Triton: promotion policy and resistance to younger officers

In Triton, Commander Titus Barnes resents moving from command of a destroyer to service as a battleship's first officer. He believes methods that improved morale and performance in his former ship are being blocked by his new captain. The disagreement becomes concrete when a twenty-two-year-old pilot seeks a commission under regulations that allow her to apply. Titus encourages her, while the captain wants more experience and intends to recommend against the commission. The conflict concerns both an officer's career expectations and the discretion senior commanders exercise within formal promotion rules.