Relv tried his best to straighten out the wrinkles in his uniform while he waited near the airlock for the transfer shuttle. It was hard to keep things as crisp and clean as the Admiralty would like after a week straight inside the minimalistic battle cruiser.
Ibek came down the passageway and brushed pass him in the cramped space without so much as an acknowledgement.
"Stop right there please Lieutenant," commanded Relv.
"Yes sir," replied Ibek his distaste at the word sir abundantly clear.
"Protocol would demand a salute is in order."
"I am just following my commander's lead."
Relv stepped right up close to Ibek and got face to face.
"So you disagree with what I did today. I wonder why that would be?" replied Relv sternly. Relv was certain that Ibek was a handpicked stooge for the Fleet Admiral and he was getting sick of all the cloak and dagger games he had to play in working around his second in command. Perhaps a direct confrontation with Ibek was the best way forwards. Not that he was expecting to still be commanding the Abarath by the end of the day.
Ibek stared back at him and was about to say something then stopped himself. He looked conflicted and was silent for a moment as he contemplated what to say. Then suddenly his jaw firmed and he stepped back from his commander and snapped a very formal salute.
"Permission to speak freely sir!" he barked.
"Permission granted Lieutenant, however you should choose your next words carefully."
"I'd like to formally request a transfer to another ship, sir!"
The response caught Relv completely by surprise. It certainly was not the move of someone sent to spy on him.
"What? Why exactly?"
"You do not trust me sir!"
"Cut the 'yes drill sergeant' routine Ibek and talk to me straight."
"It's true sir you don't trust me. Whether or not I agreed with your manoeuvre today is beside the point. As your second in command you should have told me what we were going to do so I could have been prepared and supported your command."
Relv still wasn't convinced that he was not being played so took a different tack.
"Deviating from mission orders is serious Ibek. It's better for you that you didn't know. I am already on the Fleet Admiral's watch list, no use dragging you down with me."
"With all due respect sir that's a poor excuse. You don't trust me because you are worried I am sending reports to the Fleet Admiral. I know your background and just about everyone in the fleet knows that the Fleet Admiral doesn't want you in his fleet. I don't know if any of the crew are making reports or not, but I do know that unless you learn to trust your own second in command then the crew won't trust in each other or in me to carry out your orders. They see it already and they talk when you are not around and when they think I am not either. When we go into battle the whole crew is going to be putting their lives on the line for each other. How well do you think they are doing that right now?"
Relv leaned back against the bulkhead in the narrow passageway and exhaled deeply. Ibek was right and he could not believe he had not seen it earlier. He'd become so focused on keeping the Fleet Admiral off his back that he'd lost his way with them. Perhaps that had been the Fleet Admiral's hope all along. The airlock light suddenly went green with a ding and the door opened to the coinciding airlock of the transfer shuttle.
"For what it's worth I am sorry Lieutenant. I also doubt you will need to worry about a transfer by the time my meeting with the Fleet Admiral is over. "