Smugglers' base
unknown location

They didn't appear to be amused. Scott located one, maybe two faces he knew, and neither very well. The broad band code he had sent out should have brought in his old smuggling ring, not these strangers. 
He allowed for one panicked moment to think he had gotten the wrong code. Or he had been set up.
"What _is_ this?" Traci murmurred in his ear. "I thought you _knew_ these ppl."
 "Well." he answered, not feeling very charitable "if your SDA operatives know so much about me, they should have known I was not their favorite person when I left. Now be quiet." 
Moving deliberately, he removed his gun, and kicked it away from his body. He then indicated sjhe was to follow his example. Another thing she didn't like. The standard issue phaser, dead starfleet operative giveaway, Atreydes knew, skittered across the floor with a bit more force than he had expected. 
"That's it." he said. "Ask Mardi ir Doni, since I assume they're the ones that set us up. I don't carry more than one weapon. It screams "target" too much." 
"You were always the idealistic one Trey." A new voice interrupted. "Put up those weapons! This boy is ours."
 "Ty?" Scott asked hopefully.
"Yeah, it's me. Unfortunately " he continued, stepping between the raised guns, and bear hugging Trey "Mardi and Doni got your message, not me. Had to threaten to cut their wages before they told me what they were planning."
 "What were they planning?" Scott managed when the 8 foot tall purple furred mandelkir let him up for air." 
"They were going to keep you here long enough to miss us. We're leaving in the hour you know."
 "Alpha flight?" he asked.
Ty chuckled "You're codes are about five years out of date Trey, but yes, Alpha flight." Alpha flight, the code for mission of mercy. Without pausing, Scott dropped into Smuggler lingo. 
"She's Starfleet intelligence. Could you guess from the gun? It seems some of the higher ups wanted me to reestablish contact with you for a meeting with them."

 Ty scratched his chin.
"What for?" he asked calmly.
"That," Atreydes answered with an edge in his voice "was on a need to know basis." "Well, you need to know now. Besides Mardi and Doni, I think everyone else will be more or less glad to see you."
 "Mardi and Doni have a tendancy to hold a grudge. And I don't think detaining us was their intent Ty" he noted. 
"Things have changed Trey." Ty warned, shaggy finger waving in his face "We aren't the altruists we once were, although we still fly our mercy missions on a regular basis. We've had to take a less idealistic view to smuggling. Some ppl felt it only made us stronger." 
"And what did you say?"
"That that type of strength is the brittle kind that breaks under pressure. Mardi and Donni were not too quick to agree. They don't hold grudges Trey...they _treasure_ them. They'd have killed you if they could, because you aren't one of us any more. They may still try. Your girl is much safer than you are right now, because she may represent some profit." 
"Great." he replied with a sinking heart "is this what they mean when they say you can never go back again?"