Chapter 28

In a seedy saloon on the backwater planet of Zaurak II, a lone customer quietly snoozed with his head on the bar and his fingers encircling the stem of an empty glass.

Walking over to check on the big fellow, the proprietor pitched his voice just loud enough to pierce the customer’s dreams and asked, “Would you like another?”

He sat up, looked around to get his bearings, glanced at the empty glass, and nodded. While the bartender mixed his drink, the customer gazed blankly at a small screen that was streaming a Terran fencing match. The volume was set at a low level that allowed him to understand the announcer, but he didn’t feel the need to listen. The game seemed rather dainty, with its skinny swords and dancelike moves. Nothing anyone would play on Luria.

The bartender brought his new drink and moved back down the bar. One of the players on the screen touched the other with the tip of his weapon; the fighters both dropped their arms; and a stream of product promotions, colorful but meaningless, jiggled across the screen. Then the FNS logo spun into place and an anonymous voice announced a newsbreak. Instantly, the face of a white-haired Efrosian male appeared on the screen.

“Well, the search for the missing scroll of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition seems to be over,” the Efrosian said, his expression showing little interest in the subject.

The customer leaned forward, tilting his small ear toward the monitor, now straining to hear. “Grand Nagus Rom has returned to Ferenginar with the recovered scroll, which has apparently been missing for . . . fourteen years.” The Efrosian paused here and glanced at someone off-camera, as if to ask, “Could that number possibly be right?”

He cleared his throat and continued. “The Ferengi Board of Liquidators states that it is inclined to accept his explanation of the recovery, pending the results of a perfunctory hearing.

“In other news . . .”

The customer smiled. Lifting his glass at the baffled bartender as if in a toast, he took a tiny sip. Then he laid his head back on the bar, closed his eyes, and began to snore.