The Contact

An hour later, after landing at the small space port of Lake Town and passing through customs, the crew of *Firefly* set foot on Serenity for the first time.

“I’ll be heading for Serenity City on the Mag Lev train. The meeting is set for three hours from now. If I’m not back by nightfall, you’ll know something’s wrong.” Stryker announced. “Beka, if that happens, I want you to take the *Firefly* and get as far away from here as you can.”

Jack headed off towards town and the train station, whilst the rest of the crew watched on.

“Hey guys, check this out.” Harper announced from the edge of the landing pad where the ship now stood. “Looks like we’re pulling in a crowd as usual.”

Most people never got close to even seeing a Klingon vessel up close and wherever they went, wherever there was some semblance of civilisation, the *Firefly* drew a crowd. The fact that the *Firefly* was also over two hundreds year old and still flying only added to the fascination.

The space port was not large at all and there were actually only a few landing areas large enough for the *Firefly*. Most of the traffic appeared to be smaller vessels, mainly runabouts or shuttlecraft, which made the *Firefly* stand out even more.

“Let’s get this ship running.” Beka announced to the rest of the crew, heading back towards the doors of the ship. “We don’t have much time.”

Stryker found the train station and picked up the ticket which had been left in his name. Boarding the train, he watched the scenery whiz by at nearly a thousand kph. When the train finally reached Serenity City, Jack found himself in a busy city, unlike most of the border-world he had ever seen. Looking at the map he carried, he soon found the bar where his contact would be waiting, or so he hoped.

Stepping into the bar, Stryker felt a little more at home. Most of the people in the bar looked up or around to see who had just stepped inside, those who hadn’t were either too drunk to care or snoozing the day’s drinking away. Stepping up to the bar, Jack ordered a drink and surveyed the room, noticing an empty table. Whilst the bar wasn’t exactly full, this one table stood out alone, as if it was waiting for Jack’s arrival.

Jack walked across and sat down, all eyes watching him. He took a sip of his drink and stared back at the crowd, who turned back to their own drinks and business.

“Captain Stryker, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” A male voice announced, taking a seat opposite Jack and placing a drink down on the table.

“And you are ?” Jack enquired.

“That’s not important right now.” The man replied.

“Well ….I believe you have a job for me ?” Jack stated softly.

“Indeed I do.” He confirmed. “It seems you have a few good references from friends of mine in the former Cardassian Union. And they’re a tough crowd to please. One of them recommended you as someone who could be trusted and someone who could get here quickly.”

“Then I guess you know my costs ?” Jack stated.

The man sat opposite was suddenly very quiet, a quiet that made Jack nervous. Usually it meant he wasn’t going to get paid, but that was usually after they had risked their lives. This was different; this guy was going to say to his face, before he even took the job that he wasn’t going to get paid.

 “I can give you ten bars.” He said.

“Ten.” Jack replied angrily. “That’s only a third of what I was originally offered. I want the fully thirty bars or I walk away from this table now.”

“Mr Stryker, do you seriously think you’re the first Captain that has walked away from this table today ?.” The man continued. “Please let me finish.”

“Where my associates are coming from latinum is hardly the most populous commodity, but something else is. I hear you’re having trouble obtaining certain parts for your vessel Captain. How would you like access to some of the most advanced components around, at no cost ? I’m talking about things that won’t be seen in general use for twenty-five years minimum. My associates are willing to allow you access to some of these part. They also have access to one of the component that I know you have been seeking for sometime now. We have access to a class four Klingon cloaking device, still in its packing crate.”

 “I’ll have to discuss things over with my crew, but if everything checks out, we may have a deal.” Stryker announced. “So let’s talk about the job.”

The man produced a half size Padd and slid it across the table to Jack, who quickly pocketed it.

“It’s a fairly simple job.” The man said taking a small sip at his drink. “I need you to travel to a Starbase and pick up a friend up for me. He needs transport for about twenty people, plus some cargo back to Serenity. You just need to reach the station and await further instructions. All the details are on the PADD, including the sub-space frequencies he will be transmitting on.”

“So what’s the catch ?” Jack asked. “Why are you and your associates willing to pay out so much money for a simple passenger run ?”

“Well...” He said. “….it’s a remote Starfleet outpost, a modified Hermes class Starbase, which is located in a remote system in the Gamma quadrant.”

“The Gamma quadrant.” Jack announced. “That’s hard enough to get access to, never mind get back from. And a normal Hermes class Starbase is a pretty heavily armed base to go up against.”

“He may also be in trouble, he has had shall we say, disagreements with his superiors. He’s no “criminal”, if that ‘s what you’re thinking, but he’s uncomfortable with the way things have been going in the Gamma quadrant since the end of the war.”

“So how do we get through the Bajorian wormhole ?” Jack enquired. “There’s no such thing as free trade in the Gamma quadrant anymore, every vessel that passes through is scanned and checked at both ends.”

“That has all been arranged.” The man announced. “The Padd you have has all the clearances that will allow you to get through the wormhole and back again without too many problems. There is also a supply ship heading out to the Starbase, which is due to arrive on December 2 nd. You’ll travel to the Starbase and impersonate that vessel. All the details about that vessel are again on the Padd. They should get you onto the Starbase without being shot at. Of course you will be early by one day, but when have Starfleet ever complained about that.”

“How are you going to do that ?” Jack enquired. “We’re not exactly a Federation approved carrier.”

“The vessel that has been despatched to transfer the supplies is a private vessel, operating out of Earth.” He explained. “It’s not unusual for the GQOF to use small private companies to transfer supplies, that way they get to keep most of the funds they’re allocated.”  

“GQOF ?” Jack enquired

“Gamma Quadrant Occupation Forces, a division of Starfleet that is officially there to maintain peace with the Dominion. They control all the coming and goings, act as an unofficial police force for the quadrant. You’ll run into them and they have developed some of the best techs in Starfleet including some impressive fighters, but the permits on the Padd will get you past most patrols, at least on the way in.” The contact said. “You’ll pose as the supply vessel, deliver the cargo that will be loaded here, pick up the passengers and come back here.”

“So why pick me for this job ?” Jack asked.

“My contacts in the Cardassian sector say that you have a knack of getting past military patrols unseen.” He answered. “We need that sort of skill to get our colleagues out of the Gamma quadrant unseen. Plus we needed someone quickly, who we knew we could rely on.”

“When do I see the technology ?” Jack enquired.

“It is all currently in storage on the Starbase itself, I can’t give much more detail than that.” The contact answered. “It will be transferred along with the passengers.”

“Which means that to get paid I must take on the job and complete it.” Jack assumed. “Very clever.”

Jack finished his drink and placed the empty glass on the table.

“Would you like another ?” The man asked.

“No, I have a ship to prepare. I’m heading for the Gamma quadrant tomorrow.” Jack replied.

“Then we have a deal ?” The contact enquired.

“We’ll see.” Jack replied. “For now, I’ll take the job and discuss the deal with my crew. I should see you in about sixteen days, I guess.”

“Good luck Captain.” The man stated, rising from the table

“Are you going to tell me your name now ?” Jack asked. “How do I contact you ?”

“My name is Klaas and don’t contact me, I’ll contact you.” Klaas replied, rising from his seat and disappeared through a back door.

Jack sat back for a moment, before rising from his own seat and heading back to the train station and Lake Town.