Josiah West 1: Kaleidoscope

by C. T. Christensen

  With the boat secure, Josiah removed his com set, put his cap back on, and headed for the passenger compartment. After palming the hatch lock he turned to the Ensign and PO3 that remained, “Well, we have arrived.” They both thanked him for a quick and smooth ride and headed for the personnel office. Josiah turned back to Parente who was now standing behind him, “This was my last assignment before I got bumped to staff, and I’m just here to clean out my personal gear and see a few friends. I should be finished in forty minutes or so, and you have a boat to unload.”

  “Yes, sir, the timing should work out fairly well. I’ll be here when you’re finished.”

  Josiah stepped through the hatch and headed for the deck officer’s station. It was then that he noticed the people standing there. Uh-oh, I had forgotten about a possible reception party. At least they didn’t fire up the band. He recognized all five of them: There was the Caldwell’s Captain Derrick Berlin and first officer Commander Gladys Martinez, the Marine detail commander Major Essex Martin, Marine Sergeant Oliver Martin--no relation--, and the deck officer Lieutenant J. G. Walter Peska. He got within eight meters of them when the Admiral’s Star seemed to register; they all braced to attention and saluted. Josiah stopped a couple of meters away and returned the salute, “Thank you lady, and gentlemen. I will only be here for a fe--”

  “WEST...ENSIGN WEST???” The loud exclamation had come from Berlin after he had finally looked at who was wearing the fancy medals, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN THAT UNIFORM?” Josiah was stunned by the outburst and couldn’t reply before Berlin turned to Major Martin and screamed at him, “ARREST THAT MAN.”

  The major was confused and struggling to recover, “For what, sir?”

  “FOR IMPERSONATING A STAFF OFFICER YOU IDIOT; HE’S AN ENSIGN ON THIS SHIP.”

  It took another minute of loud threats from both Berlin and Martinez involving improbable reductions in rank and more realistic references to shipboard assignments in locations where the sun don’t shine to get Sergeant Martin to secure Josiah’s wrists behind his back with a tie-band. Berlin and Martinez were practically breathless with anger while the rest just looked confused.

  Berlin stepped forward almost nose to nose with Josiah, “I have no idea what you think you’re doing but you’re going to pay for this. Did you really think you could make me look bad by nearly killing Admiral Jacks and then pull this stunt?” He then started stripping the hardware off of Josiah’s uniform, “Full Lieutenant? Admiral’s Star? CI wings?” They all hit the deck as Berlin yanked them off and threw them. “Major, look at this, he even went so far as to include the MCA and Bronze Cluster.”

  Josiah just stood there in amazed silence. He knew that at some point, someone would get the message. Besides, it was fascinating watching one of the worst officers in the fleet dig a very deep hole.

  A chime sounded from the wall screen behind the deck officer’s station. The face of Chief Bates from the com section appeared, “Lieutenant Peska, I have an emergency call for you from HQ.”

  An even more confused Peska replied, “Ah...put it through.”

  Everyone was looking at the screen as one face was replaced by another…that of Master Chief Molly Shepard. Silence held sway while both sides tried to figure out what the other was doing. Molly spoke first, “Lieutenant West, what am I looking at?”

  “Hello, Molly, it’s been an interesting day, Captain Berlin and Commander Martinez just had me arrested for impersonating a staff officer.”

  Molly was very quiet and controlled as she shifted her gaze to Captain Berlin, “Captain, I personally sent an advisory notice to your ship almost two hours ago detailing the promotion and reassignment of Lieutenant West. Are your people that sloppy?”

  Berlin had, apparently, shut off his higher brain functions, “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TALK TO ME THAT WAY? I’M A GOD-DAMNED CAPTAIN AND YOU’RE SOME ENLISTED SCUM. I WANT TO TALK TO YOUR CO RIGHT NOW.”

  Uh-oh!

  Molly leaned a bit closer to the pickup, “You will have the opportunity to talk to my CO in a minute; as for me, I am Master Chief Petty Officer Molly Shepard. I am Chief Administrative Coordinator for the Division One Commander Admiral Arthur Jacks.” Molly then reached with her right hand to pull her left sleeve to where the rank insignia could be better seen. She placed one pointing finger on the red background of the chevrons. Her voice acquired a very hard edge, “Does anybody there NOT know what this means?” There were no replies, “Which of you restrained Lieutenant West?”

  Sergeant Martin nervously held his right hand up a few centimeters, “I...I did Master Chief.”

  “Well, Sergeant, you’re going to be cutting him loose now aren’t you?”

  “Yes ma’am,” he blurted as he pulled a cutter out of his pocket and practically jumped behind Josiah.

  Molly once again looked at the entire group, “You will all remain exactly where you are while I brief Admiral Jacks on this situation.” She smiled, “I’m sure he will want to talk to you; oh, and thank you for calling, Ensign Parente.”

  Only then did Josiah realize that she was standing beside him, “You’re welcome Master Chief.” She looked at Josiah with a confused smile on her face, “You will explain this to me.” It sounded like an order.

  The screen had changed to the First Division symbol indicating a hold on the transmission. Berlin was still standing in front of Josiah facing the com screen. Josiah leaned forward and spoke quietly but loud enough so that all could hear, “The official finding was that the shuttle’s right side drive-link relay failed catastrophically because of poor maintenance practices. It nearly cost the Admiral his life. I managed to save him. Master Chief Molly Shepard is his wife; she loves me; he loves me; I’m now his personal shuttle pilot. You are going straight to hell.”

  And there it was: Berlin turned his head and looked at Josiah with fear finally showing in his eyes. Reality was such a bitch.

  The screen changed and Admiral Jacks appeared. He remained silent for a moment while he looked at everyone, “You’re kidding, right? Berlin, Martinez, you arrested one of my staff officers? Who was it that stripped his uniform?”

  Berlin managed to reply, “I...I...it was me...sir.”

  “Well, Captain, you are going to pick up everything and there had better not be a scratch on anything or I will replace it out of your pay and file charges of assault and damage to government property.” He then shifted his gaze, “West, com me on your pad and go to a back corner so we can have some privacy. The rest of you stay in view of this pickup.” The screen went back to the hold symbol. The group retained a reasonable approximation of paralysis as Josiah unfolded his pad and moved away. Berlin finally started moving to collect the discarded hardware and Parente stood with her hands behind her back watching the confusing scene.

  In a moment he had Molly on the screen. She received the call on a portable pad and handed it to the Admiral. He glared at Josiah, “Are those two really that useless?”

  Josiah could see that he was very mad, “Yes, sir, you should have heard Captain Berlin scream when he recognized me. I expect he was heard two decks away.”

  Molly’s voice came from off screen, “Arthur, deep breaths now.” The Admiral looked up at her with a look of annoyance, but he did pause and did seem to get his heart rate down, “Ok, tell me about those other people, and who is that Ensign Parente that called us?”

  “Well, sir, Lieutenant Peska is one of the ‘group’. He has been here about a year and he’s a good man. Major and Sergeant Martin; no relation, sir, just coincidence, are not part of the ‘group’, but they seem to be competent and do their jobs well. I have no complaints about them. Ensign Nora Parente is the local gopher in the Terminal Transport Department; she was assigned as my right-seater when I agreed to lend a hand by bringing a load up in a Gardener. Sir, I get a vibe that Ensign Parente is one of those people you are looking for; she is sharp and impressive. I’m giving her a check ride on this flight, and if she passes, which I think she will
, I would like to suggest an immediate promotion to J. G.”

  “You know, West, I’m beginning to get the feeling that the people I’m looking for are the ones wearing work greens.” He looked up at Molly, “Set up a promotion order for Parente and pull her record.” To Josiah he said, “I will sign that order on your final recommendation and my approval. Now, give me a name of someone on that zoo up there that you think will make a good Captain.”

  Wow, this is going to be fun! “Well, sir, the name that sticks in my head is Lieutenant Commander Sasha Weldon.”

  “A Lieutenant Commander, West?”

  “Yes, sir, I know it’s a double jump but she was passed over, and anywhere else she would have been a full Commander a year ago.”

  The Admiral thought for a second, “She was one of the names on my short list.” Again he turned his head, “Molly, set up promotion and reassignment orders for Weldon.”

  “Ok, West, back to the group.”

  The call terminated and Josiah headed back to the reception desk. Nobody had moved and Berlin was holding Josiah’s hardware. The main screen changed back to Admiral Jacks, “Officer of the Deck,”

  Peska practically jumped, “Sir.”

  “You will request the immediate presence at this location of Lieutenant Commander Sasha Weldon. You will emphasize the word ‘immediate’.”

  “Yes, sir”, and he hurried to the com panel.

  “Captain Berlin, I see you have recovered the symbols of rank and award that I personally placed on the uniform of LIEUTENANT West. You will now restore them to their previous locations.”

  “Y-y-yes, sir.”

  Josiah had all he could do not to grin as shaky hands replaced those items. It took a couple of tries but things finally got resettled.

  About that time, Commander Weldon came trotting through the nearest hatch. She was a rather plain looking woman with messy brown hair, wearing dirty work greens and wiping her hands on a greasy rag, “What’s so damned important th--, oh, sorry, Captain, I was told to report as is.” Berlin didn’t reply, but she caught sight of Josiah. She stopped wiping, “West, is that for real?”

  A voice behind her said, “Yes, it is Commander.” She turned, looked, and then turned some more until she finally saw Admiral Jacks on the screen; she braced to attention, “Sir, Lieutenant Commander Sasha Weldon reporting as ordered. Sorry about the uniform, sir, I was told that seconds counted.”

  “At ease, Commander, I have a growing appreciation for work greens.” He gave Josiah a bemused look, “I have orders for you, Commander.” He looked up, took two data pads from Molly, and placed them on his desk. He signed both of them, “Upon final recommendation of Lieutenant Josiah West: Effective immediately you are promoted to the rank of Captain. Effective immediately you are assigned as commanding officer of the Maxim Caldwell.” He handed the pads back to Molly, “Captain Weldon, you will have on my desk no later than 0900 hours tomorrow base time your selection for your first officer. You will have on my desk no later than 0900 hours base time next Monday your recommendations for any, and I mean ANY, crew changes. Are there any questions?”

  Weldon was a very intelligent woman. She looked at the people around her, at their expressions and body language, at the shocking transformation of “Ensign” West and that recruiting poster Ensign in the work greens with her hands behind her back that was just smiling and nodding. She knew that the situation on the Caldwell had just hit the fan, “No, sir, there will be no questions.” She turned to Josiah, “See me before you leave.” Josiah nodded. She turned back to the Admiral and saluted, “By your leave, sir, I believe I have work to do.” The Admiral returned the salute and Weldon left the cargo deck.

  Admiral Jacks turned his attention back to the group, “Officer of the Deck.”

  “Sir.”

  “Do you have access to any Command Authority Badges?”

  “Yes, sir, I have two in the lockbox.”

  “Please get them and give them to the Major and Sergeant.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Major Martin.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Sergeant Martin.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “The two of you will escort Captain Berlin and Commander Martinez to their quarters where you will allow them five minutes to pack a small travel bag. On the way there you will call the personnel office and have them send a crew to those quarters to complete the packing of all remaining personal items. You will advise them to ship those items to addresses that the Captain and Commander will provide. You will then escort them back to this location and put them on that” he pointed toward the Gardener that Josiah had arrived in, “boat, and the two of you will personally escort them to the area immediately in front of my desk.” The Admiral leaned closer to the pickup, “I cannot stress too strongly how badly I want those two here.” His finger jabbed the desk, “I do not really care what kind of condition they arrive in as long as they are able to sign their retirement requests. Are there any questions?”

  The two Martins answered in unison, “No, sir.”

  The Admiral sat back and looked at the group, “Alright, Lieutenant West, I place you in command of this situation. Call me when you hit dirt about that other matter if you wish.”

  Josiah came to attention and saluted, “Yes, sir.” Admiral Jacks returned the salute and broke the connection.

  Martinez turned to Josiah wide-eyed and begging, “Please tell me that wasn’t real.” Berlin had the same stunned look on his face.

  “I’m afraid that was as real as it can possibly get. Actually, I thought he is being very generous: no tribunal, no dishonorable discharge, no prison time, and no firing squad.” He put his arms around their shoulders and started walking them toward Lieutenant Peska who was giving the badges to the Major and Sergeant, “I’ve only been a staff officer for a few hours, but I definitely got the idea that the two of you would have been better off if you had kicked his cat or spit on his shoes rather than insult one of his people.”

  He stopped in front of the other three and watched as Major and Sergeant Martin put the chains that held the Division One Command symbol around their necks. “Remember, those badges give you the Admiral’s Command Authority but only for the specified mission. Here Major, you take the Captain and you, Sergeant, the Commander. Follow the Admiral’s instructions to the letter.”

  He watched them head toward the forward officer’s quarters before he turned and headed in the direction of the machine section. He waved at Parente, “Be back quick as I can.”

  “No problem, sir, I have an indefinite hold on our departure slot.”

  I’m beginning to like her.

  #

  Twenty minutes later he had gotten his personal gear organized with the larger stuff headed for the BOQ and the old uniforms headed for recycling as Liz had ordered. He carried a small bag of things he might need tonight as he worked his way from section to section checking in with old friends. His last stop was the Captain’s quarters where he found Weldon standing in the corridor watching as several crew members swapped Berlin’s stuff for her stuff.

  She noticed him when he came up behind her. She immediately turned, grabbed his arm, and walked him down the corridor, away from other people. I hope her hands are clean; she still has that rag sticking out of her pocket. “West, I get the general concept of what just happened but could you fill in a few of the gaps?”

  “Ok, but let’s talk as we walk; I have a boat to catch.”

  During their walk back to the cargo deck, he gave her a rundown of events from the shuttle crash to today.

  “You told Admiral Jacks about the group?”

  He stopped walking just as they entered the cargo deck, “That’s why you’re Captain of this ship now. The Admiral and the rest of his staff knew there was something strange going on, and I just confirmed their growing suspicions.” Josiah looked around to make sure no one was near them then he faced her and spoke quietly, “You’re the Captain of this ship
now. When the Admiral said to make any crew change recommendations, he meant it. Get rid of anyone you want even if it means taking this ship out of service until you can train a new crew. Be sure to make recommendations for promotions and give a clear reason for anybody you want to dump; that will make it easy for the Admiral to sign-off on them.” He smiled and stuck out his hand to shake hers, “Congratulations, Captain.” He put his cap on and headed for the Gardener. As he walked away, Weldon called out, “West”; he turned and faced her, “I’ve never seen an Admiral’s Star before.” She came to attention and saluted. He grinned and returned the salute.

  Josiah stepped through the hatch and found four passengers there. Two of them looked unhappy. The other two looked very unhappy. At least they had their belts fastened and a couple of bags stowed. He put his bag into a locker on the command deck where Parente was waiting. He dropped into the right seat, “I believe the phrase is, ‘Home James’.”

  BOQ

  As Josiah had expected, the return flight was smooth, precise and without error. He noticed the way Parente locked up with the boat. She just sat there with her elbows on the armrests and fingers interlaced. There was no tension, no worry. Exiting Victor 4 and joining local traffic for approach to the base under manual control was flawless and ended with a touchdown that was barely felt. They completed the post-flight checklist and Josiah went to see to their passengers.