To Market, To Market

Posted on Tue Aug 18th, 2026 @ 7:04pm by Captain Abigail Laurens

Mission: Chasing Ghosts
Location: Tabula Rasa

Abigail had already been wandering the markets for an hour or more, sightless eyes flicking across tables of items being hawked by equally loud sellers, all touting the benefits of their wares, the rarity of their jewels, or the deliciousness of their sweet and savoury treats.

She was about to give up and head back to her accommodations when a sliver of silver caught her eye as it glinted ever so slightly in the sunlight streaming through the clear panels of the structures roof.

Picking up the small object, Abigail traced a thumb over the insignia engraved on the front, her breath catching in her throat as she turned it in her hand, all breath rushing from her body as she read the name inscribed on the back.

"Captain Dirk Taggert"
"USS Pennsylvania"

For a moment Abigail's head swam, her surroundings blurring into nothingness, everything except the commbadge in her hand was irrelevant and needed no attention.

As the noise and colours surrounding her slowly came back into focus, Abigail inhaled sharply, turning her attention to the short, rather rotund man who seemed to be manning the stall.

"Ah!" his face lit up as he realised he had a customer holding one of his treasures in her hand. "The lady has exquisite taste indeed, this is a one of a kind. There is not another like it in hundreds of millions of miles. Made from the most delicate of materials, beauty only to be usurped by the wearer."

"Where did you get this?" Abigail asked, her hand trembling slightly as she turned it over, again reading the name on the back as if she needed to be reminded of what it said.

"It is indeed a fine treasure, only ten tabs and this rare gem is all yours."

"I didn't ask how much it was, I asked where it came from," Abigail reiterated, her voice becoming colder as she spoke.

"All our wares are ethically and legally sourced," he iterated quickly, seemingly realising that this trade was not going as easily as he had hoped. "We have an expert team sourcing the most exciting of items from all over the universe, just for our lovely and loyal customers such as yourself."

Holding the commbadge in one hand, Abigail slipped her hand into her pocket, pulling out her own commbadge and holding it out in his basic direction to show him before slipping it back into her pocket. "This is property belonging to Star Fleet and it is not to be bought, sold, traded or bartered," she said, her voice rising slightly as someone at the next stall over turned toward the sound of her voice. "The only way this is here is if it was stolen from the rightful owner, so either you tell me where you found this, or I'm going to call the authorities to seize and start investigating the rest of your rubbish you have here that you're trying to peddle on unsuspecting idiots," she shot quickly.

"Look, Lady," he ran his fingers through his balding hair, eyes glancing from side to side as if he were suddenly expecting trouble. "My cousin Jaagal found it, and some other bits and pieces on the remains of a destroyed ship. He didn't destroy it, I swear, he just found it and took what he could scavenge. I don't want no trouble, I'll give you what I've got and I'll show you on the maps where he found it, ok? Just... stop with the scene. I need to be able to make a living here you know."

Abigail felt her blood rushing through her body, her ears pounding, two words echoing over and over in her ears. 'Destroyed ship.'

She shook her head slightly. No, it wasn't possible. Not the Pennsylvania, not Dirk. Her hand closed around the commbadge tightly, the point digging sharply into her skin, not that she noticed.

"Do we got a deal lady? I ain't got all day and I got more buyers to deal with." He looked at her, clearly annoyed with the situation and wanting Abigail out of his way before she made an even bigger scene.

"What else do you have," she asked quietly, reaching for a small black crate as he handed it to her. Rifling around, she saw another commbadge, a phaser, and other assorted bits and pieces, all Starfleet in Origin.

Slipping Dirk's commbadge into her pocket with her own she took the crate and turned sharply on her heel, walking away suddenly without another word. It was only when she was clear of the large hall she pulled her commbadge back out and tapped it.

"Astraea, this is Captain Abigail Laurens. Recall the crew immediately, we're departing within the hour."

"But Captain..." the protest started to come over the communications link, but Abigail cut it off sharply. "You heard me, one hour, not a nanosecond more." Closing the link she headed back in the direction of her accommodations, heart still thundering in her chest as she picked up her pace.

There was no way...

It couldn't be...

It wasn't possible...

The Penn wasn't...

Dirk wasn't...

She shook her head quickly, clearing those thoughts from her mind as she took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

'There's no point dwelling' she thought to herself. 'Whether it's true or not, we need to find out.'