Chapter 69

"This McCock fellow seems a bright young man. I like his ideas."

Sir Victor Carlton glanced across at his putative commanding officer as that person flicked across the screen in his PDA.

"And why's that Sir?"

Captain acting Commodore Peter Scott RMN shifted his eyes to look at the other occupant of the office. Carlton was tinkering with the entrails of the desk's 'puter,

"You will be able to put that back together again, won't you, Chief? I might need it from time to time for things like planning ops and perhaps checking on the Wings' maintenance."

Carlton looked equally firmly back,

"Young? He's older that the Admiral, not by much, though; he graduated a year behind her."

"Oh so you have an interest? What sparked yours?"

"I take the odd glass with friends from time to time over at the Mess at "Styx". I got talking with a couple of Avers, local lads. The Senior Avers on Mountserrat, keep in touch with their lot in Gorgipest. Got quite worried after the Harbourian Raid. Not much in the faxes about it but seems someone they called 'the Cockerel' who from what they say must have a hard time walking about because of the size of his brass ones, really pulled some cindered chestnuts out of the fire. Blasted a Harbourian BC squadron with lightning bolts, rebuilt the yards, made himself a personal fleet, and sails off to lay it at the Queen's feet. Thought it was a line of BS until "The Queen's Own" joined".

He snorted,

"119 Squadron (Reinforced), my painful ass! That's an independent raider group; and its so called Commodore is one Hezbedick Mathius Samuel McCock. My contacts in Personnel had never heard of him. They looked him up and the only thing they could find was an entry that said refer all enquires to Second Space Lord. My friends aren't like me, they can't leave a thing alone so a good friend of mine, a Senior Chief Warrant, got Sir Laurence's secretary aside and asked her. The next thing he knew he was in front of Sir Laurence himself getting a new one. Left it alone after that. I then wandered down to the library and pulled the Academy's list of graduated and there he was, HMS McCock, third in his year. Grenoble Defence Force. The GDF has been non existent for about six decades and the man is only forty nine. Out of pure curiosity you understand, I don't like people who one-up their friends, I looked up Who's Who in Mountserrat. There he is. Not an entry for himself – his parents, refugees from Grenoble, eventual owner of several large buildings downtown CBD Settlement, and the Bollard Line. Now they'll never take over 'Peninsula' but Bollard are serious players. Remember up at Raffles, we saw more that just an occasional merchie of theirs. HMS McCock recorded as only son and heir. Older parents. Heard he had a nickname "Aggy" at Sandhurst College. Had an idea and tracked down RMA&M and there he was again. There are all sorts of rumours about him. After Sandhurst College he drops off the face of the galaxy. Rumours he reappears a decade later and puts in a decade up in Paracelsus on convoy duty. There's a story that one of the shipmates elopes with Augustus's grand daughter – since we're not at war with the Amiranti I don't believe that one. Funny thing is that 119 DD Squadron was up there at that time. Disappears again and now commands 119 Sqdn (Reinforced) which just so happen has four of the original five which were broken up. No, Sir, I'm not curious about him, I just want to know who's watching my flank."

"I've heard a lot of rumours too. Had you heard those Riders he's got are crewed by mostly retired Avers. There is some very serious talent there and the boast is they can repair anything. I was in command centre other day, and a spare screen was on a Rider. A 'Grendel' heaves alongside; the boat bay opens and out come this thing, an armed cutter its carried as. For half an hour or so its worked on and then goes off at a fair clip. We follow it out to the Training Area, not literally, on the screen. It gets up to six forty and then it disappears, just like that. I'm beginning to panic. It reappears just crossing out of PRD, returns to its boat bay, the lid closes and off goes the 'Grendel'. That got my interest. I went to visit and find out what's going on. Can't get an invitation. So I get into the 'puters – nothing. I got the same idea as you. 119. Found that Gold Roper was the last and just about the only RMN commanding officer. Looked up Gold Roper in the Journal; with a co – author one HMS McCock. Evan was a quite competent captain but a deep thinker he was not. McCock wrote this."