Hello. As I said in a recent 'Anomalies' post, I'm hopefully entering a period of calmness and so I thought now would be a good time to get back to the ARC. So, I know it's been a while, but I've finally had an idea about a sequel to 'If the Cap Fits'. As always, though, I try to make my stories STAND ALONE. However, just as a reminder, I've put a few facts (SPOILERS) in the next paragraph.

Sergeant Banks, with a little input for everyone, hired Becker after an extensive interview, where Becker was key in saving the day. Becker had been through many failed jobs, revealing to Abby that his role in the Army had been more solitary than most and he was not used to leading men.

So, without further ado, Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. The deal failed.

Becker got back into the car uneasily. The pristichampsus had gone, along with the anomaly, so there was little clear up to do. As a result, Becker still hadn't had a proper word with his team, who he had failed to talk to before leaving; Becker got the sense that this job would keep him up round the clock, but he didn't mind. Let's face it, he was hardly in a position to complain.

Although he'd apparently proved himself at the interview, he was aware that he was still pretty bad at keeping jobs.

He just had to sit tight for a couple of weeks. That was how long his temporary contract lasted. Lester made it very clear that the fact he'd saved the ARC during his interview was no indication that he would actually survive here permanently. Banks was staying just because they didn't think he would cope. His contract prevented him from rearranging everything how he'd like to have it from the start. So that when he left, they could still find everything

Becker was nervous about the whole situation. Normally, he knew he at least started on the presumption that he was good for the job. This team seemed to have decided right from the beginning that he wasn't. Possibly questioning Sarah's brilliant plan wasn't the best idea to show himself up either, but really, he couldn't be expected to just take orders from any civilian who happened to be around.

He switched on the engine, the other four men in the car, all members of security, remaining silent. These were still the night shift workers, as the early day shift hadn't got in when the alarm came through. As such, they knew even less about Becker, a man who had hurried up to their car, shouted 'I'm your Captain' and called shotgun on the way back.

The whole journey was spent in silence. Becker didn't even try to initiate conversation, experience telling him this wasn't his forte. Instead, he waited until they got back to base.

"You lot can go home. I'll get the others to unpack." They looked at him curiously. "You've been on duty long enough and it hasn't exactly been quiet."

One of the men scoffed. "Blimey, if you think this is busy..." The sentence was left unfinished and the four men, slouched out the car.

Becker was left for a second, puzzled. He was sure they should've been pleased that he was letting them leave with all their kit in a state; Becker knew some officers would've got them to clean the entire car out before leaving. He unclipped his seatbelt and slipped out the car, noting that the men had indeed gone. So had all the others and there were already fresh men milling around the boots of the SUVs, everyone busy.

Because this was routine. Becker almost smacked his forehead. Of course they'd left everything as it was. These weren't soldiers. Ok, if an anomaly overlapped the shifts, bad luck, but with no emergency, they expected to go home at the end and leave whatever wreckage there was for the next bunch.

"Captain!" Becker turned around, sharply and efficiently to face Cutter who was striding towards him. "I need you to get a security pass for Dr Page pronto." Cutter brushed past the Captain, as if that order was enough. Becker gritted his teeth. He may not consider himself to be the best Captain, in terms of manner, but he knew he was due a little respect.

And where on Earth could he get security passes from anyway?

He paused. Think.

He eventually set off in the direction of the security desk at the front of the ARC. Surely that would be the logical place to have spare guest passes.

He set off, determined that he should maintain his efficiency at least.

He got to the desk and found his Sergeant, Banks, loitering around the barrier. The other man straightened as he recognised his now commanding officer approach.

"Been looking for you," cried Banks. "Was supposed to introduce you to the men during morning meeting. Came in to hear you'd already gone off on an anomaly." Becker ignored the slovenly manner that he was addressed; after all, Banks had proved key in getting him the job.

"I need a security pass for Dr Sarah Page. She's an Egyptologist that Cutter's decided to bring back," explained Becker, briskly.

"And good morning to you too, sir," replied the soldier standing beside Banks sarcastically. The man reached beneath the desk. "Temporary pass. Level 3 clearance; that's the highest a non-member can get." He chucked the card across to Becker, who caught the wayward throw awkwardly. "If Cutter says she needs a pass, then she's to be trusted."

"Good morning?" Becker responded, unsure how to cope with such clear insubordination that clearly no-one really cared about. He decided to let it slip. He'd rather introduce discipline once he'd been introduced to all the men properly. Talking of which...

"How long will it take to gather up the men?" he asked Banks. The Sergeant looked slightly taken aback by the question and he stared at the Captain as if he was an idiot. Becker decided to clarify. "About that introduction..."

"We've just had an anomaly," Banks stated, slowly and carefully. Becker was aware of the other guard smirking out of the corner of his eye. "You can't just get everybody together now! There's all the equipment an dcars and stuff to sort and check and service ready for the next one. Plus, there's all the daily duties. The day's started and there's no stopping it!"

Becker checked his feet as he thought about his options; he needed to introduce himself, preferably before the next anomaly. He couldn't expect them to follow a man they'd never met before...

But equally, he was unwilling to disrupt the smooth running of the ARC and its security team. He didn't believe he was there to cause chaos.

"What about this evening?"

"This evening?"

"Get everybody gathered at, say, ten to five, before they knock off. Then, I introduce myself. Quick swap and I met the evening crew as well."

Banks stood there for a minute but then nodded his approval. Becker gave a confirmation nod, then turned to take the pass to Sarah. He went a few paces, then turned.

"Where would the Professor take a visitor?" Banks smiled and heaved himself off the counter.

"Come on, I'd better give you a tour of the place."

Becker shook his head. "Lester did that this morning."

Banks grinned. "Not a proper one."

They found Sarah, Cutter and Lester in Cutter's workroom. Sarah seemed to be smiling wildly, as she'd received some good news. Upon seeing Banks and Becker enter, Cutter stepped forward the grabbed the pass from Becker's hand and handed it to Sarah, before turning back.

"Dr Page is coming to work with us," he announced.

"So you now want a full pass?" guessed Banks. Cutter nodded hurriedly, then turned back to him clear board, muttering something about metal pipes.

Sarah stepped past the Professor and looked Becker and Banks up and down.

"Erm... do I need to answer a questionnaire or something then? I've never had a conviction," she said. Banks opened his mouth, but Becker decided it would be nice to at least feel he was in the room.

"I'll need to check the forms and come back to you." Sarah frowned and Lester stepped forward to assist in the arising confusion.

"Captain Becker is new to the team as well. You two should probably try to make friends seeing as you're the two sanest people here at the moment." Banks opened his mouth to protest, but Lester cut him off. "Yesterday, you and your men were playing hoopla with the spare tyres. Don't deny it; Connor ran off to join in when he heard."

"Wish you'd stopped him. He's actually pretty good at it," grumbled Banks, as Becker stared at him in disbelief.

"You mean he beat you, did he? Well, maybe to save your face you'll think twice before engaging in such competitions." Lester's words were lost on Banks though as he muttered something about beating him next time. "Anyway, I'm sure Captain Becker will be able to dig out the piles of paperwork needed soon enough."

"It doesn't actually require that much, except we will need your NI, passport and driving licence numbers," butted in Banks. "Other than that, it's just a case of your date of birth etcetera, which I hope you know."

Becker stood awkwardly as the Sergeant proved that he was the person who actually knew what was going on in the security department. This was fairly evident, so the Captain didn't really think that Cutter's next statement was really necessary.

"Yeah, if you need anything signed, ask Becker as it's technically his department, but if you want anything done, ask Sergeant Banks as he'll actually know what to do."

Banks and Sarah let out a slight snigger to this, while Lester rolled his eyes in his characteristic approach to humour. Becker, meanwhile forced what he hoped was a jovial smile at being the butt of the joke, before desperately trying to create a light-hearted exit.

"Well, seeing as you've got an elephant for any details you need, I'd better go and learn about security." He smiled a farewell to the room, then left, turning left.

"Security department's the other way," said Banks, dead-panned. Becker took a deep breath in and walked past the door in the opposite direction. Every time.

Banks turned to others. "Did he just call me an elephant? How am I an elephant?" Everybody drew a blank, including the Professor. "And you were trying to convince us he's sane; he's seems to be odder than Cutter, no offence." Banks looked in the direction of the door. "I think I'd better go help him. We might lose this Captain in the labyrinth of the ARC."

"This Captain?" Sarah said, puzzled.

"We've had a string of them," explained Banks. "Captains have a tendency to think they know best. And normally, I suppose, they're right. But this job... it's a bit... special. I mean, dinosaurs aren't the usual type of enemy."

"I suppose not," admitted Sarah. "Guessing you're not about to take orders off him much either." Banks grinned, did one theatrical shake of his head and opened his mouth to reply, but cutter cut across him.

"Captain Becker is to be followed to the letter." The Professor looked pointedly towards the Sergeant. "Except when I think he's wrong. Show him procedure, fine, but, for goodness' sake, remember he's the Captain and in charge. Otherwise the hiring of him was pointless."

"For once, I concur with the Professor." Lester adjusted his cuff-links. "I looked a little deeper into his background once you'd agreed to hire him and I think you'll find that this particular Captain may well be willing to grant you a little more independent than the others; for heavens' sake, don't abuse it."

"But he doesn't know what's he's doing!" argued Banks. "We're running things fine as it is; we just need someone so a few boxes can be ticked and some paperwork made happy."

"And you know what you're doing?" questioned Cutter, as he pushed past to the exit. He looked back before he left. "I certainly don't."

Banks looked to Lester for some kind of back-up, but the civil servant shrugged. Banks huffed and left the room at a brisk walk, intent on finding the Captain before he mucked something up. Lester raised his eyebrows at Sarah, let out a sigh and followed Becker's original path to leave. Which left Sarah, alone, in the room, not entirely sure what she was meant to be doing. Just then, she spied the work-room coffee machine. Time for a break.

Becker did actually reach the security's area without getting lost again, but found, once there, that he didn't really know what he should be doing. Everyone seemed to have a job and while Becker knew he should try and find out what everyone was doing, he felt that would be a bad image to present – the Captain who didn't have a clue.

He ended up 'surveying the scene', in a bid to make it look as if he was simply checking the safety of everything. He'd been standing there for a couple of minutes when Banks came and joined him.

"You look like you're worried something's going to blow up." Becker looked at him sharply, but then relaxed. Banks ignored the whole reaction. "Come on, for once, there's actually a Captain to do the Captain's paperwork, so I may as well show you the office where it all is."

Banks marched off and Becker had little choice but to follow; after all, it was actually something to do. Banks took across the Parade room to a windowless door with the word 'CAPTAIN' on it is simple white letters. Upon opening, it revealed a small oblong room stretching down to the right of the doorway.

Becker looked around it in wonder. He was expecting a functional office, no hint of personality or care, but this had a couple of painting of the coastline, warm thick pale green carpet matching brighter green walls, tiny shelf holding a spider-plant, a dark wooden desk, which was heaped with several piles of paper and a computer, two chairs, the first an office swivel chair, but the second a large comfy chair, like Becker had seen in Lester's office, and, squeezed in at the doorway end of the room, a sofa. Banks strode forward, pushing the simple chair aside.

"As you can see, it's a well-stocked room. Sergeant Howard, my predecessor, got sick of doing the Captain's paperwork in what he called a 'heartless little prison cell', so he added a few things in to make it more homely."

"The other Captains you had..."

"Never around long enough to change it. Bit of a relaxation room for the NCOs by all accounts, hence the sofa, though that stopped when Howard... Anyway, if you survive the two weeks, then you can do what you like with it. Until then, you couldn't leave it as it is, could you?"

"Why?"

"Well... it's nice like this. And when... if you leave, I'll have to use it to complete the forms about why you went."

Becker stood there, unsure how to answer. He resorted to just a smile, which confused Banks no end. The Sergeant coughed to cover up his bewilderment, though, and patted the Captain on the back as he left, closing the door behind him.

Becker immediately slumped onto the sofa, placing his head in his hands. It's like this place was engineered for him leaving. A Sergeant who was better and more at home than he was, a Professor who didn't think Becker was good for anything except signing forms, a body of men who don't need him for anything and play hoopla when bored and a sarcastic civil servant who wants him to take them in hand. How? How could you bring discipline to a bunch of people like that without them hating him?

After ten minutes pondering, Becker eventually reached the desk. It was stacked with reports about inventory, higher-level orders and mission statements, all needing to be read and signed by him. He switched on the computer. Well, he may as well make himself indispensable in the one area they did need help. Paperwork.

"Sarge! Sarge!" cried Lyons from where he was cleaning a set of boots in the corner. Banks walked over to the small group, who no doubt had been gossiping as much as working. "Well, what's he like?"

"He called me an elephant," replied Banks. The other men frowned. "No, I don't know why either. And I accidently let slip that, well, everybody's kind of expecting him to leave soon too and... he smiled! No words. Just smiled." Banks slumped down next to Lyons. "He's bizarre, to say the least."

Lyons thought about this hard about this new information, while brushing down the tongue. The other men around them muttered some comments, but Lyons preferred to think his views. Eventually, he said:

"Maybe he's just right for the job." Banks smirked, but Lyons persisted. "No, come on. You always say it's an odd job. So now we have an odd Captain." Banks sighed and he thought on this. The others waited for his comments.

"I suppose you're right. So long as he doesn't try to change the atmosphere. We're not an army and we're up for a few more jokes than that. He then grinned. "Facing introducing him to our unique blend of humour?"

Lyons immediately frowned. "Maybe give it a few days."

Becker worked all through the afternoon and didn't emerge until Banks charged in, stating that everyone was gathered up to listen to his 'long boring speech'. Becker sighed and stood slowly, ironing out his back.

Outside, everyone was waiting in a formless rabble. Many were chatting cheerfully, but as Becker emerged, a hush fell as they all craned to see the new Captain who had been in his office most the day. Becker surveyed the group briefly, then stepped forward.

"Thank you for gathering here. I'd just like to take the opportunity to greet you all more formally as your new Captain." There were a few mutterings and Becker let them die down before he continued. "I realise that you've had a number of Captains over the past few months..."

"And all of them useless," piped up a voice. Most people smirked at the comment and there was a sniggered here and there. Becker smiled graciously.

"Yes... well... Hopefully I can last a little bit longer and be slightly... less of a bother than previous Captains." There was a dead silence as everyone was suddenly very curious. "I understand that you've been able to run operations here on your own for a while and I don't wish to get in the way of your jobs and routines. I don't want to be a log." Becker smiled at his comment, but no-one else seemed to understand, so he continued on. "However..." There was a sense of relief as people guessed what was coming, namely 'I'm going to restructure everything, make everything a bit worse and expect you to deal with it'. "However, I do ask one thing. I am the point of call with Cutter and Lester, I believe, so out in the field, if I say something, you do it, because there's a more than likely chance I'm working with more information than you."

"You deal with Cutter?" came a questioning, hopeful voice. "And Connor."

"Yes," nodded Becker. "Is that a problem?"

"And we don't have to." The tone was repeated.

"Well, yes. I mean, you can talk with them if you want, Cutter seems a reasonable man..."

"Reasonable man?" The voice was almost choking with disbelief. Becker stood silently for a moment, wondering what he had said that was so confusing. There was some hurried whispers and then the voice piped up. "Don't worry." Becker blinked once and decided to wrap up.

"Right, well, that's all I had to say and seeing as the evening shift are coming in here after you, you should probably move. Thank you."

Sensing the event was dismissed, people melted away. Only two were left and Becker made his way back into his office. Banks stared after him in disbelief and Lyons stood beside him, grinning with laughter.

"He'll deal with Cutter? Meaning he can deal with every bizarre request. Also meaning he'll be close enough to him to protect him in all the mad-cap situations that Professor manages to get in to. And Connor. He's taking responsibility of Connor?" Bansk turned to stare at Lyons. "He's insane."

"He doesn't know better."

"He was out on a mission with them this morning. I heard he went running after Cutter and Abby. Imagine that. Following Cutter." Banks turned back to the closed office door. "The guy won't last a week. He'll be eaten or Connor will drive him to despair." Lyons sighed and pondered this for a second.

"Maybe we should give him some early practice." Banks frowned at the other man. "Well, you were saying we should introduce him to our humour."

"You vetoed it for now I remember."

Lyons smiled faintly. "Yes, but then he called himself a log."

Please review. =-)