Captain's Prerogative

Posted on Sat Jul 28th, 2018 @ 6:42pm by Captain Charybdis MacGregor

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Future Tense
Location: USS Victory, Utopia Planitia Shipyards, Engineering, Deck 15
Timeline: 2285

The body language was clear- the middle-aged man was moving with his shoulders leading him, charging forward and moving under a full head of steam. His face was set in a mask of determination, the corners of his mouth downturned and his face somewhat red in hue. His fists were balled up, and his arms swung in military double-time march as he moved.

"Mister Vanlith! I want a word with you RIGHT NOW!" he bellowed from half the compartment away, and Wyatt could feel the anger radiating off the commander of the Victory. Captain John Herod had been in command of the virgin vessel for over six months now while she had been undergoing final assembly and system testing here at Utopia Planitia, and both his temper and his tirades had already become legendary amongst the crew.

And apparently today he was directing both at the Assistant Chief Engineer... perhaps the Chief was not available, or perhaps it was something that was genuinely his fault. or perhaps he was just looking for somewhere to assign blame... it was hard to predict. But there was no need to, because he was approaching fast, and his displeasure would soon be well known.

Upon hearing the Captain's booming voice echo through the Engine Room, Lt. Jr Grade Wyatt Vanlith deftly slid out from underneath the panel he was working on and spring to his feet. He then moved with a purpose towards to impending tirade that was, in his mind, fast approaching.

As soon as Captain Herod came into view, Wyatt snapped to attention. Mustering up all the courage he could muster, Wyatt stated, "Lt. Jr. Grade Vanlith, reporting as ordered, sir!"

The old man stopped just short of the junior officer frozen at rigid attention and waved a PDD in his face as he got almost literally nose to nose with the man. "What is this Vanilla? Just what the hell is this supposed to be? Hah? Would you care to explain it to me? Because I'd really like to know just what the hell this is supposed to mean? How am i supposed to take this, hah?"

Wyatt had an uncle die of a stroke once, and Captain Herod looked like he might just be getting close to one right now.

Looking straight forward at the Captain, Wyatt gathered the last of his courage. "Permission to view that PDD, sir!"

The captain stepped back, a smug smile on his face and he chuckled rather unpleasantly. "Sure. Take a look." He poked the junior officer in the chest with the PDD and turned to pace with his hands behind his back. The order onscreen was for the chief engineer, one Lieutenant Maur Weaver, to be approved for a three day leave starting at 0600 hours this morning. The time was currently 1423... apparently the captain had just noticed it.

Quickly scanning the Captain's surface thoughts, Wyatt figured out the Captain was just playing another one of his somewhat sadistic games that Herod was becoming infamous for in Starfleet. Armed with this knowledge, the shy and reserved Junior Officer felt a renewed sense of determination to not let Herod get a rise out of him.

After quickly scanning the PADD, Wyatt stated "This is an approval for one Chief Engineer Maur Weaver's leave, consisting of three days effective today at 0600 hours, signed and authorized by one Captain John Herod on Stardate -36794.64, sir."

"I know that, Ensign," the commanding officer growled. "What i want to know is why the warp core is half disassembled and being supervised by a junior officer when the barely competent chief engineer who is supposed to be overseeing the project is off gallivanting around on leave? Why is that, Ensign?"

It was a favored tactic of Captain Herod to address people by the rank below their current rank as an implicit threat that he would in point of fact demote the subject of his derision. Wyatt had no idea just how many demotions had taken place since he had taken command, but apparently they were numerous.

"Chief Engineer Weaver has left quite detailed instructions on the work that is to be completed during his leave in order for all systems to be fully functional and operational in time for launch, sir. As of this moment, we are on schedule. The Chief would not have requested the leave if he did not have complete faith in my skills and talents to complete the required work, sir."

That stopped the tyrant in his tracks and he turned slowly. "I don't care if he has every faith in the world in you, mister..." he began poking the junior officer in the chest. "You... are... insignificant. Get him back in here! Call him back from this lollygagging leave of his and get him back in the engine room where he belongs if you want to hold on to that broken bar of yours, mister!"

At that the cantankerous captain stormed off, heading back the way that he came.

Wyatt, being of a rather healthy stature, remained rigid and at attention, even when the Captain jabbed his finger into the Junior Officer's chest. "Yes sir!", Wyatt barked as he watched the Captain storm off in a huff.

Looking around the engine room, Wyatt couldn't help but think to himself that encounters like he had just experienced were precisely the reason that he preferred machines to humans. Taking his time, now that the Captain was no longer around, he slowly typed in a message to Chief Engineer Weaver informing him that the Captain had ordered Wyatt to return from his leave right away, and that Wyatt was sorry to be the bearer of such news.

Once he finally sent off the message, Wyatt climbed back under the panel he was working on, and began to slowly forget all about Captain Herod's tirade and instead focused on his work, happy to once again be away from everyone else, just him and the machines.

 

RSS Feed