History Main / YouAreInCommandNow

** A much less extreme version occurs in ''Literature/SpaceCadetHeinlein'' when Cadet Jensen, the senior cadet, takes command of an expedition to an unexplored region of Venus to investigate a native uprising when the Lieutenant in charge is rendered comatose in an accident. Aside from Jensen and the Lieutenant, the expedition consists of two other cadets. However, they are there because no one else was in a position to respond so Jensen is acting well above his pay grade. The other two cadets (all three entered the training academy at the same time) accept this, probably because it's Jensen's home planet (the other two are both from Earth), so he has a better understanding of conditions and cultural factors.

* Happens at least [[OnceAnEpisode once a book]] in ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': the flagship of a formation is destroyed, or battle damage kills the captain of a spaceship. Sometimes things work out fine; usually they don't. In each example, David Weber spends at least a paragraph explaining why it is that this person is now in command, instead of the higher ranking/more qualified personnel on the next ship over (or even in the next room). The results are not always pleasant, but the logic is always sound at the time.
** He also uses this with the short story "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington". The eponymous character gains command due to the battle (She's not the senior officer left on the ship, but she is the only officer on the bridge who isn't incapacitated, and there's no time to summon someone else), controls the situation, and emerges victorious. She is later given a promotion earlier than normal, but only to Ensign instead of several or more ranks.

*** A communications officer on the dreadnought HMS ''Bellerophon'' is taking the night watch because of his lack of seniority, essentially there to keep the Captain's chair warm and call him if there is an emergency. The dreadnought suddenly finds itself in an engagement with a group of Havenite battlecruisers, [[DidntSeeThatComing much to the surprise of both sides]], and not having time to wait for the Captain, ends up winning the engagement through [[CurbStompBattle sheer disproportionate weight of firepower]] by reading down a checklist.
*** Most plot-relevant to the entire series is Honor's assumption of command at First Hancock in ''The Short Victorious War''. Already flag captain, she assumes command of the task group when the admiral is incapacitated: while she was ''not'' the senior remaining officer of the task force, the legal next-in-command was on another ship without access to the flag bridge's command datalinks, it would have required a nontrivial amount of time simply to brief him on the details of the current situation, and the task force was under fire and a command decision needed to be made ''immediately''. She's vindicated (winning the personal approval of the Queen, no less), but the fallout from that one action sets the stage for the following novels ''Field of Dishonor'' and ''Flag in Exile''. [[FantasyConflictCounterpart This was probably based on a real event]] aboard USS ''San Francisco'' during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
* Not just in the Honorverse; examples abound in Creator/DavidWeber's other books.

** In his ''Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes'' trilogy, main character Colin [=MacIntyre=] goes from mid-21st century space survey pilot to captain of Dahak, a super-advanced moon-sized CoolStarship from [[spoiler:a long-dead space-faring empire, to Governor of Earth, to Emperor of the 5th Imperium of Man.]] Talk about a serious promotion!

* ''Literature/{{Mahabharata}}'': The Kauravas go through a succession of commanders in chief of their armies, due to losing the previous one. First, it is [[OldSoldier Bheeshma]] until he is hors de combat. Then it is [[OldMaster Dronacharya]] until he is deceived and executed. Then it is [[ArcherArchetype Karna]] until a curse claims him. Then it is Shalya until he is killed in a spear duel. Finally Ashwathama gets the role until he is [[FateWorseThanDeath cursed to wander the earth with a bleeding festering wound, begging for sympathy but getting none]].

In RealLife, if there are a number of survivors of the same rank, the most senior of them holds command.[[note]]Unless otherwise designated, i.e., the XO is always second-in-command and the OPS officer is always third, regardless of rank. At least in modern times, doctors, lawyers (sometimes), and clergy also cannot be placed in command over combat units, even if they are the only officers present -- in such cases the most senior NCO would assume command, or even the most senior enlisted man.[[/note]] In fiction, the situation is often adequately chaotic that the one that actually gives orders may find himself pressed into command and {{leader}}ship. (In ''really'' chaotic situations, it may dawn on him that he is giving orders to superiors -- at which point, the highest-ranking superior generally tells everyone to follow their plan. Contrast WithDueRespect.)

*** Happens to [[PlayerCharacter Ryder]] during the prologue mission. He/she isn't even second-in-line for the position of human Pathfinder (Cora is) and hasn't had Pathfinder training. However, Alec's decision to pass the title onto his son/daughter is done for plot-related reasons that become apparent much later. (Namely [[spoiler:that the Ryder twins are symbiotically tied to the ''highly illegal'' (but [[BenevolentAI benevolent]]) AI that Alec Ryder coded up for the Andromeda mission]].

*** By the time the [[SleeperShip Hyperion]] arrives at the Nexus, this is the case for several of the Nexus leadership positions. To note:
*** Director Tann was an ''accountant'' and something like ''eighth in line'' for the position of Director. Everyone above him was killed during the Nexus' run-in with the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Scourge]] [[spoiler:or was assassinated shortly after]]. To say that Tann is ill-suited for the position is...a fairly serious understatement. The number of characters who actually ''like'' Tann can be counted on one hand, although, following Ryder's successes as Pathfinder, Tann does become more [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure reasonable]] over the course of the game.
*** Kandros was a bodyguard for a prospecting team captured by the kett. After leading their escape efforts, he returned to the Nexus and found "all the Nexus personnel looking at him like he was in charge". He officially became leader of the Nexus Militia and took on many of the responsibilities of the Director of Security (a position abandoned by Sloan Kelly after the uprising).

** [[CanonDiscontinuity Depending on your view]] of how well they fit together, sequel ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'' shows the logical outcome of this: John Connor is an able NCO, seemingly in command of his own "flying column" of loyal troopers and pilots, but still just another grunt in the armies of mankind. When [[spoiler:the rest of the Resistance High Command is killed]], John uses his position as an influential [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection Voice Over the Radio]] to rally the rest of the Resistance around him.

In RealLife, if there are a number of survivors of the same rank, the most senior of them holds command.[[note]]Unless otherwise designated, i.e., the XO is always second-in-command and the OPS officer is always third, regardless of rank. At least in modern times, doctors, lawyers, and clergy also cannot be placed in command over combat units, even if they are the only officers present -- in such cases the most senior NCO would assume command, or even the most senior enlisted man.[[/note]] In fiction, the situation is often adequately chaotic that the one that actually gives orders may find himself pressed into command and {{leader}}ship. (In ''really'' chaotic situations, it may dawn on him that he is giving orders to superiors -- at which point, the highest-ranking superior generally tells everyone to follow their plan. Contrast WithDueRespect.)

** A much less extreme version occurs in ''Literature/SpaceCadet'' where Cadet Jensen, the senior cadet, takes command of an expedition to an unexplored region of Venus to investigate a native uprising when the Lieutenant in charge is rendered comatose in an accident. Aside from Jensen and the Lieutenant, the expedition consists of two other cadets. However, they are there because no one else was in a position to respond so Jensen is acting well above his pay grade. The other two cadets (all three entered the training academy at the same time) accept this, probably because it's Jensen's home planet (the other two are both from Earth), so he has a better understanding of conditions and cultural factors.

* Repeatedly happens in the ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' movie. It's all but stated that the Mobile Infantry work on a system similar to KlingonPromotion, except you don't kill your superior (except to [[MercyKilling spare them]] from [[FateWorseThanDeath being captured and having their brains sucked out]]), the enemy does.

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs. Warhammer 40K]]'': During the early stages of the Battle of Axum, Sergeant Lazarus of the Imperial Guard is given what is intended to be a temporary FieldPromotion to major after his CO is assassinated by a Jedi. By the late stages of the battle, Major Lazarus finds himself becoming the new leader of the Imperium's remaining ground forces by default due to being the only high-ranking officer left who hasn't been captured or killed by the Jedi.

* ''ComicBook/ThePowerpuffGirls'': Inverted. "Micro Managing" (issue #68) had the Micro Puffs (tiny, mischievous sprite avatars of the girls) brainwashing Bubbles and Buttercup in their sleep into thinking that each other is the leader of the Powerpuffs. It doesn't work when Micro-Blossom tries it on real Blossom, since she's already the leader. When this argument of power control interferes with crime fighting, Blossom seeks Mojo Jojo's assistance.

* ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' shows Picard taking command of a crumbling fleet confronting a Borg cube after the commanding Admiral's ship is confirmed to have been destroyed. Especially justified, as Picard commands the ''Enterprise'', which is the fleet's ''flagship''. You don't get that posting without being the best there is.
* The ''Film/StarTrek2009'' movie has this happen to ''every single character''. At least five different characters inherit command of at least two different ships during the movie. Russian whiz kid Chekov is the only one of the main characters who ends up in his position without someone else getting sick or flat-out killed, and he is briefly given command of the ''Enterprise'' when everyone else is away.
** Dr. [=McCoy=] technically gets this too. He doesn't take command of Enterprise, but he becomes its chief doctor after the old one is killed.
** Invoked by [[spoiler:James Kirk, who at Spock Prime's suggestion goads Spock into breaking in rage, causing Spock to relieve himself from command and Kirk to be put in charge.]]
** [[MemeticBadass Captain Robau]] actually closes out his scene on-board the ''U.S.S. Kelvin'' by invoking the tradition (mentioned above by Chief O'Brien) with his First Officer.
--->'''Captain Robau:''' If I don't report in 15 minutes, evacuate the crew.\\
'''George Kirk:''' Sir, we could issue...\\
'''Captain Robau:''' There is no help for us out here. Use autopilot... and get off this ship.\\
'''George Kirk:''' Aye, Captain.\\
'''Captain Robau:''' ...You're captain now, Mr. Kirk.
** Repeated later by Pike as he's leaving with Kirk, Sulu, and [[RedShirt Olsen]] on a shuttle. As he's walking, he randomly promotes Kirk (a cadet) to first officer, which is Spock's position. When Spock complains, Pike tells him that he's the captain now not the first officer.

* In ''Film/{{Zulu}}'', Lieutenant Chard of the Royal Engineers finds himself in command of an obscure supply depot that has lost its major and come under attack by Zulus. Lieutenant Bromhead, despite being an infantryman, must defer to Chard because he received his commission three months later. In reality, Chard had three years' seniority over Bromhead and was explicitly left in command by the Major in charge of the post. Seniority aside, Bromhead was deaf, which was the reason he was posted to Rorke's Drift, where no action was expected.

* ''Film/TheGunsOfNavarone''. Major Franklin starts off as mission leader thanks to his rank, but Mallory becomes the ''de facto'' leader after Franklin is incapacitated by injury.
* During the attack scene of ''Film/PearlHarbor'' Dorie Miller is heading to the bridge when a massive explosion hits and he finds the captain of the ''West Virginia'' lying mortally wounded, still spouting orders. Miller tells him everyone is where they need to be and the captain smiles before dying. Miller races through the ship to the XO, who's yelling on the radio to tell him "Sir! Captain's dead, you're in charge, sir!" The XO barely has time to nod before continuing to bark orders.
* In the opening scenes of ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' (on Omaha Beach), Captain Miller receives more or less this exact response from his sergeant after asking who's in command of their area of the beach. He's already in command of most of the men around him, though, he was merely confirming that nobody higher-up was around.
* ''Film/FullMetalJacket'' gives us this line: "You're senior NCO, Cowboy. You're in charge. Continue on with the patrol, and call in at the next checkpoint." Cowboy's response to this lies somewhere at the end of the sliding scale of ''OhCrap''.
* On several occasions in ''Film/Downfall2004'', Hitler randomly promotes officers to higher military positions. General Weidling is ordered to defend Berlin when he only came in to attest that he didn't move his command post and therefore shouldn't be executed. Ritter von Greim is an even better example however: he was also already a general, but when he makes it to the bunker he is put in command of the entire German air force (which is all but completely defunct by this point in time), and told that he has to rebuild it from the ground up. When Hitler starts claiming that he'll be able to give Greim a thousand jet aircraft on short notice, it's become obvious that reality and him don't see eye to eye anymore.
* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'':
** In ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'', [[spoiler:John Connor and his future wife Kate reach the West Coast command bunker, but none of the civilian leadership did because of [=SkyNet's=] interference. So John seizes control of the confused and scattered resistance by default.]]
** [[CanonDiscontinuity Depending on your view]] of how well they fit together, sequel ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'' shows the logical outcome of this: John Connor is an able NCO, seemingly in command of his own "flying column" of loyal troopers and pilots, but still just another grunt in the armies of mankind. When [[spoiler:the rest of the Resistance High Command is killed]], John uses his position as an influential [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection Voice Over the Radio]] to rally the rest of the Resistance around him.

* At the beginning of ''Film/TheMummy1999'', Rick's platoon is holding a defensive position against Medjii when their commander panics and flees to a nearby temple. Benni turns to Rick and notes, "Looks like you just got promoted." Benni joins the commander shortly after.

* A non-military example in ''Film/{{Hoosiers}}''. Coach Dale gets himself taken out of one game, challenging Shooter to step up into the role of coach. After a little fumbling, he does, with some support from his son.
* Deconstructed and then reconstructed in ''Film/AWalkInTheSun''. The platoon keeps losing commanders which puts in serious doubt whether the soldiers can fulfill their mission. The lieutenant and platoon sergeant are killed early on and the next senior sergeant is wounded soon after which leaves the shaky Sgt. Porter in command. His inexperience gets some of the men killed and he gets progressively worse with Sgt. Thyne having to step in to compensate for Porter's poor decisions. The pressure finally gets too much and Porter has a nervous breakdown that leaves Thyne in command. By the end it looks like Thyne will also break but he has the good sense to consult with the other [=NCOs=] and together they come up with a plan that will hopefully let them complete their mission without getting everyone killed.
* In ''Film/FortMassacre'', the unstable Sgt. Vinson has to take command of the regiment after the commanding officer is killed in the heart of [[InjunCountry Apache territory]].
* ''Film/Devotion2022'': A non-lethal example: at the start of the Yalu River mission, Commander Cevoli's landing gear refuses to retract after takeoff, so he hands command of the Corsair wing over to Tom, the next-highest-ranking officer, and returns to the carrier for the duration.
* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'': When [[spoiler:Sao Feng]] is mortally wounded while sailing to Shipwreck Cove, he uses his last moments to name [[spoiler:Elizabeth]] his successor as Captain and a Pirate Lord, giving [[spoiler:her]] his Piece of Eight. Of course, he was under the impression that [[spoiler:Elizabeth was Calypso, and she did nothing to disabuse him of this notion]].
* ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'' has a rare antagonist-to-protagonist case of the trope. [[spoiler:After the devastating attack on Wakanda by [[MakingASplash Namor and his forces]] leaves Queen Ramonda dead by drowning, Namor tells Princess Shuri that she's the Queen now before flying away, his job done.]]
* At the beginning of ''Film/InHarmsWay'', Lieutenant (j.g.) [=McConnell=] is the command duty officer aboard a destroyer that is moored in Pearl Harbor. The captain and first officer are ashore at church. When the Japanese attack begins, [=McConnell=] orders the engine room to light all boilers. When there is enough steam to maneuver, he orders that all lines be cast off and that the ship sortie from the harbor to the open sea. The captain and first officer try to catch up in a harbor launch and come aboard, but [=McConnell=] refuses to slow down for them, as this would make the destroyer an easy target for the Japanese pilots. (This was based on an actual incident.)

* Lt. Havoc finds himself in this position towards the end of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'', [[spoiler:with the added complication that he's also pretending to be Mustang, a Brigadier General.]]

-->-- ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', "Behind the Lines"

* On several occassions in ''Film/{{Downfall}}'', Hitler randomly promotes officers to higher military positions. General Weidling is ordered to defend Berlin when he only came in to attest that he didn't move his command post and therefore shouldn't be executed. Ritter von Greim is an even better example however: he was also already a general, but when he makes it to the bunker he is put in command of the entire German air force (which is all but completely defunct by this point in time), and told that he has to rebuild it from the ground up. When Hitler starts claiming that he'll be able to give Greim a thousand jet aircraft on short notice, it's become obvious that reality and him don't see eye to eye anymore.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' novels:

* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'': On his deathbed, Optimus Prime hands over command of the Autobots, alongside the Matrix of Leadership, to Ultra Magnus. Magnus turns out not to be the worthiest successor, most importantly being unable to open the Matrix. TheChosenOne, Hot Rod ends up opening the Matrix and becoming the new Prime.

* The British Royal Navy created a specific law in 1745 that mandated the death penalty for any and all officers found to have "not done his utmost" in fighting the enemy. This was done in response to the actions of Lt. Baker Phillips who suddenly found himself in command of the HMS Anglesey. The ship's captain was negligent in preparing her for battle and was taken by surprise by the French, who immediately killed all of the senior leaders of the Anglesey except for Phillips in a withering broadside. Phillips surrendered the ship after a brief and futile fight, and was later executed by the English for cowardice. Phillips' execution was wildly decried in the newspapers of the time as being unfair, and so the laws were duly amended to warn everyone down to the lowest midshipman of what might happen to them.

** In ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', Pellaeon is revealed to not have been a full captain at Endor, receiving a YouAreInCommandNow promotion when his captain was killed... and that he, as the survivor with the highest rank, was the one who [[KnowWhenToFoldEm sounded the retreat]]. Due to various {{retcon}}s, Pellaeon now ''was'' a full captain at Endor... it's just that his ship was commanded by an admiral, so he was still second in command until said admiral was killed.

** In the ''Recap/StartOfDarkness'' prequel, [[spoiler:a low-level acolyte of the Goblin god survives when paladins massacre his superiors. One of them lasts long enough to give him the [[ArtifactOfDoom Crimson Mantle]], a powerful artifact that gives him a field promotion to High Priest.]]

** Following Danzo's death, the Leaf votes to have Kakashi become the Sixth Hokage. Before he formally enters into office, however, Tsunade wakes up from her coma and is allowed to resume her tenure, much to Kakashi's relief.

* The rank of Lieutenant implies this possibility: From French, the title translates as "Placeholder", a lower ranking officer who would take the place of TheCaptain should he be absent or incapacitated, hence the word often being used in the titles for NumberTwo positions in various organizations (Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant Colonel, Lieutenant General, Lieutenant Governor, etc.)

* In the ''Series/BabylonFive'' TV movie "[[Recap/BabylonFiveFilm01InTheBeginning In the Beginning]]", Sheridan's greatest victory during the [[HopelessWar Earth-Minbari War]] turns out to be the result of an ambush by the Minbari fleet that destroys all ships but his. Sheridan is the XO on the ship until he notices that his captain has been crushed by a piece of bulkhead. He takes command and manages to destroy the Minbari flagship by luring it into a minefield. Despite not being a full captain at the time, everyone always refers to him being a captain at the time because of this trope. Even Delenn states that only one human captain has ever survived a battle with the Minbari fleet, referring to him. Earthforce appears to follow the naval tradition that the commander of a ship is ''always'' the Captain, regardless of actual grade.

* [[TheHero Tavi]] in Jim Butcher's ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series finds himself in command of the First Aleran Legion when an enemy attack leaves him the sole surviving officer who can command. He goes from being the Third Sub-Tribune to the Tribune Logistica (Third assistant to the Quartermaster, about as low in the chain of command as an officer can get, a position he had never even earned, being appointed there for intelligence-gathering purposes), whose duties to that point consisted mostly of latrine-digging (As punishment from the Quartermaster for catching him at petty embezzling) to commander of a legion. He does far better than anyone else could ever have hoped to.

* ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'' (second book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): Highprince Valam ends up as king of Jah Keved due simply to being the last highprince standing after a succession war--and when he discovers this, he's got a nasty gut wound that will kill him painfully over a few weeks. He realizes that [[spoiler:King Taravangian of the minor city-state of Kharbranth]] is the one who engineered the war in the first place, and that he plans to inherit the kingdom after Valam's death. Valam, rather than waiting for people to "conveniently" discover [[spoiler:Taravangian]]'s claim to inheritance through a distant cousin, has [[spoiler:Taravangian]] named as his heir right then and there, then has his bastard son MercyKill him.