Let's Talk About Love: the 'verse's defining relationships

cthia wrote:You know, something I've always wondered. I know how Beauty and the Beast came to be. But I can't figure out the why. What did those two respond to in each other, especially considering the rank and age difference? Not to mention the personality difference. What fueled the chemistry? Actually, it seems that Harkness would be the frightening type. How do you befriend a hexapuma?

Easy. Aretha Franklin song...

R.e.s.p.e.c.t

Harkness is likely double Scotty's age when they first meet all the way back in OBS, with a colorful history of getting "busted back", but in the custom's inspection, following a more senior officer's suggestion Ensign Tremaine let Harkness lead the efforts they were charged with by a very honorable senior officer, and made sure that Horace got ample and proper credit for it. In return, Sir Horace took Scotty under his wing and made sure he turned out good.

What they have is almost a father-son relationship where the tactical and clever brains are in the younger head and the 'tech been there done that, can still do it better than about anybody else' brains are in the older head.

Put another way, I know some younger men than myself that are going to beat me in X-box, or any other game, and all of the reflex-required sports. But in tenacity and how-to-figure-out-brass bolts -iveness or outright sneaky tactics, guess who nearly always wins? That would be.... me.

SharkHunter wrote:

cthia wrote:You know, something I've always wondered. I know how Beauty and the Beast came to be. But I can't figure out the why. What did those two respond to in each other, especially considering the rank and age difference? Not to mention the personality difference. What fueled the chemistry? Actually, it seems that Harkness would be the frightening type. How do you befriend a hexapuma?

Easy. Aretha Franklin song...

R.e.s.p.e.c.t

Harkness is likely double Scotty's age when they first meet all the way back in OBS, with a colorful history of getting "busted back", but in the custom's inspection, following a more senior officer's suggestion Ensign Tremaine let Harkness lead the efforts they were charged with by a very honorable senior officer, and made sure that Horace got ample and proper credit for it. In return, Sir Horace took Scotty under his wing and made sure he turned out good.

What they have is almost a father-son relationship where the tactical and clever brains are in the younger head and the 'tech been there done that, can still do it better than about anybody else' brains are in the older head.

Put another way, I know some younger men than myself that are going to beat me in X-box, or any other game, and all of the reflex-required sports. But in tenacity and how-to-figure-out-brass bolts -iveness or outright sneaky tactics, guess who nearly always wins? That would be.... me.

I knew that Aretha's song kept them going, but initially? I suppose it could have been a factor then as well. I mean, Harkness — though I always loved him, was such a phuck-up, externally. What kept him in the Navy is the fact that he did his job well, as I think was mentioned by several officers on different occasions. Tremaine, however, was a no-nonsense kind of kid who I would have thought to be put off by Harkness' reputation. And afraid said reputation would somehow rub off on him by association. You know, the wrong influence.

--snipping--

cthia wrote:... Tremaine, however, was a no-nonsense kind of kid who I would have thought to be put off by Harkness' reputation. And afraid said reputation would somehow rub off on him by association. You know, the wrong influence.

Heck, who you'd want to fly with, the instructor dude at Flight School whose shirts are so thorougly stiff and starched that you could rinse them out and make white flour bread from the runoff, or Pappy Boyington? (obligatory suggestion to read about the true story of the Black Sheep...)

AKA having a slightly disreputable "uncle in the biz" is just flat out a mark of your uber-coolness. 'Specially if said uncle informs other uncles that yeah, "Boy Wonder over there might turn out okay if'n I keep a scraggly eyebrow aimed at him at all times..." even if it means no more pickin' on Marines leading to marryin' one.

cthia wrote:I knew that Aretha's song kept them going, but initially? I suppose it could have been a factor then as well. I mean, Harkness — though I always loved him, was such a phuck-up, externally. What kept him in the Navy is the fact that he did his job well, as I think was mentioned by several officers on different occasions. Tremaine, however, was a no-nonsense kind of kid who I would have thought to be put off by Harkness' reputation. And afraid said reputation would somehow rub off on him by association. You know, the wrong influence.

Ensign Tremaine got the basic trick for being a successful junior officer down: listen to the grizzled non-coms; do what they say; be the officer doing it; give them the credit. PO Harkness delivered his end: lots of brilliant insight into where the contraband is, in this case, leading to a job well done and prize money.

Reputation is one thing, and it's not unimportant. But you'd be a bad officer, junior or senior, if you reduced the entire evaluation of a senior non-com to a one-dimensional summary that way. And being, ah, rough around the edges, isn't a problem for a senior non-com.

JeffEngel wrote:

cthia wrote:I knew that Aretha's song kept them going, but initially? I suppose it could have been a factor then as well. I mean, Harkness — though I always loved him, was such a phuck-up, externally. What kept him in the Navy is the fact that he did his job well, as I think was mentioned by several officers on different occasions. Tremaine, however, was a no-nonsense kind of kid who I would have thought to be put off by Harkness' reputation. And afraid said reputation would somehow rub off on him by association. You know, the wrong influence.

Ensign Tremaine got the basic trick for being a successful junior officer down: listen to the grizzled non-coms; do what they say; be the officer doing it; give them the credit. PO Harkness delivered his end: lots of brilliant insight into where the contraband is, in this case, leading to a job well done and prize money.

Reputation is one thing, and it's not unimportant. But you'd be a bad officer, junior or senior, if you reduced the entire evaluation of a senior non-com to a one-dimensional summary that way. And being, ah, rough around the edges, isn't a problem for a senior non-com.

The pride and professionalism in any military branch or service is passed down in its senior NCO's. I do know that in both the US Army and Marines the specifically tell junior officers O-1 and 2's to listen and learn from your Gunny because s/he has 10-15 years more experience than said JO. But sadly most of the time said JO don't listen and learn. It usually takes a few ass chewing's and reaming's to get the JO to listen an learn. But on very, very rare occasions you get a superb JO who does listen and learn, and are very lucky go up in rank like a rocket. I myself served under a JO like that. He is a very rare bird in that by the time of his retirement in 2014 (passed over for promotion to RADM) he had held 4 seagoing commands,(IIRC ARS, FFG, DDG and CG) when an officer is very lucky s/he only gets two seagoing commands.