Josiah West 1: Kaleidoscope

by C. T. Christensen

  Captain Beltozi gripped his arm again, “See that man over there?” He indicated the Admiral sitting at his desk with a twitch of his head. Josiah looked and nodded. “See that woman over there?” Another twitch in the direction of Molly Shepard working at a screen at the conference table. Another nod. “Everyone standing around you loves them, and they love us. Along with everything else, we are a family. Molly thinks of the junior officers here as her ‘kids’. We refer to her as ‘Mom’ behind her back; don’t you ever tell her that. You have made her very happy and that makes us very happy. You have also impressed us with your actions and abilities. We want and need you here,” he looked at the rest of the group, “don’t we?” That brought another wave of backslapping and affirmative replies.

  Beltozi wasn’t finished, “If you decide to join us I want to emphasize that Kofi was right about the power trip of being a staff officer. Wherever you go, those shoulder boards give you the voice and authority of that man over there. Tread very lightly until it really is necessary to pull out a big stick, like you did when we crashed.” Beltozi’s grip got a bit firmer as he put a grim look closer to Josiah’s face, “If you make that man look bad I will personally sign the transfer order that puts you in command of a weather station on an asteroid.” With that, Beltozi broke into a big grin and smoothed the arm of Josiah’s shirt where he had been tightly gripping it, “So, shall we return?”

  By that time, Molly was at the Admiral’s desk and showing him something on a data pad. The staff remained standing until Admiral Jacks and Molly joined them. As everyone sat down, the Admiral handed May-Reynolds her personal pad back. He then looked at Josiah, and, obviously referring to his civilian ratings, said, “You’re kidding, right?” That brought more laughter and a grin to Josiah’s face, “Sir, I was about eighteen and a half when we threw a party on the day my rating count exceeded my father’s.”

  The Admiral just shook his head and looked up at Molly who was still standing beside him. She looked at the pad and then at Josiah, “Ensign West, a check of your actual duty records have determined that you have completed training and attained experience level requirements for fourteen ratings. This is a Navy record unless other members of your ‘group’ have done better. You are also awarded the Marine Combat Ribbon for your participation in the Argentine Police Action.” She then handed the data pad she had been holding to Admiral Jacks who then signed it and handed it back to her. “Also, with the signing of this form you are now the youngest and lowest ranking person to ever receive the Command Instructor rating.”

  That brought everyone to their feet in a burst of noise and they dragged him to his feet and began pounding his back and shaking his hand again. There were several instructor ratings but this was the highest. Admiral Jacks was the last to take his hand, “You know, West, no one under the age of forty or the rank of Lieutenant Commander has ever received that rating. You gave me the chance to brag that I awarded it to an ensign. He still gripped his hand as he looked around, “Unfortunately, I don’t have a set of Command Instructor wings to present you with, and nobody here has that rating so I can steal theirs.”

  Molly tapped his arm, “Taken care of Admiral. They should be here in a couple of minutes.”

  Admiral Jacks got a slightly unfocused, distant look in his eyes, “If you want something done, call a PO.”

  Amid more grins, the Admiral indicated that they should take their seats again. “The question remains,” and he pointed at the case again, “Ensign West. I know this day has been a lot different than you expected, and I am sure that it would really mess up your plans for returning to civilian life, but do you really want to retire from the Navy as an Ensign? Your first hitch has been a unique experience at the very least, but I need you here,” and he pointed at the group around them, “not out there.” His pointing finger now indicated the world outside. “Make me happy.”

  Josiah looked down at the shoulder boards in the case, Well, it’s not like the family business will suffer without me, and I don’t have a hot girlfriend waiting at the station, hmmm...lieutenant, staff officer, medals and Command Instructor. It could be fun. He looked square into the Admiral’s eyes, “Admiral, I’m going to make you happy.” He picked up the data pad, withdrew the stylus from its slot, and signed up for another five years.

  Once again everyone was on their feet and the usual backslapping and hand shaking began. Before Admiral Jacks joined the crowd around Josiah he leaned over and signed the line of data pads before him. He had a smile on his face.

  When everyone had calmed down a bit, Molly Shepard stepped in, picked up the case, and removed the new shoulder boards. She took Josiah’s arm, guided him up next to Admiral Jacks, and turned him to face the group, “Arthur, if you will.” She handed one of the shoulder boards to the Admiral and they each replaced an old one with a new one. A round of applause from the group, a firm, almost painful, handshake from Admiral Jacks and another kiss from Molly was interrupted by the arrival of the PO that Josiah had seen sitting at the other desk in the reception area. He came up to Molly, and handed her another one of “those” cases. Molly turned to Josiah as she handed the case to Admiral Jacks, “Lieutenant West, this is Petty Officer First-Class Gregory Phon; he is my number one gopher and all-around stooge.”

  Phon got a huge grin on his face, came to attention, and saluted. After Josiah returned the salute, Phon then shook his hand and said, “Welcome to the club, sir. Say, weren’t you an ensign when you walked in?” That brought a laugh from everyone. Phon moved in closer and in a low conspiratorial whisper that could be heard by everyone, “If you need anything, you know, sort of off the books, you come see me. I can get you a good deal on a set of captain’s shoulder boards.” More laughter!

  Molly clapped a hand on his shoulder, “Get out of here you Cambodian thief.” Phon straightened and saluted once more before leaving. Molly turned back to Josiah, “I think they used to call people like him ‘scroungers’. Be very careful what you wish for in his presence.”

  Amid confirmation from the others about Molly’s last statement, Josiah turned back to the Admiral who then opened the new case and removed a set of Command Instructor’s wings. The spread wings were eight centimeters wide and made of ceramo-plast that was densely filled with gold flakes. The ruby shield between the wings had a quill pen made of synthetic diamond being dipped in an ink pot made from black onyx. To say it caught the eye was an understatement.

  Admiral Jacks removed the lowly first-class wings and set the new ones in place above Josiah’s left breast pocket, “Remember, you were awarded this rating as an ensign. That is pretty unlikely to ever happen again, congratulations.” The Admiral was the first to shake his hand this time. When the others had finished, the Admiral put a hand on his shoulder and pointed him at Molly, “Molly will give you the rest of your instructions for the remainder of the day and,” he turned his head to the group behind him, “I believe Phelps wants you at the shuttle tomorrow.”

  Commander Phelps replied, “Yes, sir, 0900 at hanger four. Wear greens; it’ll, probably, be messy.”

  Admiral Jacks and the rest of the staff moved toward the conference table congratulating and welcoming Josiah as they passed him. Molly picked up the empty cases and data pads and put the stack in Josiah’s hands, “Here, make yourself useful.” She then retrieved the cases and Josiah’s cap from the Admiral’s desk and headed for the door, indicating that he should follow her.

  At her desk, she opened a drawer, pulled out a small black bag, and put the cases in it. She then faced him, “The first thing you will do is go to the outfitting department at the base general store. There, you will deliver yourself to Master Chief Elizabeth Warner and do exactly as she says. Is that clear?”

  “Ahh...yes ma’am.”

  “She will be expecting you. You will be issued a new wardrobe that meets the needs of a staff officer. She knows what we require. You will then catch a ride to the Caldwell and wrap up your affairs there. You will then return
to base and check in to the Bachelor Officers Quarters. They will, also, be expecting you. Whatever remains of the day is yours. Tomorrow, you have that appointment with Commander Phelps. Are there any questions?”

  “Ahh...no ma’am.”

  She turned and consulted a long list that was displayed on her main screen. It seemed to satisfy her, and she picked up the portable scanner head from its slot next to the keyboard, “Left arm,” she ordered and placed the device over the chip in his arm, “Ok, your file is updated.”

  She then looked past him and crooked a finger at a tall, thin, redheaded PO that had been standing by Phon’s desk. “This is PO First-Class Baxter Barnhill; he will drive you to the base store and the BOQ whenever you return from the Caldwell. Just call the transportation office and ask for ‘Bax’.” She leaned in very close and in a whisper said, “You can call me Master Chief or Molly but don’t ever call me ‘Mom’.”

  His eyebrows shot up, “You know about that?”

  She smiled and whispered, “I sleep with the Admiral; I know everything.” She reached up and tapped the dark red part of his left shoulder board, “Tread lightly, Lieutenant,” and handed him his cap and bag of cases.

  NORA

  When Josiah and PO Barnhill stepped out the front door of the headquarters building, and the warm air hit him, he came to a stop and just looked around.

  “Lieutenant, do you need to sit down?”

  The change in environment had triggered a sense of unreality, and Josiah found himself looking at his left shoulder, his left breast pocket, and then his right breast pocket. Yep, they’re still there. “No, I’m alright; it’s just been a really weird day.”

  #

  Bax dropped him off at the main door of the base General Commodities Facility or “The Store,” reminded him to take his bag, and call for him anytime. The walk to the entrance required several salutes; one from a rather startled looking full Commander. Inside, he removed his cap and turned to the left toward the uniform section. At the very back was a desk. The Master Chief sitting at it rose as he approached. She came around, stuck out her hand, and smiled, “Lieutenant West, I’m Elizabeth Warner. Molly told me you were coming, and I was to give you the full treatment.” She had to be thirty centimeters shorter than he was, and reminded him strongly of his father’s mother. She had short brown hair and deep laugh lines at the corners of her brown eyes. “So, let’s get you started.”

  She led him through a doorway into a change-room area and pointed to the cubicle nearest the scanner, “Take everything off down to your briefs and place them in the basket with your outer shirt on top of your cap and we’ll get the hardware off before it goes in for recycling.”

  That reminded him, “Master Chief, I need to keep this shirt...”

  She held up a finger to stop him, “Just call me Liz, now, what about the shirt?”

  “Oh, Ok, Liz; well, ahh...Molly kind of cried all over it and I promised her I would always keep it as a memento of this day. You...do know about the shuttle crash and all, right?”

  She smiled and put a hand on his arm, “Yes, dear, I know all about it,” her expression saddened, “I spent many bad nights with her after the report came in. I was terrified that my best friend was going to lose her husband.” She brightened again, “But you saved the day and it’s my turn to take care of you. Now get ready for a scan, and I will save the shirt for you.”

  While he was getting undressed he couldn’t help thinking, yep, she really does remind me of my grandmother.

  The body scan only took a couple of minutes. He stood on the rotating platform and went through the usual positions: Standing at attention, feet together with arms out, and feet apart with arms out while a full wave scan was taken.

  Back in the cubicle, Liz brought him new standard flex-fit briefs, under shirt, and knee highs. She then came and tapped on the wall next to the curtain, “Lieutenant, I need to ask you about the ribbon arrangement.”

  Josiah stuck his head out and looked at the data pad she held that had a display of his award arrangement. The program was confused by the presence of the Marine Combat Award and was holding it to the side. “Ah, I see, well, the MCA certainly is held in high regard and it...” he looked at the rest of his award ribbons on the display, “definitely outclasses everything else I have except the Bronze Cluster, so make it secondary to the Bronze Cluster. Oh, and I want actual hardware Command Instructors wings on the dress uniforms and just the wings stitched on the greens. Can you get me a couple of more sets of wings?”

  She smiled, “Of course, dear. If I couldn’t, I’d just put Phon on it” and walked away.

  Wow, that guy really has a reputation!

  While they waited for the fabricator to produce a set of service whites, he put on the robe Liz provided, tried on caps and shoes, and removed his personal gear and hardware from his old uniform. As they finished wrapping the shirt and putting it in his bag with the cases, there was a soft chime. Liz went to the slide belt behind her desk, and picked the folded pants and shirt out of the tray as it rolled out. She then, expertly, mounted the shoulder boards, wings and Admirals Star. “You know, dear, that’s the first time I have ever seen an Admirals Star.” She handed him the clothes, “Go get dressed, and let’s see what you look like.”

  When he came out of the dressing area, she stood him in front of a big mirror, put her hands together, and smiled, “You look wonderful.” He had to admit that the new, crisp white pants and long-sleeved shirt with the rows of brightly colored auto-stitched ribbons topped with the MCA, Bronze Cluster, and CI wings were a real eye-catcher. Add in the Admirals Star above the other pocket, the red Lieutenant’s shoulder boards, and he found himself getting that sense of unreality again. Wow, that’s me?

  Liz brought him out of it, “Molly told me you were going up to your old ship to clear off. By the time you get back, the rest of your uniforms should be waiting for you at the BOQ.” She steered him over to her desk where he attached his pouch and pad to his belt, “Please examine them all and try on at least one each of the other uniforms.” She pointed at the bag with the cases and old shirt, “I will put that in with the uniforms along with two more sets of wings and six more sets of shoulder boards. Now, when you get to your old ship, have the supply officer bag up all of your old uniforms, except hardware, from the skin out for recycling. If there are no questions, I need to confirm order completion.” She held up the data pad and waited while he swept his left forearm near its edge so it could read the chip in his arm. It beeped and he took the pad and signed the form.

  “Thank you Liz, I actually enjoyed being here.”

  She put a hand on his arm again, “Thank you, dear, please come back anytime.”

  He picked up his new cap and, on impulse, went back to the mirror, and put it on. He looked at himself and then back at Liz, “I do look sharp! I’ll drop by the next time I’m in the store.” Liz smiled and waved as he walked away. He tucked his cap under his left arm and headed for the other end of the store and the exit closest to the terminal building.

  The warnings about the effect of the shoulder boards crept into his mind as he walked through the various departments and noticed the looks he got. Of course, the other accoutrements probably help. He was enjoying the sense of wonder, surprise, and respect that was happening around him. In fact, it was fun...until he got to the exit door. As he approached the nearest of four glass doors, and was putting his cap on, a captain that was coming in that same door stopped, literally gawked, held the door open and saluted. Josiah’s inertia carried him past the startled captain, and he managed to return the salute out of pure knee-jerk reaction while saying, “Good morning, sir; thank you.”

  “Good morning!” the captain replied.

  Josiah was ten meters along the walkway to the terminal building before his mind settled on a description of what just happened. Wow, that was...scary! ‘Tread lightly, Lieutenant’ flashed like a warning light in his head.

  #

  Th
e terminal was the hub for the entire local passenger and some cargo shuttle traffic to and from the ships and facilities in orbit, and it was busy. Josiah could see at least a dozen passenger shuttles and three large cargo shuttles on the apron. There had to be two hundred people in the passenger call area and two deep at the counter. He was looking for someone to talk to when a tall, thin Chief Petty Officer approached him from behind the counter, “I’m Chief Rosenberg; can I help you, Lieutenant?”

  “I’m West, Chief, I was looking for a hop to the Maxim Caldwell but it looks like there will be a wait.”

  Rosenberg gave a dismissive wave, “Not a problem, sir, we’ll bump someone and get you on the next one out.”

  Josiah’s reaction was almost spasmodic as he reached out to stop the already turning Chief, “No, no bumping! When is the next available open seat? My visit is strictly personal and these people look like they are annoyed enough without me making things worse.”

  The Chief looked surprised but turned the other way, went to a corner desk, and started checking the data display, “You know, Lieutenant, we have a shortage of rated pilots; that’s the main reason we’re backed up. Hmm...it doesn’t look good for a couple of hours, but let...hmm....” The Chief looked over the screen at Josiah, “Lieutenant, I see you have Command Instructor wings; this may be a silly question but can you handle a Gardener 6B?”

  It was Josiah’s turn to be surprised, “Yes, I’m instructor rated in that class. Why?”

  The Chief sat back in his chair and waved a finger at the screen, “We have a cargo drop for the Caldwell that we were putting off until late tonight when we could spare pilots from the passenger runs.” He looked back at Josiah, “I could get the loading finished in less than a half hour if you would care to take it.”