A Flip Of The Coin

Posted on Mon Jan 16th, 2012 @ 8:54am by Cadet Senior Grade Eli Ziyad & Cadet Senior Grade Chance Conradi

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Chance/Eli Quarters

* * * Chance & Eli's Quarters * * *

"It had to be here!" A voice hissed in the semi-darkness of the boys' quarters.

"No luck so far, anything in there?"

There was a thud as a drawer was pulled out, then another, the soft rustle of clothing, then the tinkle of something breaking. A noticeable scent began to drift from the bedroom.

"What the hell is that?"

The bedroom's occupant staggered out, hand over his nose. "Some sort of cologne. What is it with Humans and perfume?"

The figure in the main room stood from the floor that had once been covered by a sofa, which now lay on its side across the room amid a pile of things that had once been orderly.

"I can't see it and our time's up. We have to go."

The second figure nodded and as one they slipped through the doors, leaving behind....chaos.

* * *

"...yeah," Chance chuckled as he reached the door of his quarters. Just before the doors opened, he stopped and nodded, though the person he was talking to - and flirting with - couldn't see him. "That's a good time, Ash, I'll see you there." With that, he tapped his commbadge and strode forward, making the door slide open.

The first thing to hit him was the smell - when done lightly, the scent was pleasant and often earned Chance compliments from the girls; when done heavily, though, as the smell was now, it was awful. His face crumpled into a grimace and he covered his nose with a hand. "What the hell...?"

He stood just inside the doorway, looking around at the destruction that had once been his and Eli's quarters. Talking to himself, he noted: "The shake from the Gateway collapse wasn't this bad." Cautiously, wary of stepping on anything, he went further into the apartment, and saw the source of the smell: whomever had done this had broken his favorite bottle of cologne. "Aww, damn. That's gonna be a bitch to get out of the carpet."

The rooms, every one of them including the other bedroom that had become more of a study room, had been tossed top to bottom. Furniture turned over, bed stripped, drawers emptied. Even the cabinet in the bathroom had been emptied out into the floor. Every single inch of space seemed to have been examined and left. Given the amount of crap all over the place, nothing really seemed to be missing. As Chance stepped over two cushions from the sofa, his foot caught the corner of one, shifting it aside. A small object lay beneath it, almost blending in with the color of the carpet.

Chance picked the coin up and turned it in his fingers. He guessed it was Eli's, and obviously not what the intruders had been looking for. Pocketing it, he stood up and looked around, taking a good look before finally tapping his commbadge and saying, "Cadet Conradi to Security. I've had a... break-in in my quarters."

=^=Understood, we'll send officers as soon as possible.=^=

As Chance closed the comm, the doors slid open behind him. Eli's cheery whistle came as he stepped in, then died on his lips.

"Umm....Chance? We redecorating?"

"We are now," Chance answered. He was numb at the moment, which let him make light of the situation. "I can't even tell if anything was taken."

"Taken?" Eli looked around, moved over to peek in each of the bedrooms, then came back. "So this wasn't done on purpose." Chance's expression, and the shock he was feeling finally began to sink in. "Oh."

Having turned to watch Eli, Chance stared at his roommate and lover in consternation. "Done on purpose? Do you think I did this?"

"Well, I...dunno....maybe an impromptu party? Or...something...?" He blinked at Chance, then rested his hands on the man's shoulders. "Okay, I've got nothing. Who would do this?"

Shrugging, Chance shook his head. "As if I'd have a clue. Maybe when Security comes, they'll find something...."

**Later**

Security had come and gone, without finding anything that might help point them towards who had tossed the cadets' quarters. Moving a table back to where it was supposed to be, Chance said, "Such a weird thing. They didn't take anything, not even your coin, which must be worth something, right?"

"What coin?" Eli grunted as he put his shoulder to the sofa and righted it.

"This one," Chance paused and fished it from his pocket. Waiting til Eli was watching him, he tossed it to him.

Eli snatched it out of the air, then turned his hand over. A storm of emotions flitted over his face, starting with surprise, then anger, then uncertainty...finally followed by fear. All of these were passed on to Chance without a thought.

"This isn't mine."

Stunned by the emotions coming from Eli, Chance stared at him. "Well, it isn't mine. I can't read the words on it. Why's that making you...," he searched for the right term for what he was getting from Eli, "...angry? Fearful?"

"You found this in here?" He looked up finally, closing his fist around the coin. "This isn't money, Chance. The strange thing is, I didn't believe these were real."

"Yeah... I found it in here. If it isn't money, what is it?"

"There's an old story that the government kept around this...group... to take care of things they wanted done quietly without people noticing or getting their hands dirty. I suppose a regime that will fry people in public even has some standards, low as they may be. They supposedly were never given each other's names but given these coins so that if they ran into each other, they'd know the other was a 'friend'." He shrugged. "We thought it was just some spooky story to keep kids in line, you know? Like a swamp monster where you came from."

"Um... but swamp monsters really don't exist. This coin makes you think that your government's bogey men are real?"

"Yes." He opened his hand and flipped the coin over, translating the script that circled the leaf on the front. "You shall know me as thy brother in darkness."

"Okay...," Chance started. He had a healthy dose of doubt running through him. After all, Eli was just a cadet and a bartender. Why would his home government toss his room like this? "So... if this was done by some creepy bogey men, ...well... why? What would they have been looking for?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" He smiled suddenly, the tension emanating from him easing just a little. "But now, I have this and whoever is supposed to have it doesn't. Guess who is in more danger?"

"Danger? Eli Ziyad! Danger!" Suddenly, Chance wasn't so happy - now he'd caught Eli's fear and anger. "I don't care if someone else is in danger! If you are, that's.. that's a very bad thing, Eli!"

"Well, sure, but this," he held up the coin, "says I am on their side. It'll cover, at least for now till we figure this out."

Frowning, Chance ceded the point. "All right. But still... why? And should we call Security back here, tell them about this?"

"That I don't know. Maybe they think that when I fled from home that I brought something with me? I mean, a few people knew I was leaving, maybe I did bring something and didn't know? Or know something I don't know that I know?"

"Huh. Maybe they think your parents brought you something they shouldn't have?"

"That makes some sense too since they were just here. But they left an hour ago." Eli shrugged.

Since Eli didn't seem overly perturbed by the break-in, Chance relaxed a little. "I'll talk to my sister, see what she says... if I can actually get a minute of her time, that is."

"Good idea. And really, what could I possible have that they want?" Eli shrugged and turned aside, his face hidden from Chance. He appeared to be surveying the room, and little by little, he pulled back from his lover's thoughts. "What a mess."

"We'll get it put right. Though that cologne might never come out of the carpet." Chance moved to pick up a picture frame and re-hang it on the wall.

"You are right about that, though you always say that stuff is a girl magnet...is that the right term?" Eli bent once more to begin pushing the sofa back into place.

"Chick. Chick magnet. Though at this concentration... more like a repellent." Chance joined Eli with the sofa.

"Yeah." One last good shove and at least the sofa was back right. "Good thing I like the way you smell without it." Eli grinned as he pushed his hair back out of his face.

*********

Chance Conradi
Smelly Babe Magnet

Eli Ziyad
Fresh Trouble Magnet