A Promotion to Order

Posted on Sat Jan 2nd, 2010 @ 8:15am by Captain Elsie Halliwell

719 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Balowlli System
Location: Science Lab 2
Timeline: Current

ON:

As Kevin Larkin's staring contest with his computer monitor approached its fifth hour, the lines of code before him were beginning to run together into an infinite blur. Scientific discovery was the thrill that Larkin lived for, but it was always inevitably preceded by hours upon hours of tedious work. There always seemed to be a point in that monotony where he began to loose sight of his goals, and now, buried in the four hundred and fifty third line of code that he'd written, the intriguing nature of the Polaron torpedo seemed parsecs away.

The man shook his head involuntarily, attempting to stave off the mental exhaustion that was enveloping him. He needed some time away from this program, but he wasn't sure what to do. Larkin was still relatively new to the Archimedes, and was not yet very knowledgeable about where to go on this ship to relax. Standing from his terminal, the CSO attempted to leave the room, but he was forced to jump back, slightly startled, as the lab's doors parted to reveal his CO standing on the other side.

“Mr. Larkin,� Kerr almost shouted jovially, happy to see the Chief Science officer seemingly settled in to work as normal. “How are you?�

The Trill walked briskly up to Kevin, peered over his shoulder to the computer screen and raised a subtle eyebrow. “I Just thought that I would come down here and see how you were getting on with everything.�

"Oh, I'm getting along fine, sir, thank you," Larkin replied, watching as Kerr continued to eye his screen curiously. "It's the program that I'm writing to study the Polaron radiation. If any kind of pattern actually exists in the radiation's effects, this should be able to find it." Larkin laughed, "I know it looks a little ungainly in this form, but you should see the transporter program's base coding. In comparison, this is a children’s novel."

“I’m sure that Rory will be glad to hear of it,� Kerr quipped with a smile. “But, I am glad that you are getting back to the familiarity of your work.� He stepped back a little and looked upon the officer with a more grave expression. “I actually have some business to attend to with you, Mr. Larkin. It would seem that Command wants to promote you… to my Second Officer.

Larkin was shocked. He obviously couldn't be sure what the last thing he expected his CO to say to him was, but this certainly rated high on his list. He opened his mouth to ask one of the millions of questions string in his head, but was cut off before he could say a word.

Kerr simply held up his hand to continue. “Now, Mr. Larkin… I’m afraid I have little choice in this matter, it would seem. I do respect you,� he implored, “and did envisage great things to come from the Larkin I served with. However, I need to be clear that this is not my decision. In my opinion, the promotion has come too soon.�

The CSO was still stunned. He began to speak slowly, "I certainly understand your trepidation, sir. I can't imagine why Command would order you to make me your Second Officer." He paused, staring at his computer screen for several seconds, as if looking for something to explain this oddity in the lines of code. "I guess all I can say is that I'll do everything I can to make sure you don't end up regretting this turn of events."

“It wasn’t an order as such,� Kerr replied, his features softening somewhat, “more of an insistence.� He breathed in and held his breath for a moment. “It’s not that I don’t welcome you to the command team, Lieutenant, just that I have my doubts. However, I do believe you will try your best to serve both me and this ship.� He turned a little with the intention of leaving, halted and then spun his head around.

“Congratulations, Kevin,� he said, attempting to not let the remark sound as hollow as he feared it would feel to him.

OFF:

A JP by:

Captain Coltan Kerr
Commanding Officer
USS Archimedes

and

Lieutenant Kevin Larkin
Chief Science Officer
USS Archimedes

 

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