Rehman's promotion

Posted on Thu Nov 7th, 2024 @ 1:19am by Captain Tyler Driskill & Lieutenant Tyler Rehman

1,063 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Mission 2 - Death is Only the Beginning
Location: Deck 1 | Ready room | USS Concord

It should be a time of celebration for the Captain and a member of his crew. However, with the death of the former Chief Science Officer, Captain Driskill sat in his ready room composing himself. Within the next few minutes Tyler Rehman was scheduled to meet with the Captain.

Tyler Rehman rocked back and forth on his heels, hands behind his back, whistling, as the turbolift ascended to deck one. The ride was smooth, and though it was brief, it was enough time for Tyler to clear his mind and think good thoughts. The lift came to a soft halt and the doors parted to reveal a bustling bridge. People were at work at their stations, whispered conversations were taking place, and engineering officer chuckled softly at something her colleague had said. The science stations were filled with ensigns, and all of a sudden, he felt a pang in his heart. He ignored it, at least for now, there would be time to grieve later he told himself on more than one occasion. From the lift he took the couple of steps down to the lower level of the bridge and made his way to the ready room door. He took a breath, blew it out and pressed the call button to announce his presence.

"Come in" Captain Driskill glanced up from the service record of Lieutenant Junior Grade Tyler Rehman and waited for that officer to enter his ready room.

The doors parted to reveal the ready room, and Tyler stepped over the threshold fully into the office. The captain, who Tyler had dubbed "Tall Tyler" between he and Gulati, was seated behind the desk. Tyler offered a small smile and clasped his hands behind his back. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

“Mister Rehman” the Captain greeted the now most senior member of the science department. “Please have a seat” there was a quick hand gesture toward the chairs opposite his desk “and tell me how you are?”

Tyler gave a slight nod as he took the offered seat. He wasn't uncomfortable around the captain; they had been working closely together on the bridge when the Concord had stopped abruptly in a nebula on their way to the USS Voyager's position. "Um, overall, I'm okay, sir. Still in shock over Kae... I mean Lieutenant Carter's death." That of course was putting it mildly, it was all he was thinking about, especially the gruesomeness of it. Questions like: Did she feel pain? Was she begging for death? Was she relieved when death finally came? Tumbled over and over inside of his head, luckily, he was able to catch some sleep. He was used to a brain that never shut down, so he found ways to sleep even when his overactive brain flipped over and over all night long. He shook his head, his eyes darting down to his hands, where his fingers were fidgeting. "Such a horrible way to die," Tyler said, his voice soft.

“Indeed Lieutenant” the Captain sat in a moment of silence. However it was the perfect Segway for the reason mister Rehman was summoned. “That brings me to the reason you were summoned” he paused for a second “you obviously are aware of the situation regarding Lieutenant Carter.” The Captain took a deep breath “I’ve ask you here to offer you the position of Chief Science Officer.”

Tyler sat there a moment, absorbing what he was being told. He was untested in a leadership role except for Stellar Cartography and just the basic sciences. Could he actually run a whole science department on a ship this size? He had proven himself when they had first arrived in the Delta Quadrant, getting them out of the nebula. He also helped out with general repairs, that sort of thing. After a long moment, which seemed like hours, he nodded. "Thank you, sir, for the offer. I'll gladly accept, and I promise I will not let you down."

“I have every confidence in you Mister Rehman” Captain Driskill smiled. “You’ve proven yourself as part of this crew and I believe you are capable of running the science department.”

Tyler mirrored the smile. It meant a great deal that the captain had confidence in him to head up the science department. He had just wished it would have been under better circumstances. "Thank you, sir," Tyler said. "I am very appreciative that you think so." His first order of business would be to take a look at the duty roster, study it and get to know all the science officers that resided on board. He knew some, from his own department, but he knew it would be important to get to know everyone.

“Concerns” was the questions from the Captain.

In true Tyler Rehman fashion, he went through all the possibilities and concerns he might have in the next day or so. Nothing came to mind. The science officer shook his head. "Not at the moment, Captain."

“Well Mister Rehman” Captain Driskill took a small wood box and removed a full metal pip. “With all it's responsibilities I am granting you a field promotion to Lieutenant.” He was removing one pip from the science officers collar and replacing it. Leaving two fully enclosed gold circles on the Lieutenants collar.

Tyler never really thought much about promotions, he went from ensign to lieutenant junior grade without any special occasion. Though, this meant something more, it was special. It meant that Captain Driskill was confident in his skill as a scientist and to be part of the captain's senior staff. "Thank you, sir," Tyler said, after the pip was put on his collar, he brushed two fingers against it. He was now a full-fledged lieutenant. His cheeks colored a bit as he looked up at the captain. "Thank you, sir."

“Very welcome, Lieutenant” Captain Driskill smiled and gave a salute. “You are dismissed mister Rehman” was how Driskill followed it up and watched as his Chief Science Officer removed himself from the ready room. The Captain sat at his desk with mixed emotions in his heart. Happy that he was able to promote a bright and talented officer but the reason there needed to be a promotion was sad. The loss of life, the murder that caused there to be a need for a new chief at all.

 

RSS Feed