New Pins
Posted on Sun Apr 26th, 2015 @ 10:10pm by Captain Aidan Rackham & Commander Ashley Kennedy
Mission:
The Night Cries
Location: Starfleet Administration Centre, Fraser Road, Pike City
Timeline: 2278.46: 2230hrs
Previously ...
"Okay everyone, you all know what's expected. Be at your posts tomorrow morning at zero-six-hundred local time. Get some sleep but watch your backs."
As the officers began to file out of the room he held up a finger to the Weapons Officer. "Commander Kennedy- can you hold back for a minute?"
It had been a ridiculously long day and she was exhausted, but Ash managed to stand perfectly straight and still as the rest of the senior staff made their way out of the conference room. She made a point to not show her fatigue, or at least do her very best to hide it, lest she be seen as weak or not up to the job. And so she remained, even after the door had closed, waiting with a ready patience for whatever was to be thrown at her next.
"You look like you're holding in a yawn, Ash." Rackham smiled weakly as he motioned for her to take a seat. "I just need a quick word with you and then I'll let you get some rest."
She managed a smile as she took a seat and said, "The yawn will keep, sir. But after today, I'm definitely looking forward to some rack time."
Rackham seemed to ignore her as he started at the little box which had been sitting in front of him throughout the meeting. Since he had received the message earlier that afternoon, he had been mulling over the next few minutes in his head. "I'm sorry to have to reassign you to the ship- I know you'd rather be on the ground."
Ash breathed out in a way that was a little too much like a sigh for her liking. She compensated by forcing herself to sit up a little straighter in the chair as she spoke. "I understand, sir," she said, not really understanding. She wanted to be stay planetside and hunt down Elsa Gunning's killer. But she also understood the realities of the service. "If there's one thing Captain Gunning would expect of me right now, it would be to do my duty. If you've determined that I should be aboard ship, then that's where I need to be."
"I need you to keep an eye on things. The Farragut has to be ready for launch and I want you to ensure that it is." He pushed the long form version of Slayton's message down the table to Kennedy. He gave her a few seconds to begin reading. "The implication is that if HQ hears about our current situation, they'll pull the plug on the mission. The Commodore wants to make sure that we're long gone before they try."
Her eyes darted back and forth across the message, taking in the Commodore's words and their full meaning. It became clear to her that the threat to their mission was even more serious than Rackham had made it sound. Her brow furrowed as she read until she finished and looked back up at her new skipper. "It reeks of politics," she scowled. "He's right, though. If the Farragut doesn't launch soon, she may never go."
"To that end, I'm going to need a first officer." He followed the data pad up with the box. "Are you game?"
Ash's eyes grew wide as she caught the sliding box and lifted it off the table. She turned it over in her fingers as a smile tugged at her mouth. On any other day, she might have made a joke that involved misinterpreting the gesture. But not today. Instead she opened the box and gazed down at the two rank pins, not unlike the ones she wore but with an extra gold bar.
She smiled, "You bet I am."
"Good." Rackham stated simply. "Then I hearby promote you to the rank of Commander with all of the rights and privileges therein. I'm just sorry it couldn't be in happier circumstances."
He fished in his pocket before taking his seat again and tossed a couple more similar pins on the table and held one up to the light, containing three gold bars, it looked like a stylised boiled sweet. "I don't know if I want to put these on to be honest."
"I know the feeling," Ash sympathised as she traced the edges of her rank pin. If Elsa Gunning hadn't been murdered, neither of them would have these pins. She would just be the weapons officer and he would be first officer. It was all different now.
Her fingertip traced the second gold bar in the middle of the pin as she said, "She was preparing you for this moment, Aidan. Just like she prepared all of us. I have no doubt that if she was here right now, she'd be wacking the back of your head and telling you to put them on and get back to work." She felt a slight stinging in her eyes as tears welled.
She was right. Gunning wanted him to have five years to be completely ready for his own command but Ash was right. She'd been right there, telling him to suck it up and get on with it. He began to pull the pins off his uniform.
"I suppose we should get back to work then."
Ash smiled wide and wiped her eyes before pulling off her own pins. "Aye aye, Captain."
Captain Aidan Rackham
Commanding Officer
&
Commander Ashley Kennedy
First Officer/Weapons Officer
USS Farragut
