Korgen has given me his personal recommendation that Cadet Ma’Aru will be able to get out of the situation, should any problems arise.”
Ma’Aru swallowed hard. She’d suspected that Korgen was behind her getting this assignment. She just hoped that there would be time for her to talk to him before she left.
Commander Soandso, seeing his opportunity to help out with a bit more information, spoke up. “Actually, sir, because of the depth of the mine and the intense density of the surrounding rock, transporters cannot be used. Instead, they employ a large magnetic lift for transporting all personal and equipment to and from the surface. It currently only runs a single round trip per day, and all boardings are strictly monitored.
The colonel nodded, taking this in. “Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be an issue. I have the highest of confidence that the software will be completely untraceable and I expect this stage to go over without complication. Thank you, Ms. Ma’Aru, that will be all. If you would return to your quarters now I will have someone contact you within the hour for your traveling arraignments.”
=/\=
By the time Kari Ma’Aru – or, rather, Mandie Sobel – got inside the large magnetic lift all the seat had been taken. In fact, she had quite a difficult time merely finding a strap to hold on to amongst the throng of mine workers returning from leave.
The crowd around her was impressive, species from all across the galaxy sitting together peacefully in such a confined space. Their only similarities between them being their excellent physical condition; for, despite countless technical innovations, mining was still a very physical activity.
The lift lurched once, then set off along the ground, pulling away from the large space station where she had landed. It continued along for a few minutes before its forward movement stopped and was replaced by a sickening falling sensation.
The light level inside dimmed immediately as they passed through the threshold of the mind. As the lift sailed down the shaft the uneven sides of the face caused it to begin shaking and vacillating madly.
Around Ma’Aru the miners seemed unconcerned, gently swaying to keep their balance. She, on the other hand, tightly gripped the strap with each convulsion, unable to find a rhythm or pattern to the violence of the ride. Noticing her situation, the nearby miners grew amused and gently taunted her inexperience.
When the lift finally pulled into the station at the bottom of the shaft Ma’Aru could only deftly follow those around her outside. Stepping into the dank air outside, however, seemed to awaken her senses as she glanced around the crowded receiving area. She set of towards what looked like an office, full of determination and ready to tackle whatever her first assignment might entail. |
|