The Meaning Of Command
Author: Chaoseternus
Chapter 7: Watchers
Joe's Bar, Seacouver
Duncan and Conner Macleod stiffened simultaneously, and turned to face the door as the feel of an approaching immortal hit them. Then just as quickly they relaxed as an old friend passed through the heavy wooden door into the blues bar.
"The old goat appears!" Conner smiled marginally "and with head still attached, we were beginning to wonder""Adam, long time no see"
"Did you have to do that to your watcher?" Joe demanded, stomping out of the back store room.
"Oh really, what did the old haggis do this time?"
"Nothing much, just 'arranged' for them to volunteer for trials of a new piles treatment" Joe replied sarcastically. Conner and Duncan spat their drinks out, coughing heavily. Methos just grinned; he had thought it one of his more interesting ways to get the watchers off his back, at least only an handful of the watchers knew who he really was and they were keeping their mouths shut. "So, what have you been doing old man?" Duncan asked when he finally regained control over his voice. Joe perked up; he wanted to know the answer to that one too. Then he saw Methos's expression, and he put his beer down, followed quickly by the two Macleod's, when he got that expression on his face, you knew you weren't gonna like the response. "Oh, nothing much, just signed up and joined a top secret government project that's all" Methos grinned as he watched the faces of his three friends, their expressions made that comment more than worth while, "Actually I cant stay long, gotta plane to catch to Wales, then I'll be off the radar for a while, but in the meantime I'd kill for a pint…"
RSS Minehead, Ore Receiving Bay 1
Lieutenant Commander Ryan David Richardson, RSS Security and Internal Affairs division cursed inwardly as he get into the clumsy and bulky Armoured spacesuit required for belt mining operations, he absolutely hated these things! He knew it was necessary to watch his subjects, one of whom was in charge of asteroid retrieval, the second commanded the SAR Paladin regulations stipulated be on call at all times at facilities such as this one, and the third and final being airlock maintenance and control, but that's still didn't mean he had to like it. It was the perfect setup if you wanted to illegally divert some raw Naquadah ore he supposed, number one, an RAAF Flight Lieutenant by the name of David Patterson grabbed a small asteroid, and placed it in an airlock where number 3, Master Warrant Officer Frasier RCAF arranged for it to be hidden until number 2, Captain Alicia Rosen USAF could take it aboard the SAR Paladin and arrange a rendezvous with an NID controlled shuttle, of which the NID was now believed to have at least 4, plus a hidden facility somewhere in the asteroid belt.
Hopefully today he would be able to prove these three were dirty, his instincts said they were very dirty, and the theory fitted but there was no proof. But he felt today was the day, those three had definitely been exchanging signals by gestures, even if he didn't know the code, and they hadn't done that before. So today he would follow them in his modified space suit, and hopefully get a recording of the handovers. If he could get that then a Lancer or two would be put on call for whenever he felt the next Naquadah theft was, and the SAR Paladin followed, hopefully right back to the NID base. At which point, the NID base would have a very unusual rain to deal with, not water as was usual for a ground installation, or micrometeorites which was the norm for a space installation, but special forces troopers, a rain most people would much rather do without. A rain the NID would most certainly not appreciate. He stepped through into the airlock, and checked the readouts on his blacked out suit one last time, all good, slowly the lock cycled and he was able to jet off around the station, anchoring himself in a shadowed area within site of the airlocks. He would wait, and then he would follow. Today he would find the proof he needed.