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SEA OF SHADOWS 169
accordance with the captain’s orders and policies. One of those policies
involved ensuring that junior officers were never—never late for meetings.
Especially not meetings that had been called by the captain.
Due to the oddities of the Navy command structure, that put Chief
McPherson in a bit of a predicament. Her Division Officer, Mr. Cooper,
was a brand-spanking-new ensign (as were most other Divo’s). He was a
commissioned officer, albeit a very junior one, and that made him Chief
McPherson’s boss. She was required to follow his orders, despite the fact
that she had nearly twenty years of experience, and he had virtually zero.
Ensign Cooper was a hard-charger and a quick learner, but he was also
young and very wet behind the ears. By naval tradition, the chief was
expected to train her own boss and mold him into a good officer, which
made her responsible for his actions, even though she was his subordinate.
A good chief petty officer, it was reasoned, could use knowledge and
experience to guide a young officer into correct action—Which ultimately
meant that the XO would kick Chief McPherson’s ass up around her
shoulder blades if her boss didn’t show up for the captain’s meeting on
time.
She stifled the urge to look at her watch or the door again. “My
Fearless Leader will be here, sir. Count on it.”
The door opened again, but it wasn’t Ensign Cooper. Lieutenant Alan
West, the Supply Officer, walked in and took the chair closest to the
coffeepot.
Now Chief McPherson did look at her watch. Her boss had about three
minutes. She was just about to get up and use the phone to try to track him
down when the door opened and Ensign Cooper walked in.
As soon as the ensign found a chair and pulled it up to the table, the XO
cleared his throat. “Ah, Captain. We’re ready to begin.”
Captain Bowie looked up from his paperwork and scanned the group of
men and women seated around the table. “Where’s the Chief Engineer?”
“The CHENG is down in Main Engine Room number one,” the XO
said. “The engineers are finishing up the installation on the new fuel oil
purifier, and he’s overseeing the work. I told him he could take a pass on
the meeting, and I’d catch him up later.”
The captain digested this bit of information for a few seconds. Then he
shook his head. “Sorry to second-guess you, Pete, but I need him up here
for this.”
The XO nodded. “Yes, sir.” He stood up and walked to the phone.