A Russian and a German walk into a Firefight

Posted on Sun Jun 30th, 2019 @ 7:14pm by Master Chief Petty Officer Hans-Peter König & Lieutenant Aleksander Voroshilov

This had been the most thorough examination he had been through in a while. Interrogation by the CO, probed by the doctor, evaluated by the shrink. Not to mention meeting his new 'deputy'. It was like he was going back on trial again, only this time any escape into the sunset would be complicated by the vacuum surrounding him. Still, he had always managed an escape plan before.

Dressed in a pair of combat pants and striped shirt, a long bag over his shoulder, Aleksi was making his way to the nearest holodeck. He needed something to kill the stress, analyzing a Pollock while listening to jazz wasn't going to do it. He needed something more primal.

A few paces ahead of Aleksi a corridor branched off. Just above the low hum of nominal ship operations was the sound of a cane softly striking the deck. A moment later, the owner of that cane emerged into view, turning toward Aleksi. He wore command red and the insignia of a Master Chief Petty Officer. He supported a sea bag over his left shoulder and held his cane--a simple yet elegant polished dark mahogany shaft with brass trimming and a brass knob for a handle--with his right hand. Upon seeing Aleksi, the Chief stopped and shifted a little more weight on the cane. A beat passed before he spoke a little too quietly but loud enough to be heard.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant."

The voice stopped Aleksi, recognizing it almost immediately. It had been a voice that still echoed in his mind as it waked him up at 0400 hours, the time most civilized people went to bed. Looking over his shoulder he had his confirmation, the damned cane, "Same to you Master Chief. They decided you'd be more useful on a bird? Shame, I was hoping to sleep in."

"Your Qo'nos vacation is over, Lieutenant. You have to work sometime," Chief König took a few steps closer. He eyed the long bag over the Lieutenant's shoulder, "Headed to the range?"

"I suppose we must all pay the piper at some point," Aleksi smirked at the chief's comment, "Care to join? Sorry, I'm lacking anything made outside the Warsaw Pact."

"Jesus Christ, Lieutenant! Do you have any standards?" König shifted the weight of the sea bag on his back, "I have a skipper to report to and a lecture from a doctor about my leg to endure but when that's over with, and the remainder of my luggage is aboard, I will happily demonstrate the superiority of German engineering to you."

Aleksi grinned, liking the tone of a challenge, "If I had standards I'd have to work to get laid," He took a step closer to the German, "That being said I'll stack the works of Kalashnikov and CZ against your Heckler & Koch and Walther. Practical tests, none of this shooting the Ace at a thousand meters bullshit."

"Absolutely." If König were to be completely honest, he would agree with Aleksi's assessment of those designs under actual combat conditions. Soviet firearms tended to be machined with looser tolerances than the Germans had ever considered (a "loose tolerance" to a German engineer would have just simply been indecent) which made them more forgiving of abuse. In fact, among the "remainder of luggage" König had mentioned was a collection including a Kalashnikov. That rifle was the only member of his collection he had actually used in action. The use of "crude weapons" being perceived as out of character for the Federation, he had used it--to great effect--in a few operations to confuse the Tal Shiar.

What the casual observer might not have understood, however, was that products of Kalashnikov, CZ, H&K, and Walther are tools. Aleksi Voroshilov and Hans-Peter König were the weapons. A "practical test" challenge would be between them, not the guns, which made the prospect of a weapons challenge much more exciting. König had regularly made such challenges to his candidates in SOD school. Usually, the purpose was to knock the candidate down a few pegs when they were starting to get too cocky. Aleksi was the only candidate the Chief could remember who had ever managed to beat König and his fellow instructors at the game. Of course, that just meant that König and his fellow instructors invented new ways to make Aleksi's life miserable. Training isn't supposed to be fun: its purpose is to condition you to keep throwing punches after you've been punched in the face yourself.

"Then I'll be waiting eagerly Schatz," It would be easy enough for Aleksi to be resentful of the man, and perhaps he was for a time. Hans had been the disciplinarian who had the impossible task of getting Aleksi to obey orders. However, the fact all he left the Klingon Space with was a few scars and several cases of blood wine was thanks to the work of Hans and his team. Still, it wasn't like he was going to not be an asshole, no one was really immune from that, "Until then I'll be practicing, I have a feeling I'll need it."

König didn't react outwardly to the term of endearment although inwardly he did bristle at the intimacy implied by that specific word. Instead, he replied, "You're goddamn right you will, sir," as he resumed his path down the corridor walking past Aleksi.

After a few steps, König paused. "Lieutenant," he began in the same quiet voice as before turning back to face Aleksi. Seeing that he had Aleksi's attention, he continued, "You did what you had to do." König turned away from Aleksi again and proceeded off down the corridor.

Aleksi was stunned for a brief moment before barely audibly saying, "Spasibo," Most others on the ship he could care less how they viewed him, it was a game to him; however, knowing he had a man who had seen the dark side of universe tell him it was alright, that meant something. It was confirmation that he was still able to identify evil.

With a smile returning to his face, Aleksi readjusted the strap on his rifle case. He had a few magazines ready to go and a trigger itching for action.

=/\=

Lieutenant Aleksander Voroshilov
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Astraea

&

Master Chief Petty Officer Hans-Peter König
Chief of Boat
USS Astraea