Guest Author: Matthew Van Gangelen

A troubled Xanthus Knight sat quietly in the dark of his room, trying to distract himself by watching the stars streaking past his window. Wearing simply shorts and a robe, he knew he should be asleep. He just didn't particularly want to right now, though he knew he'd be tired the next day.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Each star whisked by at a speed that seemed impossible. Would Melina ever forgive him? Ever understand? He wondered, fixing his gaze on a slow moving star even farther away than most. At almost four thousand times the speed of light, these speeds really were impossible...

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ...in normal space. Could they be friends once more? Did it even matter? His gaze slumped to the desk for a moment, before a sound interrupted these thoughts and made him turn his head.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Across the room, a comm-panel was flashing indicating an incoming call. He reached over and pressed the receive button.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ A very distracting, purple-haired Boslic woman lounging on a couch appeared on the screen. Knight smiled wryly; he hadn't seen her for over two years. "Hello Rionoj. What can I do for you?"

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ "It's not what you can do for me Xanthus, it's what I can do for you."

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Knight sighed. Stupid criminals let you meet them in person. You then threatened to have them arrested unless they told you everything you needed to know--for free. Rionoj was an information broker, among other things.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ But one thing she wasn't, was stupid. She never met anyone in person (or at least anyone affiliated with Starfleet). Not even when Knight had been in the Maquis had she granted him that courtesy. All transactions took place via subspace. On the other hand, though she was never cheap, she was also never wrong.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Xanthus leaned in close to the screen. "What will it cost me this time?"

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ She hesitated, recalculating how much she could squeeze out of him. "Fifty bars."

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ He shook his head. "I'm afraid Starfleet doesn't pay that much Rionoj."

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Rionoj swept her hair away in an alluring gesture that was not lost on Knight. "Surely the captain of a Starfleet ship has an account for little... emergencies." She pouted. "After all, this has to do with Federation Security. It's a legitimate expense--you can claim it as a write-off."

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ She paused, licking her lips. "I'll give you a signed receipt if it helps." She smiled as her voice took on a conspiratorial tone. "As long as you never show it to the Syndicate, that is."

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ He froze.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ She smiled.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ She had him.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ She knew she had him.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ He knew, she knew, she had him.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Damn. He thought.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ "Okay."

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Wordlessly she sent him her account number. It took a couple minutes to organize the transfer and enter in his authorization. Finally, there was a reassuring beep on the other end of the line notifying the completion of the transaction. Rionoj smiled.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ "Now," she started, "The Syndicate is preparing to do a job. Whatever they're stealing, it's very important, very expensive and it's on Starbase 121. And they're doing it very, very soon."

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Knight smiled. "Where's my receipt?"

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ "Pick it up next time you drop by." She winked at him and the screen went blank.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Knight smiled as he quickly started to dress. It would be well worth the fifty bars the auditor would ask him about if he could bring down the Syndicate.