Crew of USS Thunder-A forced to network with diverse factions to return home

UNKNOWN SPACE — A desperate need for supplies left the crew of the USS Thunder negotiating with unsavory organizations in unknown territory.

After dispatching two away teams to separate locations in the uncharted quaternary star system, Commander Oddas Aria and those who remained aboard the USS Thunder-A were soon joined by some unexpected, yet oddly familiar guests.
Captain Frel, of the Janitzan Lightship Kiessa, arrived in the system not far from the stricken Federation vessel’s position and proceeded to make contact, but when the Janitzan’s image appeared on the viewscreen of the Thunder’s bridge, Commander Oddas would have been forgiven for thinking she was looking in a mirror. The resemblance between herself and Captain Frel was uncanny.
“I wasn’t sure what I expected to see,” stated Commander Oddas. “But despite the similarities, I knew the crew of the other ship couldn’t be Bajoran.”
Indeed, they were not, as an impromptu meeting in the Thunder’s briefing room revealed.
In fact, while the Janitzans and Bajorans do have a shared heritage, it would seem there are several deep cultural differences, such as the use of coffee as a form of currency on the Janitzan homeworld – a fact that played a key part in the Janitzans departing as friends after Commander Oddas kindly beamed several varieties of the hot beverage aboard the Kiessa.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the system, Commander Brayden Jorey’s away team found themselves behind enemy lines and forced to negotiate with members of the Orion Syndicate in order to acquire sufficient antimatter for their return to Duronis II.
After a brief standoff with the aptly named “Togok the Insufferable” and his right-hand woman, Juna, they were led to a market where a Ferengi merchant by the name of Brank could supposedly furnish them with the goods. However, after negotiations broke down, the antimatter was instead obtained through a most unlikely source.
Lieutenants Han and Fairhug were escorted to a storage facility by an Orion slave named Lily, who in turn, was hoping to gain her freedom by helping the Starfleet officers. Following a dramatic shootout in the shuttle bay, Commander Jorey and his team were able to finally escape the clutches of the Orions and with Lily in tow, made their way back to the Thunder, hotly pursued by Syndicate fighters.
Thankfully for them, a mysterious Terran mercenary by the name of Damian was on hand with his crew to provide much-needed assistance in chasing off the enemy ships.
Although, Lieutenant Commander Pavlova’s team had a very different experience as they dealt with the Tellarite administrator of a dilithium mining colony on a nearby moon orbiting a gas giant. Although relations were frosty at first, the landing party were able to successfully secure the dilithium after convincing Administrator Rash Mevrar that they were allies and with the promise of future aid from the Federation in ridding the system of the presence of the Orion Syndicate.
“This is an honest mining outpost,” Mevrar lamented. “We just want to live our lives, do our jobs and live in peace.”
With both away teams back aboard and a couple of unexpected passengers in the form of a liberated Orion slave and a young, enthusiastic Janitzan historian, the USS Thunder-A is finally on its way home for some hard earned shore leave.
Written by Jarn Th’Braxa