Maximizing Profits

Cardassians, Federarion, the reality is that it hardly matters who is in control of the station. There’s still plenty of profits to be made. At least that’s the way Quark saw it. His bar was simply the local watering hole for whomever happened to occupy the station. Of course, the Federation put a damper on his more nefarious activities, but they provided stability that Quark gladly took advantage of. Now that the Cardassians were back in control, Quark had begun to shift gears, dealing in weapons or narcotics that the Federation would never allow. One such thing he had been forced to keep on the down-low while the Federation was in charge, was his holosuites..

Despite what some in the Federation would like to believe, holosuites are for porn—especially at Quark’s bar. There were always desires to be fulfilled, but the Federation wouldn’t allow some fantasies to be lived out—even in the make believe world of the holodeck…

“Ah welcome back, Tokar,” Quark greeted the familiar Cardassian. During the occupation, he had been a frequent visitor.

“Hey Quark, it almost feels like I never left. You’ve redecorated a bit, though.”

“Well now that the Federation is gone, I can rearrange things back to how they were. I can take down that dark board for starters. Unless the Jem Haddar decide to learn to play.” Quark rambled. “So what will it be? 3 shots of kanar as usual?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you still had that holodeck program, the one with the Bajoran girl…”

“Ah yes, the one with the Bajoran mistress,” Quark remembered. “Of course, I would sever delete such a profitable holosuite program.”

“No, not that one, the special one you made. The one with the young Bajoran girl sex slave,” Tokar jogged Quark’s memory.

“Oh, oh yes. That one. I keep that one under lock and key. Give me a moment and I’ll be right back with it. Holosuite two is free for the next hour if you’d like to use it now.

“Yes, that would be wonderful,” Tokar barked in a firm Cardassian tone, sounding more angry than pleased.

“Great, well how about a shot of kanar on the house to get you in the mood?” Quark didn’t wait for an answer before pouring the shot. He knew the cardassian would gladly drink it.

When Quark returned, Tokar had downed the kanar and was eager to begin the program.

“I’ve loaded it up in holosuite 2 for you,” Quark informed him. “Your time will begin as soon as you’ve entered. And to welcome you back to the station, I’ll give you a very generous 15% off.” Tokar thanked the feringi, knowing full well that he was still raking in profits hand over fist at that price, especially since the particular program he had requested was more than double the normal holosuite price.

Tokar walked into holosuite 2 and was greeted by a host with a generic holograph personality. It wasn’t the best part of the program to be sure, but it didn’t matter, that’s not the character he was here for.

“Please Mr. Tokar, take your seat, the auction will begin shortly. The room was bustling with people; some romulan, a few feringi, and some fellow cardassians as well. They were all holographic, of course. Tokar was the only real humanoid in the simulation.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen,” the andorian auctioneer announced. “The next lot is a young bajoran child. She is absolutely stunning, just look at those lips, ripe and ready for exploration.”

Tokar looked at the scared bajoran girl that had been guided to the front of the stage.

“This virgin can be yours for the taking! Let’s start the bidding at 5 bars of latinum.”

“10”

“Alright, I have 10 from the klingon in the back. Do I have 12. 12. 15.” The auctioneer continued as the bidding climbed higher.

Tokar joined in when it got up to 25. He wasn’t worried about being outbid, of course. It was programmed for him to win. But the bidding was what made this particular program that much more exciting. He stared eagerly at the scared banjoran girl as the bidding climbed higher. She looked to be around eight and wore a thin rag that was torn, exposing her left shoulder. The garment ended just above her knees. He couldn’t wait to rip it off of her after he won the auction.

One by one, the other patrons tapped out as the price climbed above 40 bars of latinum. It was just him and a ferengi left.

“I can make quite a profit selling this one’s body!” The ferengi said as he raised his bid. Fortunately for Tokar, he was spending holographic money. He daisies the ferengi to 100, surely the program didn’t go that high. Sure enough, he was done.

“And sold to the Cardassian right back there, congratulations sir!”