Four Deuces
Posted on Mon Nov 17th, 2025 @ 10:24pm by Lieutenant Commander Xalanth & Lieutenant Commander Ryan Keel
Edited on on Fri Nov 21st, 2025 @ 4:09pm
2,140 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Station's Cargo Bay
Timeline: MD 06
Xalanth let out a sigh as the incessant babble filled his ears. He knew this incident was going to be a pain the moment he heard that the Starfleet personnel involved had been involved in some personnel from one of the California classes. Now here he was, stuck between two alien species that he didn't recognize and three Cali crewmen, all of whom were claiming the other partie had scammed them.
As one of the seven-foot-tall aliens in an environmental suite turned and started yelling at him in a language that his translator was struggling to translate Xalanth's hand shot to his combadge.
=^= Xalanth to Keel. Could you please come to my location I have an incident I could use a hand with.=^=
Looking up from his work terminal, a kaleidoscope of expressions flashed across Keel's face. Frustration, he was almost done with a report he had been working on for the best part of his shift. Curiosity as to why he was needed. Affability as it was Xalanth who had commed him. What could he say? He liked the Dragonian and his ways.
His hand slapped the commbadge on his chest. 'Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Heading to your location now.' Hastily powering down his terminal, Keel got to his feet, and tugged his uniform jacket so it sat better across his frame and strode out the office.
Soon arriving at the scene, Keel spied the Dragonian encircled. One the one side were Starfleet personnel dressed in the distinctive uniforms of the Cali-class, and on the other were impossibly tall aliens in some sort of EV suit. Keel groaned internally. Cali-class personnel had a reputation of being more ... impulsive than a lot of their Starfleet counterparts. 'Lieutenant!' he called out, waving a hand. 'You wanted me to come over?'
"Ah, good to see you Ryan. Now I have these three idiots..."
"We have names," blurted out one of the Cali crew, an Andorian.
"Be quiet or you'll be spending the rest of the night in the brig." Xalanth answered.
"Now these idiots claim they won a load of weel of Fireweave wool from these guys..." he said, gesturing from the Cali crew to the aliens in the ev suits. " Which this lady here claims they promised to give to her." He said, gesturing his head towards the back of the room where a shadowy shape moved from the shadow of one of the cargo crates. Whatever her species was her skin was truly a dark black, other than some blazing red eyes.
Looking at the aliens pointed out to him, Keel suppressed a feeling of alarm at the alien creeping in the corner. She looked like a sleep paralysis demon from his childhood. He looked towards the Starfleeters, 'and this lot?' he asked, looking them up and down.
"Are claiming are EV friends scammed them out of the amount of fireweave they claim to have won." Xalanth started before being interrupted
"They cheated ", Yelled one of the EV-clad aliens.
"And claims are friends in the shadows is trying to scam them out of the money she promised them." He added.
The figure in black finally spoke. A rather feminine voice emerged from somewhere, though she didn't appear to have any lips. " I offer a fair enough price given how low quality it is."
'OK,' Keel replied. 'One group at a time then.' He turned to the carbon-black figure. 'You first. You were offering money, what sum of it?'
"Twenty thousand zarnks. " she replied, looking over at the cali crew. " Which they claim isn't a valid currency."
Resisting pulling a face, Keel reflected that zarnks definitely weren't a valid currency in the Federation. To a Ferengi, though ... He worked a few things out in his head, and liked the shape of his idea, and opted to test it. 'It might not be valid inside the Federation, but to a Ferengi, it might be acceptable - you'd have to pay a slight commission, but I'm sure they'd convert it into latinum, if that was acceptable to all of you?'
"No." Yelled one of the suited individuals who pointed at one of the cali crew with one of its long three fingers. " They cheated, they have no right to are cargo."
"We," started one of the crew, before another of the suited individuals yelled over him. " You cheated starskum. We saw the red lizard find the card reader in your arm during the nexk game."
This they hadn't mentioned before, Xalanth thought, giving a look to Keel to indicate this. " One of the dragonian crew?" He asked.
"Yes, the blue-finned female who laughed a lot. It looked like they had her beat till she grabbed that one's arm and pulled back his sleeve. She then took her currency and left laughing."
That sounds like... Xalanth began thinking before shaking his head briefly. It couldn't be. " Keel could you call up the Dragonain ship and ask them to confirm this?" He said to his colleague, though judging by the looks, some of the cali crew were giving their leader, it was probably true.
'I'll call them up,' Keel replied, and shifted up closer to the Dragonian, noticing his pauses. 'something on your mind, Xal?'
" Nothing," Xalanth said, shaking his head as he replied. " Just that i know a Dragonian with blue fins who liked to laugh a lot and loved to gamble. One of my mother's Shivninth." he explained. He fondly remembered his father's second. One of the few on the crawler who wasn't of his tribe, yet she was as integral a part of it as any desert-born Dragonian.
Keel arched an eyebrow, then smiled reassuringly. 'It's unlikely to be the same Dragonian, is it? The galaxy's a big place after all.' He tapped his commbadge as he stepped away. 'Lieutenant Keel to Dragonian vessel. We have reports of a blue-finned female who was witness to some dodgy gambling. Could you confirm that this was the case?'
A sound which sounded more like something clicking came over the coms before a voice jumped on the combadge. This is ship master Shivninth tender of the organid Tsela. I believe you're referring to the runt from your penal troops. Yes, he had a card replication tool up his sleeve. "
'Shivnith, would you mind attending me at my commbadge's location?' Keel asked, a quick idea forming in his mind's eye. 'I just need a positive on ID on the guy, and then you can be on your way.' He tried to keep the hopeful tone out of his voice.
"Give me a moment." came her reply. Within a few minutes, the door slid open. A female Dragonian stepped through wearing a grey uniform of her people's legion. Her red scales were lighter than the Astera's chief of security, though it bore the wear of one who had long lived in the desert. Three blue fins rose from her head instead of Xalanth's spikes, tattered yet still well kept. Her blue eyes looked around the room with a look of annoyance till they fell on the red lizard. She let out a low happy growl of joy before turning to Keel. " You needed me to identify some penal troopers? "
"We're not penal..." one of the coritos's muttered before shutting up from a glare from Xalanth.
Keel smirked, 'not quite penal troopers, but close enough,' he said, aiming the jab in the direction of the Cali crewmembers. 'But yes, I'd like to have the perpetrator positively ID'd for Security purposes.' He looked in Xalanth's direction and smiled, 'and I played a hunch that you might know the Lieutenant here.'
The blue-finned Dragonian looked over her face, lighting up with a soft, happy clicking coming from deep within her troat. " I do indeed know this lieutenant. He bit off one of my fingers when we came to collect his clutch from the nursery."
Turning to look at the cail crew, the lizard seemed to hiss as her tongue slid in and out slightly. " Yes these are the three. If you're going to cheat at least cheat properly. "
"See..." the evo team began before being cut off.
"You were cheating as well at the other table, if i remember correctly. A card replicator built into your suit that activates with a set of taps on the table." Shivninth added, which caused a bluster of alien language coming out of the alien's suit speakers.
'Interesting,' Keel replied mildly. 'Either their device has been stowed, or it's on them.' He turned to Xalanth, 'I'm sure you'll find them either way,' he replied with a smile.
"You never...." The evo leader blurted before Shivninth taped her long fingers on one of the cargo crates. A single playing card dropped from the alien's arm.
"Well, this mess keeps getting worse. " Xalanth said, shaking his head. " Right i think our brig for this lost." He said, looking at the cali crew. " Station brig for these idiots." He said, gesturing to evo aleins. " And this lady will receive some compensation from Starfleet for her trouble." He said looking over at Keel.
Keel grinned, 'I like the sound of that.' He tapped his commbadge once more, summoning station security. Arriving in short order they rounded up the evo aliens, and led them off. The Cali crew looked on, dejected as Keel beckoned the carbon-black female alien over. 'Starfleet will compensate you, as Lieutenant Xalanth stated. Please report to Astrea's umbilical, and ask for my name. We'll sort it for you.'
Said carbon black alien muttered something but nodded and headed for the door. The moment the doors had closed, leaving Xalanth, Keel and Shivninth, the blue-finned dragonian let out a high-pitched yell of happiness before throwing her arms around her son. " Xaly it's so good to see you again, little one."
Xalanth looked rather embarrassed, but still hugged her tightly. " It's good to see you as well. "
Remaining silent, and not wishing to disturb the reunion, Keel stood off to the side, and smiled. He doubted he would have the same reunion with his parents, but was happy enough to have played a small part in this one for Xalanth. He looked away discretely.
"Who's your friend Xaly. " The blue-finned dragonian asked as she realised her son.
"Mother, this is Lieutenant Keel my ship's diplomatic officer," her son explained, " And a good friend."
'It's a delight to meet you,' Keel replied with a wide smile. 'Xalanth has been nothing but a godsend since I came aboard Astrea. Properly took me in as a member of the family, so to speak.' He nodded in Shivnith's direction, 'I'm sure that has a lot to do with his upbringing.'
"He gets it from his father. He found me and my brother when we were wandering in the desert. " The lizard said fondly.
'You were wandering in the desert?' Keel replied, interested, 'I don't think that's usual for your people is it? Or am I recalling incorrectly, Xalanth?'
"No, not my people. I was born in the city-state of Izille." Shivnith said, clicking her tongue against the side of her mouth before continuing. " The worst place on our homeworld. A religious matriarchy ruled with an iron fist. They still practice slavery, no matter what they say and what they do to males......" She shuddered slightly and gripped Xalanth's hand tightly. The memory was clearly painful.
'I'm sorry to have dredged up those memories,' Keel replied softly. 'Still, it seems that you found happiness afterwards.'
"I did." She said softly as she squeezed her son's hand tightly before letting go. " Now I will be stopping by to see my granddaughters later, but right now I have to get back to my ship. He does get rather grouchy when I'm away. It was nice meeting you Mr Keel."
'Likewise,' Keel replied with a nod, watching Shivnith disappear back towards her ship. He leaned in towards the remaining Dragonian. 'Well, that was a surprise, right? Not often you run into family unexpectedly out here.'
"The universe is always full of surprises," Xalanth replied with a smile forming on reptilian teeth. " Thanks for the help Keel."
'Anytime, Xalanth, you know that.' Keel favoured him with a smile. 'I think I'll take a chance to explore the station now, if you don't mind - if ya need a hand again, just give a shout pal.'
Lieutenant Xalanth
Chief Security Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant Ryan Keel
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Astrea
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