Jitters
Posted on April 13th, 2011 by Kathryn Harper

Commander Kathryn Harper was nervous.

She wasn’t sure why, though. Kate had acted as both CO and XO of Atlantis before, and was actually quite comfortable in the center seat after occupying it for over three years on beta shift. She had absolutely no doubts regarding her ability to perform the prescribed duties of a ships’s Executive Officer. But now, as she rode the turbolift to the bridge to begin her shift, she wondered what was different about this assignment, temporary as it was.

This time, the stakes seemed higher.

Kate had spent much time contemplating her conversation in the ready room with Colonel McKnight. This was a man who must have, at least partially, tried to act as a moral compass for Admiral Blackthorne, and based on her perception of some of the Admiral’s decisions, had failed. Now she had to perform that role for the Colonel, a role that even he had not been wholly successful in fulfilling. At least the man for whom she had to be a second conscience was, in her estimation, starting from a higher platform. Still, she had to admit that Blackthorne’s intentions always seemed to have best interest of his crew in mind, so situations must arise that cause a CO’s moral resolve to falter.

Whatever they did, no matter what the mission would throw at them, when Admiral Blackthorne returned, they had to be able to show him the standards of behavior to which they had held themselves and the crew. Perhaps they would not be tested, she hoped, but Kate began to steel herself for the possibility. Nodding resolutely to herself, she exited the turbolift onto the bridge, relieving the beta shift CO with a confident request for a status report.