Meet & Greet

Posted on 17 Jan 2016 @ 8:54pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Wilhelm Von Haeften
Edited on on 17 Jan 2016 @ 9:23pm

1,960 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Administrative Office
Timeline: MD 24 - 1010 hrs

[ON]

Lieutenant Junior Grade Wilhelm Von Haeften was nervous as he approached the doors to the Admiral's office. It looked unimposing, but the placard next to it gave away its importance:

Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm
Task Force Commander

He had spent the last two minutes simply standing outside the door, rehearsing what he should say and how he should say it.

First impressions are the most important son his father's voice echoed in Wil's head.

In those two minutes, Wilhelm had checked and rechecked the shine of his shoes, the crease of his trousers, and had tucked down again and again his uniform coat to straighten it. He had shined and checked the alignment of his commbadge, his rank pips (he was wearing 'the good ones', the ones that were latinum laminated), even made sure his hair had a good part.

This attention to my appearence isn't due to Orion phermones is it? Von Haeften wondered, recalling the Orion girl at the eatery aboard the starbase.

The German dismissed it; the excretion of phermones might be involuntary among Orion females, but most Orion Starfleet personnel took suppressants for that kind of thing. Von Haeften decided there was no way he was being affected.

Chalk it up to nerves. he said to himself.

Deciding he wasn't going to be able to straighten his uniform any more than it already was, he rang the chime to the Admiral's door.

Inside her temporary office, the Orion rear admiral was currently busy browsing through a large stack of PADDs which had accumulated on her desk in only a matter of hours. She wasn't quite sure why so much information was coming in at the moment, but also knew that the recent absence from Prime Universe probably had much to do with it.

The sound of the door chime interrupted her progress, but she didn't miss a beat in calling out for he visitor to enter while still perusing the most recent task force operation reports. "Come!"

The door slide open with a hiss and Wilhelm stepped through the threshold, as soon as he entered, the German noticed the air seemed to feel heavier, as if the temprature had been turned up. Ignoring it, he marched with measured stride to the Admiral's desk. Stopping about three steps in front of it, Von Haeften brought his heels together in a small clicking sound as his leather heels connected. His right arm went up, bringing his fingers to his eyebrow, palm outward, fingers extended and joined, in a salute.

"Leutnant* Wilhelm Von Haeften reporting Frau Konteradmiral*." the new CSO reported formally.

Lirha looked up at what appeared to be a tall, dark-haired Human man who was now standing at attention in front of her. A quick look over his uniform revealed his officer rank pips and distinctive blue-collar uniform. It wasn't obvious at first whether he was a member of the medical or science staff, but that would most likely be determined soon enough. That was, if she could decipher what he had just said.

"Excuse me?" Saalm asked, not familiar with a couple of the words which had just been spoken to her. Regional Earth languages were not her forte, but she thought she heard mention of the word 'admiral' somewhere in the sentence. Or perhaps he was speaking an ancient Klingon dialect that she was unfamiliar with?

Dummkopf Wilhelm said to himself, realizing he had spoken a few words of German to the Admiral.

Clearing his throat, Von Haeften tried again, in Federation Standard.

"Ma'am, Lieutenant Wilhelm Von Haeften, new Chief Science Officer, USS Galileo, reporting." the German said, his salute not moving away from his brow nor his stiff attention faltering.

Wilhelm had noticed that a few drops of sweat were moving down his neck and his back, but he ignored the mild tickling sensation to maintain discipline.

"Oh. Well," Lirha gave the man a small smile and nodded in acknowledgement, "at ease, lieutenant." She gestured towards a vacant nearby chair to indicate for the man to make himself comfortable.

"Please have a seat. Do you have your transfer orders with you?" she then inquired, hoping to see his PADD which contained the details of his new assignment.

Von Haeften lowered his salute and sat himself in the offered chair. Before sitting down, he produced the inquired PADD and handed it to the flag officer. "Aye ma'am." he added as he handed over the paperwork bringing him to the Galileo.

Lirha took the offered PADD and flicked her thumb across the screen to scroll through some of the content. She immediately noticed he was a legacy officer and appeared to have Fleet parents, which was always a good sign for a new officer aboard Galileo. And apparently, a history of prior service aboard USS Washington.

Gently then, she placed the PADD on her desk without looking though it further. "I see you have applied to our vessel from a previous position at the Academy?" she began to ask. The information was present on the transcript, but it she wanted to hear the man's own narrative of his career progression.

"Yes ma'am; I taught history for a few semesters." The CSO admitted. "Before that, I was a member of the Reserve Fleet. I suppose I did typical science officer postings during my time in the Reserves. I grew bored with life in the classroom, and so volunteered for assignment with the Active Fleet when slots opened up."

"Interesting," the rear admiral mumbled quietly to herself. Most of the instructors she was familiar with at the Academy seemed to be quite happy at their current postings. it was rare for her to come across an instructor who wanted to be deployed as opposed to the opposite.

"What," she paused to think how best to word her question, "...was so boring about an instructional position that made you volunteer for an active assignment away from the Academy?"

Von Haeften thoguht about the question for a few seconds before responding.

"Well ma'am, I guess I did not like reteeling the same histories over and over again. I wanted to be a part of the new history, being made out here..." the German gestured with his hand to the window displaying the stars.

"That, combined with the slow rate of promotions in the Reserves, and more opportunities to be found in the Active Fleet, made my decision for me. Forgive me ma'am, I'm not sure if that sounded like hubris." the CSO spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

Lirha grinned at that, and the edges of her gold lips curled up slightly. "I suppose a small dose of hubris is healthy for every mind, no?" Especially for a scientist, she mused to herself before continuing.

"We certainly have made history in the past," Saalm admitted with a light sigh. The vessel's previous missions were everything but ordinary, and they had brought her to new worlds and new civilizations which she had never dreamed of discovering. "But none of that would have been possible without such a competent crew...some of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice on our adventures. Are you prepared for the inherent dangers which accompany this assignment?" Serving on Galileo seemed to Lirha to be a rather drastic departure from Academy life, but perhaps this was what the lieutenant was seeking.

"Someone famous once said that our first duty as officers is to the truth, regardless of personal risk. I took my oath ma'am; I'm aware of the dangers, and accept them."

It was reassuring to hear the man affirm his duties as a Starfleet officer. Lirha nodded subtly in reply and now wondered what he thought of their current starship, for it was not the textbook example of an exploratory ship.

"Will this be your first time serving aboard a Nova-class, lieutenant?"

"Aye ma'am." the CSO replied.

"Are you...aware of the differences this assignment might pose, compared to other classes of starships?" Galileo was neither large nor comfortable. It didn't have a pool or many holodecks, and it was often times a small and cramped place with limited recreational avenues. "We lack many of the amenities of other Starfleet vessels. But we attempt to compensate as best we can."

"Begging your pardon ma'am, but I was a Reservist for many years; our vessels were rarely the latest and greatest, often making do with a single holodeck, if any at all. I am used to having limited recreation, and even if I wasn't, I joined the crew to be a scientist, not work on my bloody tan." Von Haeften stated, his voice bristling at the suggestion that he could not 'hack it'.

"...I see," replied the Orion who now began to study the new officer after his seemingly-defensive reply. "It was merely an observational query. Have I...offended you in some way?" she wondered out loud. "I have no doubt that you are qualified for this assignment. But there is always a transitional period for new officers when they come aboard Galileo. I would be remiss to not ask such questions of you."

Von Haeften now sat rigidly, aware that perhaps his tone was unnecassary.

"I ask forgiveness for my slight insubordinate response ma'am...it's just that occassionally there is some mistrust for Reservists; we are stereotyped as being much more willing to use our military skills than our diplomacy or our intellects." No disrespect was intended ma'am."

"None taken, lieutenant," replied the Orion with a soft expression in her light green eyes. "Not many in Starfleet are familiar with the Reserve divisions...myself included, despite the operational nature. If you wish to serve aboard Galileo and...prove yourself, I will be happy to accommodate you. Truth be told, we are in need of ambitious officers. And you will hopefully enjoy the scenery during our travels," she winked.

Was that...flirting? Wilhelm thought to himself. He shrugged it off. After all, this woman was a Starfleet Admiral, not a lovesick teenager.

"Oh, I've already enjoyed what I've seen so far ma'am." Von Haeften blurted.

Stop flirting with the Admiral! a voice in Wil's head shouted. What's next? 'Ma'am, could you please clear your desk so we can make sweet, tender love on it?!'

"Very good, then." Saalm leaned back in her plush desk chair, then spread her green palms out to the side in a friendly manner. "Well. I suppose if there is nothing else, I will approve your transfer and make the paperwork official. That is, unless, you have any questions for me?" she asked, wanting to afford the man the chance to inquire about anything which might be lingering in his mind.

"No ma'am, no further questions." Von Haeften stated.

"Dismissed, then. And...welcome aboard, lieutenant," she added with another of her small and private smiles. "Lieutenant Nicholas in Operations can help you get settled in your new quarters."

"Yes ma'am." Von Haeften said with finality. The German stood up, clicked his heels once more to come to attention, saluted briefly, turned on his heel, and walked out of the office. Once safely out into the corridor, Wil checked his uniform and discovered that he had sweated through the back and armpits.

He decided that his next stop was to go take a cold shower in his quarters, change his uniform, and forget most of the vastly unprofessional thoughts that had gone through his mind.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

LT J.G. WIlhelm Von Haeften
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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