The First Officer is Perhaps Pushed a Little Too Far

[Cmdr Ridire 0]

Aidan tosses the wings back to Will and says "Well, congratulations, I’ll clear it with the Captain that you will be the CAG...no acting. But before you respond let me make it clear that yours and Mr. Nansk’s permission to speak freely is now revoked. I will, however, exercise my right to speak freely now."

"First off, Mr. Tomlinson, let us get one thing clear. It wasn’t just my decision to not decide on a permanent CAG yet...it was also the Captain’s decision. He also thinks that neither you nor Mr. Nansk or anyone else has stepped up to the plate and actually earned the position before. I would really like to see you try and bite his head off like you just tried to bite my head off. It would almost be comical."

 

"My father likes old movies, specifically 20^th century movies. So when we were younger he made my sister and I watch them with him. I remember one, that was made sometime in the late 20^th century, regarding this fighter pilot who considered himself one of the best if not the best. It made him brash, arrogant, reckless and cocky. It also made him disrespectful to authority and disinclined to follow orders when he thought he knew better which to his mind was nearly all the time. He ends up being sent to a fighter pilot school that is solely for the best. That only feeds his brashness and makes him more arrogant, even more reckless. That comes with a price though..the price being the death of his best friend because of that pilot’s actions. It’s only then he realizes what his attitude has cost him."

 

Aidan pauses for a moment as his attention flicks to Mr. Nansk for a second then back to Mr. Tomlinson. "You remind me very much of that character. You are arrogant, reckless and you are disrespectful to authority. And you think you know what’s better out there then those who have the bigger picture and those who are responsible for not only your life but the life of everyone on this ship. That behavior of yours, Mr. Tomlinson, is going to get you or someone close to you..perhaps even your best friend here killed. Like I said..there is a time for imitative and a time to simply obey orders. And there was no need for any such imitative in this case. Neither you nor Mr. Nansk hold the full picture of what’s going on and there was nothing your attempt to do a closer flyby of that planet would have gained us that couldn’t have been gained through smarter and safer means. I fought the Changelings in the war, Mr. Tomlinson, when you and your friend here were barely out of diapers. They are not something to play with..they are very dangerous and the fact it is quite likely that this one doesn’t know that the war is over means that this one is an active enemy. For all we know at this moment that changeling down there could have a supply of weapons hidden or could be trying to lead us into a trap. And yet curiously that never seemed to occur to you two. You both just wanted to go charging right in despite the fact that there was no reason to do so."

 

"Angel treated his responsibilities seriously, he knew bloody well that the lives of a lot of people rested on his shoulders. He didn’t treat them as a game where "Oops, I made a mistake. Sorry." suffices as an excuse. You want me to trust you and Mr. Nansk when you show imitative? Then you better damn well show me that you can be responsible first. And your recent actions, the both of yours, show a tendency to not be responsible. Because if I or the Captain have to worry every time that we give you orders that you’re going to up and disobey them then the problem isn’t that we don’t trust you...it’s that you’re not being trustworthy. To be blunt, Mr. Tomlinson, it is now time you grow up. Because if you continue to act like the snot nosed brat you were just being then God help this ship."

 

If anything, Aidan’s voice grows colder when he adds "As for ‘Long enough to see that you sir are so damned scared of losing people that you'd rather stifle us to death than let us take even acceptable risks in space, sir.’ yes I am scared of losing people. That’s the number one fear of anyone in Command and anyone who says he or she isn’t simply isn’t fit to be in Command. The Captain, myself and now you, Mr. Tomlinson, are responsible for the lives on this ship. The first time someone dies under your command, Mr. Tomlinson, you are going to remember what it feels like for the rest of your life. And trust me...it does not get any easier ever. It could be Mr. Nansk here or one of your other fighter pilots. And then it will be your responsibility and you will be the one having to be making a death notification to that person’s family. Or lets imagine that I retire in a couple years and for whatever reason the Captain appoints you the next first officer of this ship. Then it could be Shamor or Murray or Merina.....or even Anna who dies on your watch. It very well could be that you had to order them off to die for some greater good, that they die because of your orders. When it happens...and it will happen, Mr. Tomlinson, I wonder if you will be quite as glib and as insulting as you were just a few minutes ago."

 

"If you don’t learn to fill Angel’s shoes then I will have absolutely no problem at all in finding someone else who can. Whine about "stifling" all you want, Mr. Tomlinson, but as your "imitative" can very well get us all killed if you don’t learn very quickly that there are times where imitative is the wrong choice. That there will be times where you will obey completely because you simply don’t know better at all."

 

"As for what you said about your fellow pilots...since they seem to be suffering from a lack of...morale and discipline your first order of business will be to set up, plan and execute a strict training schedule starting..well...the day after tomorrow. I want the training schedule to be set up so that it’s been executed every day, to include both simulator and live flying exercises and it will be conducted for the next four weeks. If by that time the pilots aren’t in top form the exercises will repeat themselves as many times as it takes until they are in top form. Since Mr. Shamor is busy with the examination of the probe, you will coordinate with Mr. Murray and Mr. Knight."

 

Aidan starts to step past them on his way to the door but he stops and leans back so he’s looking Tomlinson straight in the eye. "Be thankful that I remember I am a Starfleet Officer because if I wasn’t and you insulted me like that to my face I would have given into my Irish temper and dropped you where you stand. Permission to speak freely does not mean you have permission to act like an insulting git to me or to anyone else nor does it mean you get to act insubordinate to me or anyone else. If you want to keep those bars, Lieutenant, you will better remember your place and better mind your tongue. I have no problem if you or Tabor here disagree with me on an order and I have no problem with you explaining that disagreement with me or trying to convince me that you’re right. But you will do so respectfully. I long ago earned the right to not have to deal with your or anyone else’s petulance."

 

With that Aidan exits the observation lounge and heads directly for the Captain’s ready room. Without even waiting for permission, he steps inside.

[TKAR 0]

Dear first officer-should i . tkar your security officer put Mister tomisom in the brig---Sincerely TKAR