Chapter Fifteen: Negotiating
"This is Lieutenant Jadzia Dax, acting commander of Deep Space Nine; may I speak with Captain Janderschmidt, please?" Dax's voice betrayed no hint of the trepidation she felt; Captain Peregrin Janderschmidt had already made trouble over several minor issues while his ship had been docked at the station, and she was by no means sure he would give permission for Miles to borrow his transporters.
"The captain's off duty now; is this an emergency?"
"Not yet," Dax admitted, "but we do have an urgent situation regarding some of our crewmembers that your ship may be able to help us rectify."
"I'm not allowed to call him unless it's an emergency."
"All right, then it's an emergency," Dax said, determined to speak to the captain at once despite feeling sorry for what would likely be in store for the crewman when Captain Janderschmidt found out what she was actually calling about.
The crewman sighed. "All right…I'll patch you through. Captain Janderschmidt?"
"Raddishio, I distinctly told you not to disturb me except in an emergency!" From the faint background noise coming through his combadge signal, Dax guessed he was trying his luck at Quark's dabo tables and nearly groaned; she knew better than to hope his being distracted and anxious to get back to the game would work in her favor.
"Yes, sir, I know, sir, but Lieutenant Dax from the space station says there's an…emergency…regarding some of their crewmembers that you can help with."
"I fail to see how the station could need my help, but put him through and be quick about it."
"Her, sir," Raddishio corrected. "Captain Janderschmidt, Lieutenant Dax." His image on the screen nodded at Dax, gesturing for her to take over the conversation.
"Captain Janderschmidt, would you mind going to a…quieter location?" Dax asked without preamble.
"I'm a busy man, Lieutenant; I'm sure I can deal with whatever problem you have just fine here."
Dax bit her lip, hating the condescension in his tone. "All right, then; we're requesting the loan of your transporters."
"Well, I suppose I don't mind beaming someone of yours somewhere if your transporters aren't working, but I hardly think you needed to speak to me in person to ask that; my engineer can handle it."
"Yes, I'm sure he could, but we need to borrow your transporter, not just the use of it."
"I beg your pardon, Lieutenant?"
"We have two crewmembers trapped within the programming of one of our holosuites," Dax explained, thinking it best not to mention that the station commander was one of those crewmembers. "Our chief engineer has determined that we can use a transporter to get them back, but our own transporter is too far away and not able to be moved, whereas he thinks yours can be relocated with minimal difficulty."
"Do remind me never to use your holosuites," Captain Janderschmidt said with cutting sarcasm. "And I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere for a way to get them back. My transporters are staying right where they are; I should hardly care to get them back and find a similar sort of error in their programming."
"I assure you, Captain, we would return them to you in exactly the same condition we received them."
"Ah, but you can't really guarantee that, now can you? No, I'm afraid I can't take the risk."
"Then I'm afraid you'll be staying at this station indefinitely."
"Blackmail, Lieutenant? That really won't do; I'll just have to appeal to your superiors at Starfleet, whoever they may be."
He could, too, Dax knew; he wasn't Starfleet and couldn't be ordered to do them a favor, so she had no true legal right to deny his ship permission to leave. "Think about it; let me know if you reconsider."
"Oh, I highly doubt I will, Lieutenant. I highly doubt it." His communication cut off abruptly, leaving Raddishio on the screen looking extremely uncomfortable. "If I could let you have the transporters without him finding out, sir…"
"But we both know that isn't an option," Dax said not unkindly. "Deep Space Nine out."
She sighed as his image winked off the screen, burying her face in her hands for a moment before tapping her combadge to tell O'Brien that the solution wasn't as close as they had thought.
oOo
From where he stood in the bar, Quark's sharp ears had picked up nearly every word of Dax's conversation with the captain, and he shook his head sadly. Dax was a fine girl, but living in a society that failed to value profit had spoiled her; she hadn't even thought of offering Captain Janderschmidt the monetary incentive he was probably waiting for.
He considered suggesting it to her, but was it worth it to be accused of eavesdropping when they already halfway held him at fault for the commander's disappearance? They would hardly see the point that everything that went on in his bar was his business, and he had more right to "eavesdrop" there than Odo did.
Quark glanced around even as he thought it, wondering if the shapeshifter might not even now be disguised as an extra chair or glass, watching to see if Quark had any more dealings with the stranger who had given him the program. Though for once the thought had a certain amount of comfort in it, as he considered the stranger's threats if he told anyone about him. Odo might love a chance to arrest Quark, but he wouldn't hesitate to protect him from physical harm at the hands of a vengeful alien.
No, Quark decided, he would do the negotiating himself — and likely get a better price than Dax possibly could. He liked Dax; he didn't mind doing her a favor once in a while, though he did hope she would think to reimburse him for any latinum he had to spend. He had never meant to make Sisko disappear and felt guilty that it had happened in his holosuite, but not so guilty that he felt he needed to pay to make up for it. But of course, nothing was so good for a guilty conscience as making latinum.
Ah, well; if they didn't think of reimbursing him, maybe Odo would look the other way the next time one of his deals was a shade on the illegal side; that would work out to the same difference, and might even be more profitable in the long run.
He sidled up to Captain Janderschmidt's side. "Are you interested in making some latinum?"
The captain placed his bet on the dabo wheel as if he hadn't heard, then waited for the wheel to come to a stop before turning to Quark with a sly smile that matched the Ferengi's own. "Who wouldn't?"
"Oh, I could tell you," Quark muttered.
"You have a deal to offer me, then?"
"A…proposition…if you'll just step this way?"
Captain Janderschmidt glanced at the dabo wheel at which he had been losing all evening, then shrugged and followed Quark to a secluded booth.
"Rom, a drink for the captain…on the house." The words sounded as if they were physically painful for him to utter, but he consoled himself with the thought that the captain's dabo losses more than made up for it.
"So, what's this 'proposition' you have for me?" Captain Janderschmidt questioned after taking a long drink from the glass Rom set in front of him. Quark winced at the rapidity with which the level of liquid went down, wondering if he might be expected to supply refills as well.
"I was wondering if you might be interested in renting out your transporter?"
The captain started visibly. "Do you know, you're the second person to ask me th — Oh. The lieutenant put you up to it, didn't she?"
"Such a thing never would have crossed her mind," Quack responded truthfully. "But I am negotiating on her behalf. Between you and me, Captain, Starfleet doesn't really understand those of us who value profit."
"No; she seemed to think she could expect me to loan the transporters out of the goodness of my heart. I assure you, my heart has precious little goodness to spare for anyone but myself."
"Ah. Then you would be willing to allow the use of your transporters…for a price?"
"If the price was high enough…I might be willing to consider it," the captain replied, leaning back lazily and drumming his fingers on the table.
"How does five bars of gold-pressed latinum strike you?" Quark asked with a crafty smile.
Captain Janderschmidt snorted. "Pah! Five! Barely enough to be worth the trouble of picking it up off the ground. No, if you really want those transporters, the price is fifty."
Quark nearly choked. "Fifty! I could buy a transporter three times over for that price!"
Captain Janderschmidt wagged a finger at him. "True…true…if there was another transporter in this sector to be had. We both know there isn't, which makes mine all the more valuable to anyone who needs it that badly. However, in the interests of fostering good relations, I'm prepared to knock off five bars and accept forty-five."
They both knew the rules of barter; that Quark had started far lower and Janderschmidt far higher than each was willing to accept. In the end they would meet somewhere in the middle, at terms that let each feel he had gotten the best of the other and come out on the better side of the deal.
oOo
"So that's twenty bars of latinum for use of the transporter," Captain Janderschmidt summed up when they had at last agreed on terms.
"Less anything you lose at dabo," Quark specified, anxious that he not forget this point.
"Plus a deposit of ten bars, to be refunded at the return of my transporter in full working order," Janderschmidt continued as if Quark hadn't spoken.
"Agreed," Quark said, waving his hand for Rom to come witness the contract. "And if you want my advice, don't tell Dax I had anything to do with it, or about the twenty bars."
Janderschmidt shrugged. "As long as I get it, I really don't care."
"That's agreed, then," Quark concluded. "The twenty-bar payment, less deductions, will be paid on the day you're scheduled to leave. And I'm sure the lieutenant will be willing to put up the ten-bar deposit without any mention of my name."
"I'll take your word for it. By the way, what's in this for you?"
"For me?" Quark asked innocently.
"Yes. I know you Ferengi; you worship 'profit,' and you wouldn't pay twenty bars of latinum unless there was something in it for you."
Quark shrugged expansively. "Let's just say because they disappeared in my holosuite I feel partly responsible, and I don't mind doing Dax a favor once in a while."
Janderschmidt shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "That isn't it, but as long as I get my twenty bars, I don't suppose it matters."
"Less your dabo losses," Quark insisted again.
Janderschmidt flashed a quick grin. "Then I'd better go down and win a few times, hadn't I?"
Quark's answering grin look surprisingly genuine. "By all means!" he cried, clapping him on the shoulder just before the man rose.
"Yes, by all means," he murmured more softly to himself as Janderschmidt returned to the dabo wheel. He would tell the girls to let him have a few small wins now, just enough to keep him playing — though Quark suspected that wouldn't be a problem in any case. Then on the night before he left, he would have the girls ply him with drinks — real ones. Drunk on alcohol and a string of moderate wins, he would grow reckless and bet the entire payment — and lose. In the end, it was Quark who would come out ahead in the deal.
Next chapter coming next week! …hopefully. The library is closed due to the coronavirus threat, so I'm trying posting from my phone with the wifi at work. If I end up not having access to that (I don't think they'd close grocery stores, but some people are afraid they will), posting will be delayed until the library opens again.
I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!
Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Deep Space Nine alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie
