Josiah West 1: Kaleidoscope

by C. T. Christensen

  Nora was a little taken aback but went with it, “Thank you, sir.”

  After they were all seated, Admiral Jacks turned to Josiah, “Your Mother called.”

  Oh, crap!

  Then he turned to Nora, “It seems that she really wants to meet you and ordered me to give you both some leave.”

  Oh crap!

  Back to Josiah with a big smile, “I like talking to your Mother; and your Father, too. Actually, we talked for a couple of hours.”

  Oh crap!

  His expression got serious and he put a hand on Josiah’s shoulder, “That may seem a bit strange, but not only was I talking to the head of Westland Flight Systems, I was talking to the two people most responsible for producing the only reason I’m still alive. They get a hell of a lot of points for that. I told them that I will be making a personal visit in a couple of months after I get through this regen stuff.”

  Josiah brightened at that, “Why, that would be great; I know they would love to have you out there.”

  “Plan on it, two or three months.” He looked from one to the other, “For now, as of this Sunday the two of you are on a special detail.”

  Nora got a questioning look; Josiah hadn’t mentioned the Admiral’s plans for her.

  “You will begin at 1300 Sunday at hanger 4 where you will check out a Falcon. At that time a passenger will arrive. You will drop her at the Drive Systems School in Atlanta.” Admiral Jacks smiled at Josiah, “You, probably, know her, a PO3 Seeley. From there you will proceed to Lark Field.”

  He reached down and slid a data pad over to Nora, “During your stay with Lieutenant West’s parents, you will devote some time to the transport operation at the McCord Facility in Washington State. A Commander Ridge is in command there. They seem to be having scheduling problems, and there have been some complaints. I don’t expect anything major. Your unit here seems to be a model of smoothness, so I want you to see if you can do anything there or recommend changes. You will find a complete file on this pad.”

  He turned back to Josiah, “Use of that package you received last week is authorized for the full period of this detail. Commander Phelps will cover for you while you are gone. Try to be back a week from next Monday if possible.”

  With that, he stood up and helped Nora to her feet, “And now, I promised my long-suffering wife a nice dinner at the officer’s club and a good night’s sleep before I go in for a regen treatment tomorrow.”

  #

  Nora spent the entire meal at the BOQ reading the data pad. She had even told him to order her something and went to their table. As they were walking back to his quarters, he asked, “Did you find anything in that file?”

  “Oh, nothing you could stick a knife in, but I have a couple of ideas. Would you be available to give some check rides? I have a hunch that could help.”

  They were at their door; he took her hand in both of his and kissed it, “Speak to me, my Lady, and West will be at your service.”

  She smiled shyly and swiped her arm over the lock plate, “Ok, if you insist,” and yanked him into the room.

  #

  Later--much later--Nora was at the desk reading more of the file. Josiah leaned past her and activated the work station, “Here, go through this in your spare time.”

  Nora read the title at the top of the screen, “Alliance Falcon - Navy models D1 through D6: Flight systems, specifications, and emergency procedures.”

  “By the time we get to Lark Field, you will have your Falcon rating.” He stood back up, put his right hand flat against his chest, and struck an aloof pose, “After all, an officer of my exalted status should have his own driver.”

  The annoyed look he got served as an effective check on his “exalted status”, so he shifted gears to a more practical approach; he pulled her off of the chair, held her close with an arm around her shoulder, and swept his free arm out in front of them to present the scene he had in his mind, “Imagine what it would be like to arrive at McCord flying your own Division 1 Command D6 Falcon.”

  He dumped her back in her chair and pulled up another one to face her, “Think of what it looks like; a lousy J.G. walks in after being dropped off by a common transport jumper or you step out of a new Command Level Falcon in front of the whole transport section.”

  “But, won’t they just think that you’re the pilot?”

  “I won’t be there; you’re going alone.”

  Nora got an alarmed look on her face, “But…I…what about the check rides? I can’t do those.”

  He took both of her hands and leaned forward, “Look at it from their point of view. If you arrive alone, you are the authority figure. If I arrive with you, I am the authority figure, and you lose status. If you arrive alone flying a Command Level Falcon, then the eyebrows go up. You spend a day there, maybe two, and then you show up the next day with me as a hard-won resource that your influence was able to obtain. Add to that the fact that you are, currently, quartered down at Westland Flight Systems, without explaining why, and you become the Great Mystery. The final straw is the Admiral call sign that you use that has everyone looking out the windows to see who’s coming.”

  “I can’t use an Admiral call sign when I arrive alone, so how do I get everyone to look out the window, buzz the field?”

  “Ah, yes, that. Hang on.” Josiah got up, went to the lockbox, and removed the case. He handed it to Nora as he sat again, “This will help with that.”

  He had to break through the blank, wide-eyed expression by waving his hand in front of her, “You may put those on only as we are leaving here Sunday. You are to wear them for as long as we are away.”

  He took the case, closed it, and put it on the desk so he could get her full attention again, “Do you remember when I told you that the Admiral had his eye on you?”

  Nora gave a small nod.

  “Close your mouth. This ‘special detail’ is more of an opportunity to watch you than to fix any great problem at McCord. When you wear those red shoulder boards you have to be aware of how other people perceive you. They tell people that you have the ear and trust of the commanding Admiral and potential command authority well beyond your apparent rank.” Hmm…a thought! “What was your first impression when you first saw me?”

  She had to think about that, “Well…” she smiled, “I saw a tall, handsome Lieutenant…” her smile went back to a thoughtful expression, “You’re right, when I realized you were a staff officer I could only think there was some kind of trouble. I stopped seeing you as a Lieutenant and had the impression that I was talking to the entire command structure. I remember being a little pissed when I thought you were looking at me as a problem and started questioning my record.”

  Josiah’s turn to smile, “Yeah, that kind of came through. When you wear those, you are the Admiral. It’s your job to make him look good. Be careful what you say and do; try to put people at ease. When you talk to Commander Ridge, assure him that you are only there to help, and that the Admiral thought that your experience in transport could be a benefit to him.” Another thought! “It might also help put him at ease if you imply that coming to see him was just a secondary idea. You know, you just happened to be in the area down at Westland, working on something you can’t talk about, of course.”

  She still had that thoughtful look as she ran his ideas around in her head, “I like it. I assume Admiral Jacks will want a report?”

  “Oh, yes! Take your time; talk to people. If you can help then do it; if it requires major intervention then suggest what kind. Either way, report your experiences.”

  He looked at the clock, “I have a few things to do tomorrow to get ready for Sunday. I’m going to bed.”

  Nora turned back to the desk, “I’m going to read for awhile.”

  ON LEAVE

  They arrived at the hanger a couple of hours early so Nora could familiarize herself with the Falcon. Eddie was there and had one of the ships sitting in front of the hanger; Josiah drove up next to it, and Eddie came
down the steps to greet them. He saluted as they exited the vehicle, “Lieutenant West, you’re a bit early; I haven’t finished the ground checks yet, but I should be finished in thirty minutes or so.”

  “No rush, Eddie; I’m giving Lieutenant Parente a check ride and brought her out early so she could get the feel of it; besides, we have a passenger that won’t be here until 1300.” He turned to Nora, “Eddie, this is Nora Parente; Nora, this is Eddie Jefferson, our senior ground crewman.”

  Eddie saluted and broke into that toothy grin. He grabbed her hand and started pumping, “Rumors have been circulating about the beautiful lady that Lieutenant West found; it’s good to see that those rumors were not an exaggeration.” He pulled her toward him, put his other arm around her waist, and started walking her toward the Falcon, “Lieutenant West, why don’t you bring your personal gear while I show the ship to the lovely lady?”

  Ok, let’s go over that again, how many people have I given orders to since I got this rank?

  #

  Josiah wound up doing the grunt work of loading both sets of uniforms and personal gear into the storage area at the rear of the Falcon. Nora and Eddie seemed to be having a great time with Eddie going far past a normal pre-flight and familiarization when he started opening panels and pulling up deck plates. Josiah started to wonder if they would have the ship back together in time.

  It was getting close to 1300 when Josiah moved his vehicle to the parking area. He was just getting back to the ship when a base transport van pulled up next to it; PO Seeley got out with a huge grin on her face; it was the first time he had ever been saluted by someone that was on the edge of giggling.

  “Lieutenant West, they didn’t tell me you were taking me to school.” She looked and saw Eddie and Nora in the Falcon; the smile turned into a worried look, “You are the one taking me to school, aren’t you?”

  He put his arm around her shoulder, “Yes, Seeley, I’m heading for California and the Admiral told me to drop you off on the way.” He turned back and told the rating driving the van to put Seeley’s gear in the ship.

  Nora and Eddie were on their knees with their heads down in an open deck access port with the south end of a northbound Nora pointing out of the open hatch. I had better not tell her about this, not that there’s anything wrong with it.

  He knocked on the side of the hull next to the hatch, “We have our passenger. Do we have a ship?”

  Eddie looked up and Nora rolled over to sit on the deck; Josiah waved a hand at them, “Astrid Seeley, this is Nora Parente and Eddie Jefferson.” Seeley reached in and shook hands with them. Eddie managed to clear the open access port and exit the boat without letting go of her hand. He left Nora with the task of resetting the deck plates while he put an arm around Seeley’s shoulder and wandered away.

  Josiah turned back to Nora, “I believe the word is ‘fickle’.”

  #

  The Falcon series was the luxury personnel transporter for both civilians and the Navy. Besides the two pilot positions, it could accommodate up to twenty passengers; the one they had was set up for only ten in very comfortable circumstances. It had a food prep area, full shower and toilet facilities, storage for gear, and could carry any amount of cargo that you had room for and would fit through the wide hatches on both sides aft of the passenger area. It was, also, one of the few flyers with large ceramo-plast side windows in the passenger area; the view at altitude was spectacular. Arriving in one did not go unnoticed, even if you didn’t have an Admiral call sign.

  Nora settled the Falcon on its pads with her usual expert touch in front of the main ramp door of the Atlanta Navel Drive Technician School. Josiah looked past her and counted nine people waiting for them, “Do a full system shutdown; I don’t think we’re going to be doing a scrape-n-scoot.” He rose from his seat and leaned close to Nora’s right ear, “Watch how these people react to us.” He continued out of his seat and waved for Seeley to follow him, “Get your gear and just put it on the deck; I’ll get someone to take care of it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He palmed the plate on the port cargo door and descended the three steps. The group was approaching, led by a captain he recognized as the Commanding Officer of the school. Again, the surprised look that he was getting used to when they saw the Admirals Star. They stopped and nearly saluted as one. Josiah returned the salute then offered his hand to the captain, “Captain Arnold Cruz, I believe?” The Captain nodded in surprise. “I’m Josiah West, and this,” he indicated Nora who had come up beside him, “is Nora Parente.”

  She saluted and shook his hand, “Nice to meet you, sir.”

  Cruz did a quick round of introductions before getting to the main item, “We were very surprised when we heard there was a Division staff officer coming here. I hope there is no problem that I am about to be made aware of.”

  Josiah just smiled, “Absolutely not, sir. Lieutenant Parente and I were on our way out to Westland Flight Systems, and Admiral Jacks asked us to drop off one of your new students.” He turned back toward the Falcon; Seeley was still standing by it. He waved her over. “Captain Cruz, this is Astrid Seeley; she starts drive tech school tomorrow.”

  Seeley gave Cruz her winning smile and saluted. Cruz returned the salute and smiled at her and Josiah, “The Admiral, himself, provided transport?”

  Josiah gave Cruz a “look,” “The Admiral has an interest in this.” No further explanation was required. “Captain, could you have someone retrieve her gear and get her set up here?”

  Cruz almost twitched, “Why, yes,” he looked back at his group and waved at someone, “Marsh!” A blond female Lieutenant J.G. came hurrying up to the front, “Get someone to get her gear and I want you to personally see that Petty Officer Seeley is signed in and quartered.”

  She nodded at the Captain, “No problem, sir.”

  Before the Lieutenant and Seeley could walk away, Josiah held up his hand, “I have one more thing for Seeley; excuse us for a moment.” He put an arm around her shoulders and walked out of earshot; he stopped with his back to the group and talked quietly, “Ok, Seeley, here it is. You’re going to be here for the next eight months. Neither I nor the Admiral wishes to hear anything but good news about you. Forget about boys, forget about being homesick; you are in the Navy and you’re in one of the most prestigious and expensive schools we have. This is the door to your future, and arriving here the way you did will give you a little boost. Be a bit mysterious about it; don’t just go blabbing about a chance meeting at the BOQ. You could let it slip that my family is Westland, and we were talking about drive systems one day. It’s amazing how a small but unusual thing can start a rumor mill.” He pointed a thumb back toward the waiting crowd, “This will get things started; don’t disappoint people; they love a good mystery.” He took out a small card from his shirt pocket, “My personal number. Do not ever call me unless you are on fire, understood?”

  She got a huge grin, “Yes, sir, and if she doesn’t marry you, I will.”

  “Huh…what? What are you talking about?”

  She gave him a disappointed look as they headed back, “Really, Lieutenant?”

  At least he was right about doing a complete systems shutdown; the campus tour took two hours.

  #

  Josiah put Nora through the usual simulated systems failures as they headed west. Falcons had a single-pilot system that was at the top of industry standards along with top-of-the-line redundant power, logic, and flight systems. They had, and deserved, one of the highest ratings in the world; the check ride for a pilot with Nora’s experience was a mere formality, and Josiah signed her logbook as they were crossing into California.

  #

  When they arrived, there was a crowd in front of the building, “Well, I was here a couple of weeks ago, so they know what I look like,” he gave her an executioners smile, “it looks like the parade is for you.”

  “Oh, crap! Do I look alright?”

  “Since when do you say ‘Oh, crap’?
”

  She was distracted as she checked her uniform and arranged her cap, “I don’t know; I just picked it up somewhere. Do I look alright?”

  He sighed, and hit the lock plate, “Fabulous, just fabulous.”

  Allea and his parents headed the mob that swarmed the boat. Nora and Josiah met them at the bottom of the steps, “Nora Parente, this is my Mother, Grace, my Father, Paul, and my Sister, Allea.”

  Nora fumbled it right out of the gate, “Lady West, Mister West, I’m…”

  “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”

  Paul’s loud command startled and froze everyone in place. He lowered his arms back down from their position over his head, and stuck a finger in Nora’s face, “If we ever hear anything besides ‘Paul’ and ‘Grace’ from you, we are going to be very annoyed. Is that understood, Lieutenant?”

  Josiah leaned in next to Nora’s ear, “Ex Master Chief; he’s very pushy.”

  “Ah…yes, sir…Paul, understood.”

  Josiah’s Mother was about four centimeters shorter than Nora. She took her hand, “My, you are a tall one. You come with us, dear.”

  Nora disappeared into the group as it flowed back into the building. Sam Gates was still standing next to him, “You asked her to marry you yet?”

  “Huh…what? What are you talking about?”

  Sam gave him an exasperated look, “You’re screwed, kid.” He turned toward the Falcon, “Nice ride, let’s put it in the hanger.”

  #

  He didn’t see Nora until later when the five of them went to a favorite restaurant for dinner. She was really getting along with his family, and he began to feel like a third coil. They had already made plans for her to spend her days at the business learning the various operations. Everyone wanted time with her. He had to remind her about the McCord thing and explain it to the others. They finally settled on Thursday for that problem. Until then, she vanished into the maw that was Westland and his family; when he did see her, she was always wearing dirty greens and wanting a shower.