Commander Whittaker: Multiple Layers Of Meaning (DS26)

[Michael Meir-Wright]

OOC: Happy to backsimm Theo's conversation with Sal, Jamie!

((Recreation Deck #2 - Deep Space 26))

((Time Index: After Theo's promotion and after he slips out 'for air' and after his conversation with Sal))

::Once again alone in the corridor outside of the recreation deck, Theo mulled on the words spoken by his former captain in silence as he continued to look at the small gold pip that lay in the palm of his left hand. He heard the clanking doors of the holodeck opening and closing and looking up, he saw Commander Walker approaching. Reaching him, she smiled and held out her hand. He returned the smile and grasped the proffered hand and shook it firmly but warmly.::

Walker: Captain. Congratulations.

Whittaker: Thank you Commander. It's very much appreciated. ::he wondered if there was something else that she wanted since she looked as though there was something on her mind.:: A penny for your thoughts, Commander? Wondering if you'll ever get that fourth pip? The answer from what I've seen so far is a resounding 'yes'.

::He meant it.::

Walker: Actually sir, I had a work related issue to relate.  Apologies for the timing, but it's fairly urgent.  

::Well it beat another round of congratulatory back-slapping. He had never been one to fully understand the distinction between 'at work' and 'off duty' (much to the unending frustrations of Doctor G'Renn and Mirra Ezo) and so he was inclined to indulge the half-Romulan, impeccably coiffed engineer this moment.::

Whittaker: I'm all ears, as they say on Earth.

Walker: Thank you.  Simply put, I'm going to need to put Ensign Newcomer in something of a holding pattern.  With his inability to be focused on engineering, I don't see him ever advancing, and I know I can't count on his time.  But, when he is available, he does good work I'm sure. 

::Theo's brows knitted together into a frown of confusion. He wasn't following but it sounded like an engineer that had once been assigned to the Blackwell who had been relieved of duty due to a variety of complicated and convoluted medical situations and a refusal to divulge them.::

Whittaker: Who exactly are you talking about, Commander? I admit that I am confused and concerned in equal measure.

Walker: Oh I'm sure you've seen him around.  Let's see.. he's.. well about your height.. and build.  Same haircut.. I mean really.. the only thing separating the two of you.. is that you are the Captain, and he's a lowly engineer who can put any other "Captainy" tasks aside and focus on something concrete.  :: She smirked slightly:: You know, if he had those issues.  And of course, it wouldn't work for the Captain to be doing any engineering work.. but Newcomer.. he'd be in the logs..

::It took several seconds- and a series of increasingly confused expressions- for Theo to grasp what he thought that Commander Walker was talking about. In a moment of clarity, his eyes widened and a chuckle escaped his lips.::

Whittaker: Commander, is this your way of telling me that no matter how many pips I have on my collar and whether said collar is red or yellow, I'll always be an engineer at heart? ::he remembered a conversation that they had the first time they had met after Walker's arrival via shuttlecraft with her wife. The Chief Engineer had left an impression on him then and had continued to do so in the weeks since.:: I seem to recall you saying something along those lines when you introduced yourself to Commander Shayne and I in my ready room.

Walker: Captain, I'm certain I don't know what you mean.  But if I did, and if you were right, it's not like you've let any of your certs slip.   ::  She let out a short breath, sobering:: I don't know you Captain, and feel free to ignore this as a well intentioned gesture with no harm intended if any was done.  Heck, sometimes just knowing something is an option takes the stress off for a moment.  I just.. ah.. nevermind.  Sorry.. I'll let you get back to the party. 

::Without any further comment, Walker turned and left Theo, alone in the corridor once again. He watched her go, half puzzled and half surprised by her advice. He didn't know whether to be offended or grateful. On the one hand she was offering him the chance to visit engineering to escape the rigors of engineering whenever he wanted (or so he interpreted her words) but on the other, one could construe her words to be an implicit belief that she did not have much confidence in his command abilities and that he would be better suited to being a Captain of Engineering.::

::After some considered thought, he decided that there was certainly no malice behind her words and so he chose to believe that she meant the former rather than the latter. A smile forming, he stepped back into the holodeck and looked forward to picking Walker's brains about the theories behind transwarp travel in a few days time....::

--

Captain Theo M. Whittaker

Commanding Officer

U.S.S. Blackwell

Andaris Task Force

C239203TW0