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Posted on Sun Feb 16th, 2020 @ 6:41am by Skye

1,168 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 104 - A Glimmer of Hope...
Location: Promenade
Timeline: MD1, 1030 hours

From the upper level of the promenade, the girl with the vivid red hair paused to take in the view as she considered what to do next. Only half an hour in and she had endured just about as much 'shopping' as she could take, suffering overly helpful assistants, the people who walked so slowly that it seemed to be their purpose in life to infuriate her and the overall sense of … normality.

No.

It was much easier her way. More peaceful, even on those rare occasions when she tripped an alarm or two. That was rare and some of her most peaceful moments came suspended from the ceiling, just admiring a priceless work of art. Or a chocolate castle. Now that she had enjoyed.

Korel had been true to his word and compensated her handsomely for her work in helping him secure his new ship. She hated to admit it but she kind of liked the aged Klingon and his Caitian sidekick. Regardless, that particular work of art she had bought the day they got back, and it had been as delicious as she had imagined.

Art.

Recalling that she had seen a gallery, she pushed away from the railing and set off, carrying her other purchases with her. While it wasn't much fun visiting during the day she was curious to see what items had made it way out here to a starbase rather than a museum.

Walking inside she paused, her blue eyes sweeping the room. Works of art indeed... she felt her inner child clap with delight as she caught sight of paintings and sculptures. Many from distant planets. Oh!

She crossed the room to a display case where a small figure sat in a display case. Hand-carved, composed of precious metals and embellished with priceless stones, it a little like a teddy bear. Only tiny, and not soft and cuddly in any way. And incredibly expensive. Definitely not for children.

"I haven't seen you in a long time," she whispered as she knelt down to admire it. "You made it all the way here too, huh?"

Vox, was in the backroom of the Gallery when heard something in the main room. He walked into the Gallery.

"Hello, can I help you at all?" He asked.

Rising, Skye shook her head as she turned to face the man who had spoken. "Just admiring your collection," she assured him. Which was true. Even just this one piece she would steal in a heartbeat. Again. Back then it had seemed much bigger, much too heavy and well, less said about what happened next the better.

She regarding the man for a moment, guessing he must be the owner. The way he carried himself made her suspect he wasn't simply staff. Trill, obviously. Late thirties or so, she would guess. Yeah, the boss.

"Beautiful piece," she said, gesturing to the display case. "Where did you find it?"

"Oh, I managed to acquire it through a dealer friend of mine from Andoria. I am still working on researching its back story. Do you know about it?" Vox asked.

“No,” Skye replied smoothly, shaking her head. “It reminds me of some of the exhibits showcased a few years ago from an old family on Betazed. The style is a little similar. Or it originates from somewhere else. Either way, it is amazing. For sale?”

"Sadly not, I have not yet been given the authority to sell it so its a display item for now," Vox replied.

"Oh..." she said as she studied the case. She did not miss the additional safeguards visible to the naked eye, which meant there were far more she could not see. "May I ask, who owns it now?"

"He's on the station tomorrow actually. His name is Eron Zorin." Vox replied.

Skye said nothing, simply nodded as she looked around. She had crossed paths with him once before and had no wish to really do so again. One thing was for sure, he would not sell her anything.

"You have quite the collection, I have to admit I didn't expect to find somewhere like this on a starbase," she commented, changing the subject. A picture nearby caught her attention, "is that a Varji original painting?!"

"You have a keen eye. It is. " Vox confirmed.

"And an early one too," Skye noted as she approached it. "You know there are about twenty forgeries of this in different art galleries throughout the quadrant. I knew this man who could paint a replica from memory but he could never quite get the shade of blue just right..."

"Really? That's amazing" Vox replied.

“Yeah, it is hard to ... no way!” Skye’s face lit up, making her look even younger than her nineteen years as she slipped past Vox and headed towards the back of the room. “You have an Azrel V painting?! I’ve never seen one in person... this is worth its weight in gold pressed latinum and then some! Though never figured out the V. Is it an initial? Is there more than one Azrel?”

Vox smiled. "That picture is not for sale, its has a fair amount of sentimental value to me. My name is Raekwon Vox, a joined Trill. I am the fifth host of the Vox symbiont and my second host was the artist, Azrel Vox aka Azrel V. So, in a way, I painted it. " He smiled.

“No way!” Skye breathed, staring at him. “Wow. That’s... amazing! You have quite the talent.”

"Well, Azrel did. She had a keen eye for detail and a flare for dramatic colours. So what brings you to Starbase 400?" Vox asked

"Nothing much. Staying out of trouble, mostly. Speaking of, I should go, I have a job interview in an hour or so and should get cleaned up," she said, taking one last long look at the painting. "It was nice to meet you, Raekwon Vox, host number five."

Heading for the door she paused, turning, "since five is my favourite number, I'll buy you a drink sometime. And some advice, Zorin will always overcharge you and his associates do not care where they find what they sell on. Or lend out. Be careful with him."

Stopping once more beside the small bear which had first captured her attention, she groaned inwardly, feeling like an angel and demon were having a full on battle, one on each shoulder. Korel was having a bad influence because she turned, "can I ask you a favour, number five?"

Vox smiled. " Sure"

"You need to adjust your sensors on the display case by about point seven five percent," she told him with a sad smile as she backed up towards the door, "just to, you know, remove temptation from people. Other people. Not me. Later number five."

"Ok, will do. You can call me Rae if you like." He replied.

"I'll think about it," she grinned. "Be good. I'm Skye."

"Nice meeting you, Skye." He replied

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