Christopher Nuttall - Ark Royal

He held out a hand as Rose stood up. “Hold on,” he said, as the other pilots cleared the room. “I want a word with you.”

Rose looked up at him crossly, then sat down again, one hand toying with her short blonde hair. She wasn't unattractive, Kurt knew, but her permanently soured expression made it harder to feel any attraction for her. Not that was a bad thing, he reminded himself hastily. He was a married man. Once the other pilots were gone, he closed the hatch and sat down facing her.

“You're having personal problems,” he said, silently damning himself for ever agreeing to take the CAG post. He was meant to fly with the pilots as well as discipline them. A normal CAG wouldn't fly at all, except in emergencies. “And they’re affecting your performance.”

Rose scowled. “That’s none of your bloody business,” she snapped. “With all due respect, sir…”

Kurt cut her off. “You’re an excellent flier when you put your mind to it, but you're being distracted,” he said. There was no point in penalising her for her tone. “Either share your problems with me or put them out of your mind, for good.”

“It's my boyfriend,” Rose said, softly. “He’s… he’s been deployed with the unified defence force.”

It took Kurt a moment to put it together. Her file hadn't been too clear on what she’d actually done to be sent to Ark Royal ; indeed, the comments had been so elliptical that he hadn't been able to work them out. But if she’d been sleeping with a fellow pilot, perhaps even one in the same squadron…

He shook his head. Fraternisation between crewmembers was a dirty little secret within the Royal Navy; it wasn't meant to happen, but everyone knew someone who’d engaged in sexual relationships while on deployment. Sometimes, a commanding officer would turn a blind eye; sometimes, the happy couple would be broken up, normally by having one of them reassigned to a different starship. There was no formal regulations, but informally it depended on just how badly the relationship affected discipline.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, and meant it. He’d never had a relationship with another pilot, but he knew just how intense such relationships could become. “But you can't let it affect your duties.”

Rose sagged. “I know that,” she said, weakly. “What do you suggest I do?”

“Write him v-mails, then forget about it,” Kurt said. He paused, feeling a sudden flush of embarrassment. “Remember that some v-mails may be viewed by security officers now that we’re in a state of war.”

He smiled at her expression. It hadn't been that long ago that a girlfriend had composed v-mails to her boyfriend in the navy, including videos of her naked and performing sexual acts with a girlfriend. Somehow — Kurt suspected treachery — the videos had been distributed through the naval communications network and then into the planetary datanet. The resulting inquiry hadn't been able to place the blame.

“I don’t think I have time to be explicit,” Rose said. She gave him a smile that completely transformed her face. “Thank you, sir.”

Kurt dismissed her, then turned his attention to his terminal. A new v-mail from Molly had popped into the ship’s datanet, allowing him to view it now he was alone. It wasn't even remotely explicit; Molly reported that Penny still wasn't doing too well at school, while Kurt’s boss had warned that he might have to find a replacement if Kurt didn't return to work soon. Technically, it was illegal to sack a reservist who had been called back to the colours, but Kurt understood his boss’s dilemma. He couldn’t afford to pay Kurt’s salary while receiving nothing in return and it might be months or years before government compensation appeared.

He shook his head, ruefully, as Molly kept outlining the problems with Penny. Their daughter was smart enough to understand just how incompetent her teacher was, according to Molly, which led her to act badly in class. But Kurt knew that there would always be incompetent assholes in the world… and many of them would be in places of power. Penny was doing herself no favours by challenging her tutor…

Shaking his head, he keyed the switch and started to record another message. Maybe another lecture from her father would help. Or maybe she’d just keep rebelling against her parents…

“I have the final set of medical reports,” Midshipwoman Lopez said, once she had stepped into James’s cabin and closed the hatch behind her. “Doctor Hastings requests that you make time to discuss a handful of issues with her.”

“Understood,” James said, as he took the datapad she offered him and glanced down at it thoughtfully. Regulations stated that every officer and crewman had to undergo a complete physical examination, but putting them off as long as possible was an old Royal Navy tradition. He’d set a good example by reporting for his own exam as soon as the doctor had configured sickbay to her liking, yet he’d still had to chase the other senior officers to force them to put time aside to see the doctor. “Take a seat.”

He studied the younger woman as she sat down, resting her hands on her lap. Midshipwoman Lopez’s file was curiously empty, without even the codes that might imply that there were details well above his level of access. As far as he could tell, she’d gone through the Academy — she hadn't been part of the honours class, but she’d hardly done badly — and then been assigned to Ark Royal . It made no sense. None of the original crew had been assigned to Ark Royal without screwing up at one point or another. But Midshipwoman Lopez seemed to be the exception.

Maybe she annoyed someone , he thought. But who could a Midshipwoman annoy who would assign her to Ark Royal ? It was true that some Admirals could be hellishly vindictive, but something so blatant would only attract attention — and the old boy’s network had ways to deal with Admirals who abused their positions too much.

He threw caution to the winds and asked. “Why are you here?”

“You told me you wanted the reports as soon as possible,” Midshipwoman Lopez said. “I brought them to you…”

“Not now,” James said. “Why are you assigned to Ark Royal ?”

“I requested it,” Midshipwoman Lopez said.

James gaped at her, unable to even try to control his expression. He had requested the assignment to Ark Royal , but he'd assumed that he would be her CO. If that hadn't seemed likely, he would have tried to take a position on one of the more modern carriers. Even if he hadn't been promoted to command, he would have been well-placed to take command later, once his CO moved onwards.

But someone as hopelessly junior as a midshipwoman? She would always have the shadow of Ark Royal looming over her, reminding her future commanding officers that she would require extensive retraining to serve on a modern starship. Maybe, just maybe, she’d assumed that she would climb the ranks on Ark Royal , but that would still leave her on a starship that should be sent to the breakers. Unless she'd known, somehow, that Ark Royal would be called back to service…

He shook his head, dismissing the thought. That was impossible.

“You requested it,” he repeated. It wasn't uncommon for graduating officers to request postings… but, unless they were in the top ten places at the Academy, it was rare for a newly-minted officer to receive the post they wanted. But there would be almost no competition for slots on Ark Royal . “Might I ask why?”

Midshipwomen Lopez hesitated. “My maternal grandfather was the Elected King of Karees,” she said, after a long moment. “The population was one of the more eccentric asteroid civilisations… until one day there was a major life support failure and the entire asteroid had to be evacuated. Ark Royal was the Royal Navy starship that responded to the crisis and took my grandfather and his people onboard.”