Stardate: 71209:0030
Title: Whip Round
Author: Chief of Operations Autumn Falls
Time: Current
Scene: USS Horizon - Planet 4G12


[We are Turnqist. You owe us 483,972,500 sipics for the damage you've done. We have our entire planet's weapon system trained at your ship. We would suggest you pay up IMMEDIATELY.]

"Okay, before we all start to empty out our pockets to pay our fine, does anyone find it strange that a pre-warp civilisation is demanding money instead of begging us to take them to the stars and show them sights. Or even 'wow, you come from outer space! Do you have a cure for any illnesses?'" Autumn looked puzzled.

"The ship must look really bad from the outside if they don't want the two-dime 'look at your planet from space' tour," quipped Basil from the tactical station.

Humour, Autumn had found, was sometimes the best defence when you were crashed on a planet that was aiming all its weapons at you.

"They are high balling," the Captain said to no one in particular.

"Sorry Sir?" Autumns puzzled look was becoming a permanent feature.

"It's a sales technique; people ask for the impossible so that when they then make a lower offer, which by comparison seems reasonable, you accept, but you generally give out more than you ever intend to."

"So it could be a ploy?"

"Possibly, but since we are stuck here, at least for now, we will have to enter some form of negotiation." Autumn walked over to the viewscreen and squinted at all the glitzy signs flashing their wares. 'Cold Beer, Dirty Girls and Mud Wrestling' was an intriguing combination and a peek into the morality of this world - not that Autumn was judging.

"Should we tell them we played a part in knocking a comet onto a path with their planet or are we already going to have to sell off our kidneys to pay our debt?" Alex said from the operations console.

"I think we will keep that to ourselves, but whilst we are here we should do some impact assessment. When the comet hits what are the likely scenarios? What possible plans or contingencies could we possible put in place?"

Alex had been listening to the chatter and nodded his head, before turning to the console to make a start.

"Okay," the Captain said as he straightened his jacket. "Let's send them a message."


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Lt. Commander Autumn Falls
Chief of Operations
USS Horizon
NCC-72400
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