William was too far gone within his own mind to even pay attention to the details of the goings on of the crew. He had already pulled and studied all relevant information from the surroundings and tucked it away in his mind for further analysis later. No, he was in character now, his mind warping and changing, all thoughts of William the Imperial spy laid quietly away. He let his character take over, a raw, eager young marine, with a little too much space for rent in his skull.  And although some part of his psyche resented being locked away, William felt a rush of enjoyment as he let all his cares slide away, at least for the moment. Everyday life had some simple pleasures, ones he rarely got to enjoy anymore, his service to the Empire overriding everything. Yet, there was always a time in his missions, that he could just enjoy the moments of the daily routine without having to plot, scheme, or try to work the angles. True, that many contacts he made during these times later proved useful, but it wasn't always his goal. Sometimes, he just wanted to enjoy life for all it was worth, after all, he was Imperial. There was no heavenly realm waiting for them beyond the grave, there was no return to realms of the living, nor any other of that Alliance non-sense. There was just this time. Here. Now. He wanted his life to mean something, he wanted to know his actions served the greater good, but there wasn't anything wrong with living for himself every once in awhile.<br/><br/>It was as these thoughts passed through his head that William suddenly realized something. He was hungry. His stomach had been gnawing at itself for awhile now, he had just been too caught up in his infiltration and intel gathering to notice, until now. William looked at the chrono on the wall, without turning his head, in proper military fashion. It was nearly lunch time, he would get an hour off before he had to return to his post for the rest of his watch. William then became aware of other sensation. His feet were already starting to ache a bit, not having stood a watch in more than two years, two hours of standing still in one spot had cut off circulation to the soles of his feet. Yet despite these two annoyances, one ache stood out to him more powerfully than the other two combined.<br/>A hunger...not for food, but for something...more pleasurable... It was an ache he had felt many times before, one that had exasperated him to no end. True, there were ways to get around this kind of hunger, but nothing sort of sating it would really do him any good. There were always medical options as well, but William rather wanted to have kids someday. There was no regulation against it in the SS and some of the agents already had children that he knew about. However the needs of the Empire came first, and they had to live double lives as a result, sometimes not even being able to use their real names around their spouses...almost always in fact, unless the spouse worked in Intelligence as well.<br/>In fact, to confide one's real name, birth name, to a colleague was a deep measure of trust, it was forbidden officially by the rules of the SS, so if an agent fell, they couldn't betray their comrades, but it was still done. Agents most of the time referred to each other as the last two letters in their ID's or as nicknames often adapted from those numbers, or a distinguishing characteristic of the person. Only in the rarest circumstances, did an agent give up their real name to a fellow.<br/>William sighed under his breath, it had been too long since he had known the embrace of a woman, and longer than that still since he felt any kind of connection to anyone. Sure, there were always bars, and women that were willing to go home with anyone in a uniform, but they did nothing to satisfy that deep emotional need for companionship that William felt sometimes.  Most of time he could just block it out, when he was in deep or when he was on offical business, away from any temptation, but on the bridge alone there were at least five attractive young female officers, including his target, that were so close he could almost taste them on the air. It wasn't made any better when one of the officers brushed past him, her perfume wafting up his nostrils like a tempting tendril beckoning him closer.<br/><br/>The logically part of his mind stepped in. It wasn't relevant to the mission. He was letting his moment of relaxation get the better of him. Discipline. Order. Strength.<br/><i>"There is no emotion. There is Duty."</i><br/>He recited, closing his eyes as the familiar mantra of the Imperial Military rolled through his mind.<br/><i>"There is no chaos. There is Order."</i><br/>He continued silently, his lips barely moving as he recited the rest of the mantra silently.<br/><i>"Through Discipline, I gain Strength."</i><br/><i>"With Strength, I serve the Empire."</i><br/><i>"Through the Empire, I endure Forever."</i><br/><br/>William opened his eyes again, his mind starting to become clear again with purpose, but William couldn't help staring over at the helmsman for a few more wistful seconds, before turning his eyes straight forward again.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>