Decisions

                                       By R. L. Keller

                                 (This story was inspired by a couple of recent pictures, but not actually based on any 😊)

Chip smiled to himself as he dressed for the day aboard Seaview.  It was so far being a pleasant, if somewhat boring, cruise.  They were tasked with checking and servicing half a dozen sensors for NOAA along the chain of islands and atolls that made up The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, west of the main Hawaiian Islands.  The weather was nearly perfect and there was enough diving to keep his workaholic Skipper, Lee, from getting antsy, as could happen when things were quiet.  Admiral Nelson had been going out on a lot of the dives and wasn’t bitching – at least too hard – about pollution issues he was keeping track of.  It had even been so quiet that Chip had been able to leave Lt. James with the Watch and go out on what mostly amounted to pleasure dives.  He didn’t often get that chance and was enjoying it immensely.

He practically skipped down the spiral stairs from Officers’ Country to the Conn, got a brief verbal update from Lt. Keeter who had the Dog Watch from 0200 until 0800 – or whenever Chip took over after breakfast, which was usually earlier than that – and headed for the Wardroom.  Nelson had asked Lee to stop by his cabin first thing so he wasn’t at all surprised when the pair walked in moments after Chip sat down, his tray loaded as usual with Cookie’s version of Sunday breakfast; an asparagus baked egg dish that everyone had delighted in the first time he’d tried serving it, along with small waffles and lots of bacon and sausage.  He glanced up briefly but both Lee and Nelson were smiling so apparently nothing serious was about to mess up the peacefulness of the cruise.  As they filled their own trays and sat down, Lee next to Chip and Nelson across from them, Chip realized that they were discussing what each had done the couple of weeks everyone had off before preparing for this cruise and he let his mind wander a bit, thinking back on what a good life he had; how he’d landed in the most perfect – for him – job that he could ever imagine having.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lt. Charles P. Morton found himself in a bit of a quandary and wasn’t sure how to get himself out of it.  He’d recently been transferred from his Third-Officer post aboard the submarine SSN Lechner and assigned to the Resupply Depot at Naval Base San Diego.  He hadn’t minded his tour aboard the submarine even though his former Annapolis roomie, Lee Crane, razzed the heck out of him about it.  Lee had known pretty much from the beginning that he wanted sub service once he graduated.  One of their occasional instructors at the Academy, Capt. Harriman Nelson, had ignited a fire in Lee that he admitted even he hadn’t known was there.  Chip, his nickname from childhood, had to admit that he also had been influenced by the stories Nelson would occasionally tell.  But he hadn’t fallen under Nelson’s spell nearly to the extent that Lee had as the Captain weaved excitement into his tales.  While Chip had enjoyed sub school, and the extra dive training it required had been a bonus, he was actually looking forward to more time ashore working with his first passion – computers.  He absolutely loved the idea of the organization skills needed at the Depot to keep Navy ships and subs up-to-date with supplies and equipment, and was looking forward to the new assignment.

But he’d barely settled in when a visitor to the unit changed everything!  Capt. Nelson, now three-star Admiral Nelson, was in the process of retiring and setting up the marine research facility that he’d talked occasionally about at Annapolis, and the project included building the futuristic submarine that he’d also envisioned in his plans.  There were a lot of cadets – and instructors – who, at the time, considered Nelson a crackpot; that his ideas were unworkable and doomed to failure.  Chip had tried to stay out of that discussion, if for no other reason than any time anyone badmouthed Capt. Nelson, Lee got royally ticked.  Nelson had become very much a mentor, a father-figure, to Lee, whose own father died when he was five.  Oh, Lee knew that Nelson wasn’t without his faults.  But he was firmly convinced that the man had the right to his dreams, and should be allowed to succeed or fail without censure from others.

But now, all of a sudden, there was Admiral Nelson sitting beside Chip’s new desk, with its brand new computer that Chip was still getting familiar with, asking if Chip would be interested in the XO position on the about-to-be-built submarine Seaview.  Chip would have to transfer to the Reserves but the job came in six to nine months, well before Seaview would have her first sea trials, with a promotion to Lt. Commander, a grade Chip hadn’t expected to make for at least a couple more years.  Chip was intrigued by the offer.

But…  Chip couldn’t help thinking about the possible drawbacks – and there were several, no matter how enthusiastically Admiral Nelson described what would be Chip’s new duties.  He tried to keep his expression neutral as Nelson continued to rattle on, but even at the Academy the cadets could rarely get anything past this particular instructor.  Nelson finally stood, told Chip to think it over and get back to him, please, in the next two weeks.  He left Chip a business card for the Nelson Institute of Marine Research, after jotting his extension number on the back, and Chip ended up feeling a bit like a hurricane had just blown through and left him adrift.

Somehow he managed to get through the next two days; he had been granted the weekend off, and grinned when he realized that Nelson must have somehow arranged it with his supervising Captain.  A friend of one of his co-workers had a small beach house that Chip had been offered the use of; all he had to do was feed the cat, and try to fix whatever was wrong with the lady’s computer.  Bribe though it was, Chip was in serious need of some alone time to sort through his dilemma.

The computer wasn’t a problem for Chip’s quick, well-trained brain; he had it fixed in ten minutes.  The cat on the other hand, a medium-sized domestic longhair with a coat of very light cream interspersed with patches of light and dark gray and mostly white on the belly, plus a bit of tan on her face and ears, proved a little too sociable.  She rarely let Chip get more than a few feet away.  Sleeping on the bed wasn’t so much a problem but following him into the bathroom was a little disconcerting.  Chip tried to shut the door before she could get in but all that accomplished was having to listen to her yowl until he came out.  He finally surrendered and let her do pretty much whatever she wanted.  Her favorite game was sitting between him and the computer screen as he tried to track down as much intel as he could about Nelson, his institute, and any related bits he could find.  The cat, with the unlikely feminine name of Bear, finally had enough of Chip pushing her to the side and demanded his lap as sleeping quarters.  And Chip had to admit that her purring definitely had a calming effect on his case of nerves.

The more he read, the more confused he became.  Some stories were mostly positive, as well as the few interviews Nelson had given as he bought up land just outside Santa Barbara and got the institute going.  But he had his share of detractors as well.  ‘Delusional’, ‘totally unrealistic’; those were some less derogatory descriptions of what Nelson planned to accomplish.  And those were mostly the civilian posts.  What some Navy personnel had to say about Nelson’s ideas of submarine design – all anonymously cited, of course – were downright mean and nasty.  Chip had to admit that on those occasions when Nelson had mentioned some of his very futuristic designs to his students at Annapolis there had been comments.  Mostly they were kept between the Middies because, if anyone dared challenge him, Nelson would demand to know what proof the Middie had that made the ideas unworkable.  Even Lee, as much as he admired Nelson, had raised an eyebrow or two; whoever heard of a submarine with front windows that could still dive deeper and go faster than any sub had thus far managed!

What would happen to Chip’s career if he were to transfer over, and then have to crawl back if Nelson’s plans fell through.  His record would always to tainted with what some would see as a stupid, illogical, defection from the mainstream Navy.  Even if he stayed long enough for the promised promotion, he’d lose it again going back and it would no doubt be even harder to earn it again.

And, there was the not insignificant fact that Chip had next to no Executive Officer training.  Nelson had basically brushed that aside, telling Chip that he’d have plenty of time for additional training after coming to NIMR.  A captain had already been chosen for Seaview, John Phillips.  Chip didn’t know him so also spent time looking up what he could find about him.  Nelson had merely said that he was a fine officer, and willing to work with Chip and do a lot of the XO training himself.  Chip had served long enough to have formed an opinion of what constituted ‘good’ and ‘bad’ when it came to XO’s.  What if this Phillips guy’s ideas didn’t mesh with his own?

Chip also had reservations about staffing.  The Institute itself would be mostly civilian scientists and technicians who Chip felt that he could probably learn to deal with, what little contact that he should have with them.  But the sub’s crew, besides all officers being in the Reserves, would be staffed by a combination of Navy personnel and civilian techs.  How in blazes was he, as XO, supposed to balance and keep control of that kind of workforce?

His brain at this point a jumbled mess he stood up.  Bear didn’t take kindly to having her bed move out from under her but Chip had too many disconcerting thoughts on his mind to pay her much attention and stared out the window at the ocean.  One more thought came unbidden; did he really want to spend the rest of his Navy career behind a desk, staring at a computer screen as he balanced supply with demand?  While he’d originally not planned on sub service, he’d quickly discovered that he actually liked it.  If Nelson was to be believed, his Seaview would be much more spacious than a regular sub.  As XO he’d have his own cabin and not a cramped closet that he had to share with others.  Also, Seaview wouldn’t be at sea for months at a time as he’d had to deal with at his regular Navy postings.

Another bright spot, and an exciting one for Chip, Nelson wanted him involved with designing and programming the computers that both NIMR and Seaview would be heavily dependent on.  That prospect had put a gleam in his eye that he knew Nelson caught, and a quick smile hit his face.  “The man hasn’t lost his touch for reading people,” he told Bear.

Bear, it seemed, had her own opinions and reached out a paw to tap the computer screen, on which Chip had left a listing of expected Executive Officer duties for a variety of different postings with the Navy.  “It’s not that easy, Bear,” he told her, reaching down to give her head a rub.

“Murrowrr,” she told him politely, and once more tapped the screen. 

“Oh, you think so,” he started, then shuddered.  “That’s just great; I’m taking advice from a cat!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chip suddenly realized why those particular thoughts had popped into his brain now, listening to and enjoying the friendship that had continued to develop between his best friend, Lee, and Admiral Nelson, as well as his own and Lee’s near sibling connections.  Chip had spent the previous weekend once more at the house where he’d struggled so hard those years ago to make up his mind about future career plans.  Bear happily welcomed him; Chip had spent occasional times there over the years where she was still very much queen of her domain.

Admitting that he still had serious doubts, Chip had called Nelson on Monday and accepted the position.  He’d instantly heard the delight in Nelson’s voice, and faster than Chip would have thought possible, Chip found himself at NIMR.  The transition hadn’t been completely smooth but Capt. Phillips, who Chip instantly liked, helped a great deal, especially as Seaview was built and launched.  Chip had learned so much from the man, and his confidence grew as each new challenge was met and solved.  Lee had come to Seaview a year after she was launched, under very trying circumstances including the death of Capt. Phillips.  Once more Nelson ‘weaved his magic’, it seemed, and what was to have been merely a short TAD assignment for Lee became instead his permanent re-assignment to Seaview…

Chip’s wandering mind was brought back to reality by a jab in his ribs.  “What?” he instantly demanded from the ‘attacker’, Lee.

“Where were you?” the brunet asked, half a smile on his face.  “I asked you twice when we’d get to the next sensor.”

“As if you didn’t already know the timetable front, back, and sideways,” Chip faux-growled back, causing Nelson to openly chuckle as Lee sent him a shy nod.  “Nothing special,” Chip continued, his voice and expression once more under control.  “Just thinking back on the ‘lady’ I spent last weekend with and how, over the years, she’s given me some great advice.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This story is dedicated to Liz, and a furry friend she’s only seen in pictures, and a lot of silly stories – and the occasional complaints – from me 😊