The Prestige Collection Auction pt1
Posted on 27 Feb 2025 @ 7:24pm by Commander Calliope Zahn & Brek - Timeless Treasures Art Gallery
Mission:
M4 - Falling Out
Location: OC - Promenade
Timeline: TBD
1903 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure
The auction being a select event, the attendees could be counted on both hands and no more, as they were exactly twenty. Among this refined group, one could see the usual mix found on Federation Stations: Humans, Bajorans, Betazoids, Andorians, Vulcans, and of course Ferengi. The venue, a small conference room repurposed for the event, was lined with giant screens and featured a central row of tables displaying the exclusive items for sale.
Brek was the last to arrive, and he immediately headed to the tables to inspect the offerings. As it was a silent auction, there was no auctioneer; attendees simply wrote their bids on PaDDs placed beside each item. After 24 hours, the PaDDs would be collected, and the highest bidders would win. This was as simple, and as complicated, as that.
There was, among the objects on offer, a Type-15 Shuttlepod, a small, short-range shuttle that was nothing exceptional, but Brek took an instant liking to it. Five bids had already been placed for it, and he added a sixth.
As he continued to examine the items - sadly there were no exclusive vacation packages to private colonies, or private dinners with Starfleet Captain or Admirals, a real pity - he noticed a familiar face: Pog. The Ferengi who ran a second hand shop, or, as he called it, an Emporium, judiciously placed near the station’s casino. He had often wondered how that shop was faring, but had never found the time to visit.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Brek said to the Ferengi when he had joined him. “I would have thought the items on offer here today were a little too ‘rich’ for you...” Among Ferengis, there was, in his view, nothing like a jest to assess the mood of a competitor.
Pog tugged at his cheap suit's lapels with both hands, straightening up so he could tilt his nose a little higher, in order to look down it. So far he'd been priced out of nearly all of his silent offers, but he still had his eye on an antique Vulcan lytherette he knew he could mark up, and a collection of rocks that, while worthless to him, he could get upgraded into a finer looking display and pass off to one of those rockhounds who liked dirt from all the planets.
But Pog wasn't going to tell Brek exactly what he had his eyes peeled for just so that Brek could drive up the bids on him. "It would be a shame *not* to put a low offer on these over-hyped goods. It would be like keeping your pockets closed while it was raining latinum. "
Brek grinned. Among Ferengis it was a reflex to label everything as ‘over-hyped’. Even humans knew that the best way to get your hands on a bargain was to pretend that the item bored you and you were doing the seller a favour by purchasing their subpar goods. He wondered, though, whether Pog wore those well-worn clothes because he was experiencing a rough patch or if it was part of his image—a trick to give the impression he was just a ‘tourist’ rather than a serious bidder.
“It would indeed. It’s anyone’s guess what we’ll win, thanks to our calculated risks. Hmm... Pog... I don’t suppose you’d tell me what piqued your interest among those articles? I might be able to help you get them, you know, in exchange for... a good turn.”
Flashing his teeth, Pog had to hold back a barking laugh. "You mean a cut of the profits!"
Brek’s grin widened. “Me? Never. Not in plain sight, anyway. Life’s much more interesting when we go beyond just cutting profits.” He even felt sure that together, they could outmaneuver most of the people in this room, although maybe not the Vulcans and their talent for calculating probabilities. "I've shifted my focus and now, I'm all about investing in people. Are you in?"
Pog's sneer transformed into a sly smile of his own. Brek was clearly a sucker, if he thought a verbal agreement was worth forgoing a written promise for a cut. It was still possibly some kind of trap, but Pog decided it was worth the gamble in order to learn more about Brek and try to profit from getting closer to him and his scams. After all, Brek was an arts dealer, which meant that he had the ears for a proper racket. Only Ferengi with ties to mafioso and syndicate bosses dealt in paintings with prices inflated beyond anything reasonable. Everyone knew that was a scam or a money laundering operation.
Pog licked his lips. "That ugly box of rocks. No! don't look right at it. No one needs to know I'm interested. I've got a hunch if I get it tested, some of those pebbles will prove to be actually from Romulus and Remus. Do you know how much that will go for?"
“Oh, those rocks... Yeah I glanced at them a few minutes ago,” Brek said with an air of indifference. “Some of them look almost pretty. If you could get them authenticated, with the right buyer, you might fetch, hmm...” He lowered his voice. “... maybe 25 to 30 bars of latinum.” Was Pog expecting more? Did he already have a suitable buyer for those rocks, or would they gather dust in his shop like, forever? This was none of Brek’s concern. What mattered here was what Pog could do for him. “Have you noticed much interest in those rocks?”
Pog shuffled around to the other side of Brek to be more discrete. "The tall, curly-haired half vulcan. He's out of uniform, obviously trying to downplay the fact that he's a science officer on this station. I'm betting he's a rock hound, and plans to make the winning bid just before closing."
“Let me see...” Brek gave the Vulcan a quick glance and it took him only a few seconds to recognise who he was. “You are right. Those fleeters always look different, almost good-natured, without their uniform. This is Lt Cmdr Rue. He is into education, I’ve heard. On the upside, if he is indeed interested in those rocks, he’s probably set a budget. What Vulcan would want to get carried away in the excitement of bidding?” He observed Pog’s wee-worn clothes for a moment and went on. “Best we can do at this point is observe the competition. I’ll place a bid, a minuscule one, and we’ll see if he reacts to it. But...” strategic pause here. “Before I help you get your hands on those rocks, I’d like you to sign a little contract with me. Nothing too demanding. I’d like you to deliver a specific package for me - valuable art supplies, you understand - to a specific client. What do you say?”
Pog squinted at Brek, trying to get ahead of his likely trick. "A delivery onboard the station of course?" Not that he would have even considered honoring a deal that was just a trick, like smuggling Brek's colored chalk across the border, or delivering it all the way clear across to Farpoint station. Pog anticipated a manipulation like that because it was something he himself would try to get some honesty bound idiot to agree to, unwittingly.
Brek chuckled softly. “He who hesitates is sometimes saved... Yes Pog, the delivery would be done within the confines of this station. It’s a simple and straightforward task. Do we have a deal?”
Pog hrmphed. He imagined he should ask if the ‘art supplies’ were hiding any illicit substances in the wrappings, but he knew how this sort of thing worked. If caught, he could plausibly deny knowledge of any such thing, if he actively aimed to know nothing of it. Information might be valuable, but sometimes ignorance was the better part of valor. Brek did seem to know something about the bidding opponent and it would be prudent to run a little test before Pog cut too far into his projected profit margin with too high a bid.
He rubbed his hands together, imagining how much return he was going to get on those stones in exchange for saving this pompous fool a delivery fee. “Deal.”
“Excellent!” Brek said with his customary business grin. “Now for the contract...” He took a PaDD from a pocket and glanced over it for a few seconds. “Let me tweak a few details... Here we go, I’ve got the right hmm... binding pact for you. All you’ve got to do now is sign the deal and the rocks are as good as yours.”
He handed the PaDD to Pog. On the screen the contract appeared as follow:
If Brek successfully acquires a collection of rocks from Romulus and Remus [The Prestige Collection Auction - Catalogue Number R42], Pog agrees to deliver a designated art package to a stated address, located on Obsidian Station.
Both parties acknowledge the item and package details are confidential.
Failure to fulfill the terms results in forfeiture of twenty bars of latinum.
This contract is binding under the Rules of Acquisition.
Signed and sealed on Stardate [Insert Stardate].
So Brek wasn't entirely stupid, he had the sense to put his scams in writing. Still Pog didn't take the bait. Proud of his ability to speed read and hone in on the most relevant details, he disliked the price. If something went wrong with the delivery and he couldn't get the buyer to make a high enough purchase price— maybe if they didn't turn out to be authentic— he'd be in the red for that! And with nothing but a box of rocks to show for it. He shoved the contract back at Brek.
"Ten bars, and on the condition that they pass the test," Pog said, crossing his arms and waiting for Brek to make the demanded edits to the contract.
So Pog wasn’t the type to accept the terms of a contract without making a stand. What a pity. Still, Brek would be reluctant to hire Pog for future tasks if he turned out to be easily deceived. “You are beginning to sound like a time-waster...” He grumbled. Yet he revised the contract straightaway to include Pog’s requests. He then re-offered the PaDD.
That was easy, almost too easy Pog thought, considering if he should have negotiated a lower forfeiture penalty. But it seemed a reasonable risk given the potential. Besides, he liked few things as much as showing up a member of Starfleet. With a jagged motion of his short arm, Pog signed and gave his bio ident with his thumb to authenticate. "Done," said Pog, smugly, waiting to see what Brek had in mind now that an arrangement had been reached between them.
With a satisfied grin, Brek pocketed the PADD. “Excellent! Now let's see if Mister Vulcan will continue to show an interest in those rocks.”
Without delay, Brek went to the collection of rocks and he placed a minuscule bid. An amount so trivial it wouldn’t even cover the cost of a coffee on this station. He then came back to Pog. “Now we watch the plot unfold. If fortune smiles upon us, Cmdr Rue will have noticed our interest, and he will wisely keep his distance.”
