A communications officer learns command from the inside

Somerville had less conventional ship-command experience than many peers, but spent years beside captains and admirals as their communications right hand. He saw what information reached senior command, how commanders reacted, and how their intentions became signals and orders. Uhura's later promotion to admiral supplies a fictional comparison for why communications work can lead to high command. Engineering, gunnery, and navigation officers concentrate on their own departments, while communications officers must follow senior intent and the situation beyond the ship. The specialty forced Somerville to understand what his superiors were trying to accomplish and how to express it in orders.