Just Musings

Posted on Sat Aug 8th, 2015 @ 7:59pm by

Mission: Shoreleave and Repairs
Location: Starbase - Random Corridor
Timeline: Just after "New Faces in Victory"

ON:

The breakfast Wyatt had was quite filling but healthy. He had scrambled egg whites, a side of chicken apple sausage, a bowl of fresh Betazed assorted fruits, and 7-grain toast. To others it would have been a bland meal; to him it was a breakfast that he was used to. It gave the protein, and energy he needed. However, that didn’t make him a boring eater all the time. In fact, he loved food, and flavor. Though he wasn’t a great cook, he knew his way around a kitchen, and preferred to cook instead of using replicated food. As his mother Margo would say, “Fresh is best.” To him, that was something he adhered to whenever he could.

At that thought, he wondered if he could get a small kitchen installed into his quarters. He knew it wasn’t exactly regulation, but it certainly never hurt to ask. There had always been exceptions. Besides, on a more selfish note, he would like to cook for his dates. Especially when serving on a starship. There was only so much to do, and honestly a date on the holodeck was so cliché. Not that it was horrible by any stretch, but he preferred to cook for the person. A nice meal, a nice bottle of wine, and good conversation was truly all that he liked.

Why he was thinking about this at this moment, he wasn’t quite sure. He had supposed it had been a long time since he had his last date… Doesn’t that just make me sound like a loser, he thought to himself. He struggled with loneliness, not all the time, but it sometimes reared its ugly head, bringing thoughts of kitchens, first dates, and companionship. He was glad to be serving on the Victory, however, he did miss Earth. He missed teaching, he missed being around the people he knew. There was no doubt that he would make new friends, but still it was the fact of having to actually put himself out there again. Though, the pull to space travel was still much greater.

Being in the classroom had a lot of great merits. Not every person in Starfleet was selected to serve as part of the faculty at the Academy. You had to have an extensive knowledge of the subject in which you taught. Not only that, you had to be firm, but fair, and above all, patient. A lot of incoming cadets thought they knew more than they actually did. Most times they had to be taken down a peg or two, but still it was welcomed when they questioned theories, or how things worked.

Wyatt really didn’t run into this issue much. He taught science, a lot of basics, and mostly to cadets who weren’t even in the science track. Though the cadets were placed in tracks early on, they still had to have a broad understanding of many subjects. Starfleet wanted well rounded officers. Some excelled at that, others didn’t. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, and to him weaknesses were nothing to be ashamed of. You learned from your weaknesses, to him it was what drove you to do your best. He knew his own weaknesses probably outnumbered his strengths, but in reality, none of that was of any consequence as long as he could do his job.

He had mixed emotions about taking up the position of chief science officer. He certainly was qualified, and the powers that be felt he was ready. However, he wasn’t so sure. Not that he couldn’t do the job; he had been serving in the fleet (beyond his education) for nearly a decade. He served on science ships, in labs, was bridge certified, and he had even been an instructor. All his experience had led to this promotion to being a department head. Though, doubt that hung around in the back of his mind, he tried to rationalize, was something all people felt. Confidence was important to have, and he had that, but what it came down to was facing the unknown.

He, at times, hated the unknown.

He had remembered his grandfather once saying there were only two constants in the universe: death and taxes… everything else was just a journey. At the time, Wyatt didn’t fully understand what it all meant, but as he got older it certainly was something close to his heart. He was in a dangerous job, being on a starship could be dangerous. Wearing the uniform was dangerous, but it was worth the risk. It was worth the risk because wearing the uniform, interstellar flight, meant broadening humanities horizons. However, it was made very clear that you died for the uniform if it meant protecting the Federation. His other mother, Clarissa, was a Captain, so Wyatt had learned the whole ‘dying for the uniform’ rhetoric at an early age.

He certainly didn’t want to die. Nevertheless, he understood his duty, and what it meant to be in Starfleet. “Good grief, get a hold of yourself Cadwell,” he mumbled to himself. He elicited a look of confusion from a female office as she passed. He just offered a small smile of an apology, and then continued on his way. He acted like he was going to gallows or something. It wasn’t like him to feel this… melancholy. He knew exploring the starbase would help with that. He wanted to advantage of the large installation, maybe do some shopping, hit up a bar at some point, and do some socializing. The socializing would certainly help as well.

After that, he would take on this new adventure, to see where this next part of his journey would take him.

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