The Hand That Feeds

Posted on 15 Dec 2015 @ 9:08am by Lieutenant Wilhelm Von Haeften

1,440 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Starbase 84
Timeline: MD 06 -0800 hours

ON:

Lieutenant Junior Grade Wilhelm Von Haeften was used to confining spaces. While instructing at the Academy, he was often confined to the same classroom for up to 12 hours a day with lessons. Cramped quarters did not bother him, which was why he had slept through most of the transport to Starbase 84.

Part of him started to miss the classroom; the respect of the students, the sometimes intense verbal debates he could get the class riled into. The German scientist shook off the thought. He had, after all, requested the assignment to join the Active Fleet and get into space.

Wilhelm had been in the Reserve Fleet since he commissioned out of the Academy. The Reserves were not a joking organization; for all practical purposes, they served as the Sol System Defense Force, and their members had a much higher percentage of Terrans in their ranks than the Active Fleet. Due to this majority, the Reserve Fleet was known for much more militaristic discipline and organization than its Active, cosmopolitan counterpart. It was into this that Von Haeften spent his formative years as a young Officer, learning things that were usually fallen by the way side after the Academy.

The Reserves were a different creature, with its own world that it lived in. Although the overall regulations and codes and camraderie were more or less identical, many key aspects translated to give away a Reservist from a normal AFer.

The slang was different: Reservists called their captains 'skipper' in all but the most formal situations. They used a multitude of acronyms for their daily routine. The very way they spoke, in the more formal tone and blunter speech made them stand out.

Their dress was different; the kind of things an officer could get away with in the Active Fleet, such as not shining your shoes to a high gloss or perhaps not creasing your trousers, were not tolerated in the Reserve Fleet.

The Reserve Fleet conducted parades, saluted, held far more formal inspections, stood at attention, and generally waltzed around like military men.

But now Wilhelm was a member of the Active Fleet; his tranfer orders were approved last week, and although he was granted leave of up to 30 days to reach his duty station, Wilhelm spent barely 3 days saying goodbye to his family before booking passage aboard the next available transport to Starbase 84.

The transport pilot's voice over the intercom notified Wilhelm that he had arrived at the Starbase, rousing him from his slumber. The transport docked without any excitement, and Von Haeften grabbed his personal bag, the remainder of his things being transported to his temporary quarters aboard SB 84, strode off the vessel into the hussle and bustle of the Starbase.

The Reserves did not have their own starbases; the Reserve Fleet was designed to operate close to Earth territory, rarely being assigned duties outside of 50 lightyears away from Earth. Wilhelm thought he must've looked like a tourist as he gawked at the stores crewed by vendors hawking products ranging from Klingon hair straighteners to new civilian suits and even Rigellian chocloates.

The main 'shopping mall' of the starbase was a long avenue about 800 meters long and perhaps 200 meters wide, and the entire space was filled with shops and recreational opportunities. Wilhelm decided that since the Galileo was not due for another two days at least, he would pursue all avenues of relaxation aboard this base. He walked from the corridor which dumped its contents of humanity into the main thoroughfare to one side of the shopping avenue, the left, which he picked on a whim. He walked it, not looking at any store or engaging any vendor until he got to the far wall.

Wilhelm turned around, looking out into the mass of shops and its plethora of promised products and pleasures. He took it all in for a few seconds before he realized that he still had his bag slung over his shoulder. The German simply shrugged to himself; he determined that he'd carry it until he got to the branching corridor that led to the temporary quarters he was assigned to.

The first few shops he came across were unremarkable: a food station specializing in Andorian quisine and another that hawked Tholian silks. Feling still vaguely sluggish from his trip from Earth, Wilhelm decided to stop by a charming looking cafe that was double storied and offered a nice view out into space on the top deck.

The German scientist went to the female orion who manned the counter and ordered a Targ meat sandwich and a Vulcan coffee. Wilhelm did his best not to look too long at the Orion girl; she was young, and very pretty, and, if Wilhelm was honest to himself, he found her extremely attractive. How much of that was her physical beauty and how much the phermones the females of her species naturally secreted Wilhelm could not say. It was currently in vogue for female Orions to take phermone suppressants, but it was by no means universal, and only Starfleet made it obligatory for female Orions to take the suppressants. In fact, had he even choosen this cafe truly on a whim, or was her phermones powerful enough to affect him even as he walked on the avenue several meters away?

Wilhelm decided it best not to dwell on the thought as he collected his coffee and sandwich and found a seat near the window. He pulled out his personal PADD and connected it to the wireless network aboard the starbase. He had downloaded all he could find about the new ship he was assigned to, the Galileo, as well as her crew while he was still at the Academy and could access such things; trying to do it on a civilian wireless network would draw the frowning attention of the base's cyber security goons.

Opening the first document, he saw the basics of the vessel herself: when it was laid, commissioned, the major battles she fought in, length, and so forth. Next he looked at the organizational manifest. Von Haeften frowned as he came across the science deaprtment, the one he would now oversee as Chief Science Officer.

The layout looked very similar to every other science roster Wilhelm had ever seen or been a part of, except in one area: in addition to a Chief Science Officer, the vessel had a separate Research Officer. Wilhelm did not know if that was a personal choice by the Skipper due to the uniquely scietific mission aboard the Galileo, or if that was standard aboard Active Fleet vessels. It certainly was alien aboard a Reserve vessel. Wilhelm immediately disliked the idea of having separate but equal science departments; it could cause conflict when they two heads did not agree on the course the SCIDEP needed.

The German LT wondered if his concern was genuine for the good of the vessel or whether it was out of jealousy that his power base was now divided; the Galileo was a top-shelf science vessel, and as Chief Science officer aboard a science-centric ship, his word carried great weight in theory. Wilhelm decided not to think too hard about that one either, as he moved on to the people aboard the Galileo.

First up was the vessels mission advisor, Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm, otheriwse known as Task Force 21's CO.

Of course she's Orion. Wilhelm thought as he saw her command photo.

He had nothing against Orion's. It was simply that he found them very attractive as a species, and the Admiral was certainly a fine example of her people's gender. Her black hair was kept long and flowing, though still well within regulations. Her green skin shone from whatever light source was used for the photo, and it was smooth and unmarked as far as Wilhelm could tell. Her light green eyes seemed to be staring right through the PADD at Von Haeften.

The German found he was sweating as a droplet of perspiration dropped off his eyebrow onto the PADD.

Verdammt, it WAS that girl's phermones the soon-to-be CSO thought, wiping his brow with a neckerchief.

Breathing until the sweat dried, which happened as quickly as it had begun, Wilhelm continued onto the next person on the list.

He laughed as he realized his luducrous behavior a few seconds ago.

Imagine if I had REALLY made a pass at the Admiral.

The German chuckled to himself as he imagined being relieved of CSO duties scarcely before he had even begun them.

OFF:

Lieutenant (J.G.) Wilhelm Von Haeften
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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