/\Starbase Bragg- Promenade/\ It was one of those days for Bragg security. Several ships had arrived, some of them, cut short of their respective missions. Word was, that a fleetwide movement was being planned, an unexpected development of an unknown situation of some sorts. Basically, a lot of rumors that stated nothing at all, and everything to be concerned about. Lt. Mendez was not too happy to be assigned on patrol duty, especially with all the different crews taking their shoreleaves at the same time, at the same place, with the forseeable consequence of having to intervene countless times since their arrival. Bragg was used to a low profile behaviour, where everyone was kind of looking over their shoulders to see if one of those damned Black Ops Agents was taking notes or even just glancing in their general direction, either observing regular crews or doing their own business. Schedules were usually timed in a way, that little activity had to be accounted for, even at the promenade. Therefore, this was an unusual and most unwelcome development for Mendez and his mates at Starbase Security. Word had been, that one of them had already got himself into a lot of trouble for messing with a commander from one of the vessels, and Mendez didn't like the idea of having to bear with that kind of shit on their own ground. In a mix between boredom and nervousness, Mendez leaned against the railing of an upper corridor over the Promenade and watched the crowd. Since he left Trazzes store, Aidan couldn't loose the feeling, that everyone was watching him. The package in his hand, unusually heavy for its size, seemed more conspicuous by the minute, it's brown, sort of careless wrapping, slowly being soaked with the sweat of Aidans hand. He tried to walk, not too fast, not to slow, in what he hoped looked like a casual stroll of a normal person on his shoreleave, but he couldn't avoid looking around and behind him more often then he wanted to. Trazz had thrown enough hints to give him the certainty, that he would be in a lot of trouble if anyone intended to inspect the package or, even worse, take it away from him. Mixing with the crowd, Aidan searched for the nearest Turbolift to reach the desired Deck, yet, due to some typical twist of the universes known hang for making ones life as hard as possible, all TLs in his path seemed to be out of order due to a general maintenance. Aidan noticed for the first time, how hot this station was. Mendez was about to turn around and return to the HQ, when he noticed a tall, mustard-collared officer trying to squeeze his way past a fat lady with several shopping bags. He was about to dismiss the incident as just another typical thing, when he caught a glimpse on the officers face. It was one of those I-am-guilty-please-let-no-one-notice-it expressions he had seen so often in amateur smugglers and petty pickpocketers that every now and then arrived at the station, only to find, that Bragg was the worst possible place to start a criminal career. What really drew his attention was, to see that expression on the face of an officer in full uniform. He decided to follow the man, just to see what was going on. After leaving behind the rude woman (possibly an officers wife with too much latinum in her pocket), Aidan scooped for an exit, any place to get him out of the crowd and onto the right way. He switched the package to the other hand, noticing that the wrapping had been soaked loose by the combined action of his sweat and the fat ladies pushing. A metallic shine gleamed through, a momentary reflection of a corridor light overhead, revealing a strangely ornamented piece of almost black metal. Aidan quickly covered the package and looked around to make sure no one had seen it. Mendez had almost caught up with the officer, noticing that he was dealing with a Petty Officer. Fine by me, he thought grimly. The last thing he wanted, was to get in trouble with a higher rank, just for following a hunch. He noticed the increased nervousness and saw the brusque hand movement, covering something unrecognizable. A weapon? a bomb? Mendez was starting to feel the adrenaline working up in his inside. Something was going on, something would happen, and he held all the cards, had all the chances of thwarting this mans plans, whatever they were. Maybe a terrorist, a spy, maybe... Shit, where was he? Aidan had finally found a maintenance corridor and swept into it as fast as possible, aided by the dimmed lighting so usual in less used parts, for energy saving reasons. He took deep breath and turned another corner, looking for a working Turbolift. Mendez had reached the spot where the man had dissappeared, spotting the maintenance corridor, and was about to dash in to catch his prey, when he ran full speed into someone. "What the f..." swore Lt. Foster, a bit out of breath. Apparently caught completely unawares, he had served as cushion for Mendez, who was hastily pulling himself up and hurrying down the small corridor. Aidan had finally found a TL and scooped in, calling for the desired Deck. "This is rubbish" he said out loud and annoyed, trying to calm himself. "I'm just taking a package to somebody, this isn't a bloody spy movie". He found the sound of his own voice reassuring. Aidan took deep breath and felt his pulse falling. He was probably just being paranoid. Mendez stood still for a second in front of the TL doors, thinking, then went to the nearest terminal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PO3 Aidan Lynch ODA Eng. Spc. USS - Chimera A