Chapter 18

The First Lieutenant beat an almost hasty retreat.

"I'm Percy Gantry. My usual job is ADC to the Third Space Lord but a so called friend of mine dropped this in my lap. Shall we sit down?" and suited the action to the words.

TJ drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. As he sat he weirded a sound and Morg paused as he sat to look from TJ to Captain Gantry. The only response from Percy was a slight inquisitive raise of an eyebrow. TJ started the sequence and both Percy and he sat stiffly in theirs seats for the duration. Morg watched in fascination at the two as the hours sped by and his own perceptions were again stirred. Nearing the end of second dog, the sequence was complete and Percy 'returned' shaking his head in confusion. The atmosphere was heavy with pheromones. Percy's clothing was saturated and TJ's was damp.

"Now I know why we did that in the nude;" Morg remarked, "you will eat with us, sir? I imagine you are a bit peckish after that; I know I was."

Percy stared from one to the other, glanced at his chronometer and then muttered

"I didn't need to look. We do need to talk — about a lot of things. Can I com the First? He should be taking Eight O'clock Reports."

TJ pointed Percy at the console and said "Try "Bridge"."

Percy spoke briefly to the First Lieutenant informing him there was so much to cover that he would stay in the pilots' suite, make his apologies to Bonder and have a spacer bring down his case.

Morg had begun preparations and TJ had disappeared into the fresher reappearing five minutes later damp and wearing a towel. He headed into his cabin and quickly reappeared in dungarees. TJ answered the door com returning with the case. Morg nodded Percy at the fresher into which Percy disappeared clutching the case. Shortly after his clothing appeared in a pile in the opening.

Morg called "Food's up" and Percy replied "Coming".

Percy appeared in the opening pulling on a light blue shirt just as "CC" (Cissie Cooper) put her head into the rest room.

"Thought I heard the fresher and smelt the food. Thought I'd see if some of us girls could come over la ... sorry, didn't know you had company."

"Don't mind me" Percy stopped her, "I'm just visiting."

CC blatantly looked him up and down,

"We wont mind if you stay if you don't mind us coming" and saw the pile of wet clothes "wondered what I could smell. What were you doing, tag wrestling? Not half high. I'll whip it through the wash. Here grab your things out of it. Be back in twenty."

"CC?" Morg called after her "bring back a linen roll when you come?"

"Suit" her voice drifted back. Morg had dished up and they ate. They had cleared away and set up the coffee; CC carrying a hanger with Percy's clothes entered followed by a group of females. CC put the hanger on a rack without needing to ask directions, Percy noted, and placed the linen roll under the pulled up bunk while the women organised the coffee and produced the munchies to go with them.

The talk was general and a lot of it was about the MBC programme. Percy got involved discussing the pros and cons of the female 'rest' room and the advantages of its proximity to the suite. Percy didn't hear any adverse comments about the arrangements.

One of the women announced 'they had better pack it in'; the group cleared away and some sauntered out, others disappeared into the cabins and CC and her friend helped Percy make up the bunk and probably helped him mess it up.

At breakfast next morning, Percy got to the point

"What did you do to me with that sound and I'm missing three hours. After you explain that, I want to see the shuttle and talk with the marines and then have a talk with you."

TJ gave Percy the quick version with supplementary facts from Morg ending

"The marines do gym about this time — they start moving at end of second — and we usually join them for an hour."

TJ and Morg got into their exercise kit and took Percy to the gym where he was introduced as

"Percy Gantry. From the Admiralty asking questions about the rescue. He doesn't bite."

Percy wandered the gym talking with the marines as they took a breather between progressions. He stayed for several hours and a marine guided him back to the Boat Bay (he hadn't served on BCs — yet). He wasn't surprised that TJ and Morg multitasked as they talked with him. When asked about the Prince, TJ answered,

"I'd just flown the first trip and Morg had done co-pilot and loadmaster ( a truly evil laugh). My turn at that. I was turning and getting out of the left seat and here's this kid eyeballing me from the third seat. Now I know what the expression 'scared me to death' means; 'where did you come from?' and he points at the upper litter; who the Hades are you?' and as cool as you like 'Harold Winsor, I'm the heir. How do you do?' reaches over and shakes my hand and then Morg's. There's a loud pounding on the hatch so I grab the kid getting out, Morg changes over, I plonk the kid down on the third seat and work the hatch. He watches everything I do. I stack the bodies in tight, strap the kid in and do the co-pilot thing. I swear the kid didn't miss a thing. We match on the other side, I unstrap the kid, work the hatch and then throw him out first and get onto the rest of them. Great kid. Love to meet him sometime but not on our shuttle in the middle of a rescue. Somebody's arse needs kicking over that. The only person with special minders and he's the only loose one we get aaarrrggghhhh."

Percy found the story very amusing but then he hadn't had to face a choleric Queen.

It was well into afternoon watch when Percy got into the details regarding the acquisition of the shuttle and then how TJ and Morg started as pilots. This led into the Rescue and Salvage course and the real HM Herald Tender "Tangerine" and this opened up the beacon bouy story. Percy didn't quite look disbelievingly at TJ who sighed,

"Muties' Oath?"

"You just made that up" Percy accused and as TJ nodded "Suit, my oath."

TJ then startled Percy with the account of FTL and brought him up to date. The company internal reports were saying that sets were coming off the line at ten per week. More than enough to equip the beacon bouys with the extras steadily filling up the star systems of the kingdom. A decision had soon to be made as to whether to extend into and across the Orion — Perseus gap first or equip the Navy first. Navy was looking at about a year's output whereas the Gap could go on 'for ever'.

Morg said

"Navy! There'll be war in five years"

and neither of the others disagreed.

"Aviation wants your flying details;" Percy got onto his last item "have you kept logs?"

"Of course" Morg said almost indignantly and produced the log books.

"Oh my," Percy didn't know whether to laugh or cry; if he took copies of Shuttle Transport Logbooks back, Aviation was going to go ballistic — truckies piloting our shuttles — "Have you got electronic records by any chance?"

To Percy's relief, both TJ and Morg nodded, produced their PDAs, and the information transferred. For good measure the shuttle's logs were transferred as well. Percy was intrigued by the PDA and the potted version was trotted out.

"You pair seem to have had an interesting past five years" Percy opined and TJ and Morg could not disagree. Percy examined the pilot's logs and then the shuttle's logs and the deeper he got into them the more he swung from amusement to fear at the probable reaction of the Aviation wing in the Admiralty. Just about every aviation regulation had been broken, shattered or plain just disregarded. Each pilot had clocked up yearly just over a thousand hours in command, plus a thousand hours as co-pilot who doubled as crew chief / loadmaster. Then they performed all the maintenance on the shuttle except for the Workshop Maintenance. Percy queried this,

"We took the odd weekend off and flew her to "Hespethetis" and the Master Chief worked on her. We helped out of course" was Morg's answer.

"Did you clowns ever take leave?"

TJ looked at Morg who looked back and then both looked at Percy and shook their heads. Percy put his head in his hands and metaphorically wept.

It was just as TJ was preparing the evening meal,

"TJ. Morg." Percy began. "You aren't going to be able to stay on "Naseby" and you wont be piloting. Your tour is about over anyway and Naval Aviation will make sure of that. Gunlayer is out, Navy can't afford to put you somewhere as gunlayers — the opposition would kill us in Parliament and embarrass the Sovereign. I don't even want to think how much leave you have accumulated. And your flight pay is going to drive somebody crazy as it is calculated on a maximum of thirty hours a week and not doing anything else for the rest of the week.

You are both getting another decoration out of this and the First Space Lord's already made that decision.

So, if you could have whatever you want in the Navy, what would you ask for?"

"Couriers" TJ instantly replied.

"That was quick" Percy was startled and TJ then explained the reasoning.

Percy spent another evening in the suite. The men stirred at eight second and the women made their farewells. The head, fresher and grab a bite to eat and TJ and Morg escorted Captain Gantry to the port air lock and he was gone. Six morning found TJ and Morg in Captain Bonder's office bringing the staff up to date on the course of the enquiry,

"TJ, Morg," Captain Bonder wound it up "I think we are going to come out of this not quite smelling of roses but not in the bucket either. Thank you for your efforts while on "Naseby" and your reports will reflect that."

"Naseby" went off on another short patrol passing by the wreck of "Titan" finding her far too hot to approach even as close as before.

Captain Percy Gantry's return was noted and the word flashed around the Admiralty but everybody acted as if nothing unusual was in the wind. Dame Diana Halliday acceded to his wishes to hide himself in a friendly closet to write up his report and she pointedly did not ask to be given a copy of the finished report — just smiled at him and patted his shoulder. He took several days to complete it even though it was only forty eight kilobytes. The appended chips took up a couple of megabytes.

He had commed Bert Spacer for an appointment to see the "Old Man" to be told to be ready at his home at six morning tomorrow and he would be transported to the Admiral's Residence and expect to spend the day. Admiral Webster was experienced in arranging unofficial working endweeks at his residence and his wife had everything laid on for the men to feed and water themselves without her (or anybody else) being around.

Percy gave a verbal report and then the discussion began.

The usefulness of a BC having an armed shuttle was dissected. Percy pointed out that Aviation and the Marines would baulk at their being used as a shuttle truck but the "Old Man" dismissed that by stating they would accept it because Defence would only provide funding for the dual role and line officers, once the use for transport was authorised would fight to the death to keep the facility. Their usefulness for merchant inspections in open space by being armed as compared to a pinnace had very favourably impressed Bonder and his report in the appendices was carefully studied in that regard. The enthusiasm of the admittedly depleted Marine presence on "Naseby" at having 'Tangerine' for both training and operational use in inspections was reinforced by some blunt speaking by the senior Marine in 3rd BC who was positively scathing at the absence of Assault Shuttles which denigrated having Marines on board in the first place and at the small number in the detachments which weren't even effective in mounting sentry over the Captain's suite and the CIC.

The record of TJ and Morg's flight duties was the next item on the agenda. The total number of hours flown indicated that armed shuttles were useful adjuncts for a BC. Percy pointed out that part of the success was due to 737's being basically brand new and the amazing ability of the two pilots being able with the assistance of the marines to undertake the maintenance. Another part of the success was the absolutely luxurious (by any Navy standard) living quarters they had enjoyed maximising the rest time which they were able to take. Percy had to explain Aviation's passion about adequate suitable rest times by restricting flight hours and whilst Percy expressed the personal opinion that the empire making might have gone a trifle too far, there was more than adequate justification for their stand.

The next part of their performing those hours was that they hadn't known any better because of their unorthodox entry into flight duties and it was only that they were exceptional persons that it had been possible. That being said, Percy stated that removing the unorthodoxy by utilising the Flight Training School meant that average persons could be trained to combat fly an Assault Shuttle and continuing he said there was a need for properly trained officers to command such squadrons but not necessarily a shuttle itself.

The last factor in the incredible hours accumulated was the availability of mixed company in an atmosphere of friendliness. Percy fully recounted his discussions with the women about the way in which the 'store room' was utilised and the ready intermingling of the sexes in the suite. Percy had done his research. On "Naseby's" previous tour, she had a yearly 'incompatability' transfer average of three which was the lowest in the Fleet. On the instant tour, she has had only one during the three years with 3rd Fleet. Percy bluntly told the "Old Man" that the suite provided stud services to randy women and the attitude of TJ and Morg to the women was probably unique in the Universe. He personally doubted if the fluke chain of circumstances could be repeated; Percy considered that any Captain would be happy to duplicate "Naseby's" previous results.

Percy admitted the question of 737's immaculate conception was one on which he sought divine guidance. He accepted the story of its raising from the dead as presented second hand by TJ. However it raised questions which might better be left to 'faith'. Without subjecting the matter to engineering analysis, Percy's interpretation of the Minnow class specifications was that the forces to which 737 had been subjected were outside the design limits. Further problems this thought uncovered were firstly, just who had rebuilt her and secondly where had the parts come from. BuShips, of which he, Captain Gantry was a part, was not aware of any unaccounted parts or stores or of manhours — the parts certainly hadn't been stolen as the parts were still in Navy possession — just in a different form, assembled. Webster sighed and instructed Percy to quietly look into it. Irregularities could be accepted but not if they could lead to misappropriation and 'don't stir up the nest too much as Internal Audit appeared satisfied'.

They agreed pay, allowances and leave should be left to those whose job it was to specifically deal with such matters; the problem was what to do with the two spacers. First problem which had a bearing on the second was the next posting and then their rank. The "Old Man" would have to authorise a news release for the media particularly in view of the feeding frenzy caused by the rescue. Percy submitted the request for 'couriers' and was told it would be given due consideration.