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Chapter Text

The Star Beagle Adventures                                                
Episode 1: Eye of the Beholder
Scene 8: Project Director Pel

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Project Director Pel

Captain Yui Song rose from her captain’s chair on the bridge of the U.S.S. Mako as the federation task force approached ferengi space. The Ferengi Alliance did not lay claim to a large amount of space, unlike the Cardassian Union or any of the other regional powers. Only 12 star systems strategically arranged around the Ferenginar homestar. D, Red South 179, was the most remote of these systems from pretty much anywhere else in the Milky Way. 

Ferengi space was protected by a combination of ferengi marauders and FCA brick fighters - small, fast, powerful fighters almost never seen outside of frengi space.

“We’re being hailed,” said Lt. Kykena Oroht, the Mako’s bolian tactical officer, from her post behind the captain’s chair.

“On screen,” Captain Yui responded. 

An unusually small and delicate looking ferengi appeared on the viewer, but his voice was low, crisp and strong despite his apparent youth: “Pel, F.C.A. I am to accompany you on this mission.”

Only 10 minutes later, Captain Yui was surprised to discover that Pel was even smaller than she had thought he was. For several reasons, Yui had decided to present the Mako as the lead ship in the invited investigation. Neither she nor Captain Howard wanted the ferengi to see anything on the U.S.S. Beagle - to all outward appearances, the Beagle was just a restored antique vulcan cruiser. And the U.S.S. Escort was clearly not a science vessel. So Captains Yui and Howard were meeting Pel in Yui’s ready room, just off the Mako’s bridge.

“The Ferengi Commerce Authority has designated me as project director for D, Red South 179,” said Pel. 

“You’re the canary.” Captain Skip Howard followed his observation with a light laugh. “So what did you do to piss them off?”

Pel turned toward Howard with some heat, but the hot retort died on his lips. 

Yui watched alertly. The diminutive ferengi was clearly disturbed by Captain Howard. Of course, lots of people might be put off by their first meeting with the Beagle’s strange skipper, especially given that he had chosen a light lavender nail polish and eye shadow that perfectly matched the dominant color of Pel’s - surprisingly not-as-tasteless-as-most-ferengi-attire - vest. Yui had no doubt Skip Howard’s choice of color was deliberate.

“Skip is right,” Yui said. “They’re sending you in to determine the threat level. To see what impact this has on you. What are we looking for - what are they looking for, specifically?”

Pel looked trapped. His movements had become more and more furtive and he was clearly particularly unnerved by Captain Howard. He looked like he was about to panic. “Okay! Okay! I wasn’t supposed to tell you this… But I don’t know how we can move forward without it. We don’t have a copy of the broadcast, but… Okay…” Pel started rubbing his hands over and over - as if he were washing them. “I’m sure you figured out that we went to that planet long ago. It was very long ago. So long ago that the entire Ferengi civilization has fallen back almost to a primitive state and been rebuilt since then. We don’t have much in the way of records from the homeworld from before the 2nd Eugenics War, nearly 900 years ago. But we do have a few absolute ironclad rules. Absolutely no genetic engineering. And absolutely no travel allowed to D, Red South 179.”

Captain Yui Song registered considerable surprise at this revelation about ancient Ferengi civilization. At a glance, however, she could tell that this was not news to Captain Howard.

“I had heard about that,” Skip Howard said. “Apparently the Ferengi had faster than light travel nearly fifteen hundred years ago. They had colonized a few planets and then the entire civilization was demolished by a series of civil wars. Only one of the colonies escaped…”

“The Faulkerst Prison Colony. Exiles,” Pel continued. “Most of them were killed in the 2nd Eugenics War. After they rebuilt, it took them more than a hundred years to build a spaceship capable of obtaining orbit and another 60 years to travel at sublight speed to find one of our few surviving cruisers, adrift just outside the system. They recolonized and completely reinvented our civilization. No one knows for certain if the D, Red South 179 transmission was really responsible for the 2nd Eugenics War. The stories about it are - I would say unbelievable, but I’ve seen a lot of unbelievable things. I’m a little more widely travelled than most ferengi.”

“Nice history lesson,” Captain Yui concluded. “The transmission?”

Pel sighed, looked down, then back up. “It wasn’t the kind of transmission you get on your viewscreen or in your comm system. That’s why we don’t have a copy of it. It was like a space itself opened and something was trying to get through. It started with just a few disruptions. But people recognized the face of the leader of the D, Red South 179 expedition - like she was trying to push through…”

“She??” Yui Song was clearly confused.

“The ancient ferengi civilization was matriarchal,” Skip Howard replied. “Do you want more side notes on Ferengi history… or…”

Yui shook her head and made a dismissive wave of her hand toward her fellow captain. “Please continue, Director Pel.” 

Pel was on the edge of his seat, talking quickly, the story tumbling out of him. “Every time the transmission happened, more of her got through. And it drove the people who saw her into some sort of frenzy. They started building machines, sending ships toward D, Red South 179… And a little more got through and some of it stayed. But when the portal closed, what had gotten through… a hand… an arm… her face… it was like… cut off…” Pel shuddered. Captain Yui found herself shuddering too, empathizing with Pel’s fear. “And it wasn’t ferengi…”

Pel drew a deep, shuddering breath. Even the telling of this story was clearly disturbing him. “Tiny eyeballs. Eyeballs that floated… that attacked… burrowed into peoples’ skin. Turned them… Got into computers. Entire cities were cordoned off, then destroyed with photonic weapons. Self-destruct instructions sent to the ships. The D, Red South 179 Project Ship was remotely ordered to attack the planet it was orbiting - D, Red South 179-6. And the transmissions finally stopped. But then there were the monsters. The ferengi whose genetic code had been altered by the aliens - it was like they had become horrible genetic experiments. Which led to research on how to stabilize their genetics, which, allegedly, led to the 2nd Eugenics War.” Pel shuddered again. “We have had tracking satellites and special tactics groups stationed to cordon the system off. I’m not even sure how that trill mining ship even got to that star system.” 

Pel stopped speaking, took another deep breath, calming himself. “The F.C.A. wants to make sure this never happens again. Ferenginar is vulnerable. The F.C.A. wants the threat identified. And eliminated. Star Fleet is good at that sort of thing.”

Both Captains Yui and Howard tried, with varying degrees of failure, to conceal their displeasure at Pel’s parting shot. Captain Yui Song stood up, provoking Pel and Skip Howard to stand as well.

“Thank you, Director,” Yui said. “Ensign Peterman will show you to your guest quarters. Captain Howard, you wanted to meet with me about another matter?” The captain of the U.S.S. Mako had a slightly sour expression.

The captain of the U.S.S. Beagle waited until their ferengi guest exited Captain Yui’s ready room.

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