Chapter 17

It looks really cold down there.

I don’t like cold. Nobody likes cold. What in Gint’s name is she thinking?

Quark suppressed a shiver as he studied the bleak landscape of Upper Bowog Bay through a viewport on Yrena’s shuttlecraft. He wasn’t impressed with his first glimpse of the region.

It’s not exactly a vacation hot spot.

In fact, nothing about it was hot. Located on one of Ferenginar’s northern continents, most Ferengi considered the climate in Upper Bowog Bay to be completely inhospitable. Even the precipitation was unpleasant, consisting mainly of graupel that fell in hard, sleety, nasty globs, as opposed to the more tolerable showers of Ferenginar’s southern regions.

Quark knew only two things about Upper Bowog Bay:

1. It was—or rather had been—the site of the infamous Bowog Dam, which mysteriously failed just days after its warranty expired.

2. It was the birthplace of Sluggo and Vorp, the renowned creators of Eelwasser, one of the most popular beverages on Ferenginar. The massive Eelwasser bottling facility was also situated in the region, conveniently located next to what Sluggo and Vorp had referred to as “The Source”: Bowog Bog’s myriad pools of fetid standing water, delicately flavored with the essence of native Bowogian eel.

Only a fool would invest in this region. Or a crazy person.

He cast a furtive glance at Yrena, who was sitting up front with her son Rascoe.

Definitely the latter, he thought. She actually thinks that when she completes her project, Reni’s Latinum Lyceum will be considered the place on Ferenginar to gamble/drink/indulge in all forms of carnal pleasure/vacation with the kids/hear great music/eat to excess . . . And More!

Climate aside, considering the astronomical expense involved in building a gigantic casino complex (from scratch!), Quark seriously doubted that anyone could pull off such a miracle, particularly not a fe-male.

But then he saw the construction site, and his jaw dropped in surprise. She did start without the permits! There’s a huge fine for that!

Of course, that was only if they found out. And what inspector would come all the way up here to check?

Directly beneath the shuttle he could see the footprint of the site, a shallow rectangular pit carved out of the region’s distinctive gray-green tundra. Scattered across one end of the excavation stood dozens of parked ground conveyers, deactivated digging machines, and pile after pile of building materials.

In the center of the site, Quark spotted the foundation of a building. From its central position, Quark judged it to be a future hotel. Just beyond that was a long, unfinished structure, perhaps a gaming pavilion, at least in Quark’s mind. The size was impressive. Quark imagined it would accommodate thousands of customers—not to mention all of their latinum.

The only thing that looked close to completion was a dome, gigantic and gorgeously gilded, rising from the earth like a particularly rare and succulent mushroom.

Is that an entertainment rotunda? Quark wondered, his pulse racing. I think it is! And I have to admit, it looks fabulous!

In the distance, he could see uncounted acres that had been cleared, presumably for shuttle and skimmer parking. Quark wondered if Yrena had plans for a transporter station. If it were his complex, he certainly would.

You could beam directly from the Tower of Commerce or a ship in orbit—and no need to even set a toe in the graupel. Perfect!

The shuttle gently landed near the dome, and Yrena rose from her seat. She approached Quark with a smug smile on her face. “So? What do you think now?”

“Well,” Quark said, releasing his safety belt, “it looks very . . . uh, interesting.”

“ ‘Interesting’?!” She burst out laughing, that same sharp barking sound that he’d heard in the tower. Truth be told, it made him a little nervous. “Is that all you have to say?”

Quark shrugged. “Okay, okay, I’ll admit it. It’s impressive. So far. But it’s a long way from finished, and there are lots of areas you don’t seem to have touched.”

“Do tell,” said Yrena.

Quark often was short of latinum, but never was short of ideas on how to acquire it. As he began rattling off just a few of the most obvious ones, Yrena suddenly held up one hand and reached into her voluminous flight bag with the other. “Here!” she said, shoving a padd into her nephew’s hands. “Start putting it down. Let your imagination run wild!”

Quark glanced at the padd and noted immediately that the device’s communication function had been disabled. He could write on it, design on it, create complex calculations on it—but he couldn’t contact anyone with it, nor could he receive messages. In other words, it wouldn’t help to get him out of the fix he was in, but it might keep him alive a little longer.

“Okay,” he said. “But, uh, what if I wind up contradicting some of your plans? I wouldn’t want to upset you . . .”

“So contradict me,” she said, leading him out of the shuttle. “Who am I—Gint? No. I’m just a businesswoman who wants to have the best super casino in the quadrant. And I know your reputation, Quark—that’s what you want too, isn’t it? Except you never had the resources to do it. Well,” she said, gesturing at their surroundings, “now you do, partner! Where do you want to start your tour?”

Quark looked around the complex, then quickly pointed at the rotunda. “How about there?” he said, unable to keep a little tremor of excitement out of his voice.

“How about there!” Yrena repeated cheerfully, threading her arm through his. “Let’s go!”

And they headed toward the giant mushroom.