Chapter 24

Bill Sorenson attended the dinner and brought everyone up to date on Ivy.

Sally told them of events in the fleet; Milligan was heading for Plans in First Space Lord, Strathlawn was to replace Milligan on completion of his shuttle pilot training as Rear Admiral, Bonder was for "Monarch" and Percy Gantry escaped the Admiralty to have "Naseby". TJ and Morg reported on events on "Tulip" (somewhat adjusted for the audience but no one hearing it was fooled) and TJ regaled them with the story of the Bastille Day reception. Naturally, the women focussed on the most important part — 'what exactly did the "Tulip" officers wear?' TJ mischievously began to describe his mess dress until Berryl fixed him with a glare which should have shrivelled his innards. Morg saved his friend by throwing holos of Clare and of Shirley above the table. Being a mere male, Bill disregarded the holos and latched onto the Soyn. The women then interrogated Morg about the fabrics and Morg had to retrieve his No 1s to show the spider silk.

Meanwhile Bill had TJ locked down about the Soyns and 'what have you done with your old(?) Meteors?' Foreseeing such possibilities, TJ had brought ten Soyns down with him; he and Morg still had their Meteors but hadn't completed transferring the data.

"Your mother and father, two," Bill counted, "swap Ivy's and mine, four; leaves you six..."

"Five" interrupted Sally who had also noticed the Soyn and kept a quarter of an ear on the second conservation.

"Five" Bill agreed "and I'll retrieve the, ahem, four 'old' Meteors and get some useful points. Hmmm, now; any ideas on the others, no? I'd suggest Neville and Logan for two of them — they are both good people to have on side."

"Suits!" TJ agreed and the men huddled over the PDAs and the women discussed the 'shopping list' they'd give to TJ after having agreed to lighten "Tulip's" load by a bolt of spider silk (two bolts were used in uniforms to Berryl's utter disgust — Sally was ambivalent but agreed she would find a better use than uniform) four bolts of 'Rish linen and four of yak wool; neither TJ or Morg got a say on the fabric.

"I'll fix it with Julie," Berryl airily waved away their protests "and besides you have forgotten Ivy so we'll have to share."

(Constable Sorenson, who was known to regularly visit the Heralds' Office on official business, paid a routine visit at a time Captain Logan was passing by and the men stayed chatting and admiring PDA holos of their children and it would have required an expert at 'pea under the pod' to have detected the PDA shuffle.)

TJ Snr, joined his family for endweek and 'warries' were swapped with the usual macabre mirth demonstrated by people once called 'aviators'. The discussion did get serious later with the muties hearing of the network beginning to form and the straws of the gathering storm. Morg's and TJ's observations of yards, and reports of warships encountered were subjects clearly exercising Captain Strathlawn's mind. He also had another firm idea,

"Get your contacts to put up a polar directional rebro pointing at the nearest Langrangian point soonest — don't tell them it's the Langrangian, just give them the direction reference and let them think we have spyships hovering to take their every word. The sooner they are up the longer authorities have to become used to having them up there, hidden in plain sight of course" and in response to TJ's sidelong glance at his mother "my studied silence drove your mother 'nuts' and she woke Julie in the middle of their night to discuss telling me about the FTL. Julie and I had a long discussion about our origins — quite interesting with what Ivy ferreted out."

(Lone Ranger was still tightly held in Gorgipest, TJ was pleased to note.)

TJ Snr recounted, with amusement, the reaction of the Academy 'aviation' at having the father of the hero of the "Titan", a full captain and frocked Rear Admiral, as a trainee; there were certainly mixed emotions but overall professionalism won out.

He also told of the reaction of the 'fossils' to the news that T.P. Numbar and Leybai had purchased Marine 737 (at surplus to requirement disposal auction by tender) and put her on display as a paying exhibit over at Meigs Landing Field, with attached videma continuously showing the MBC vid and the chips not used in the programme; inside black armoured holo of TJ catching holos and stacking them like cordwood watched over by a holo of Prince Harold standing on the third seat and outside a holo of chameleon armoured figures lashing lifeboats of terrified passengers to the hull. Settlement Area flight control had thrown a conniption fit at the suggestion of 737 lobbing lifeboats full of paying visitors into a mock up of "Naseby's" boat bay. TJ Snr had found it all hilarious — he at least could hide on his ship; but Berryl had ground bus loads admiring the house where TJ grew up and had lost her sense of humour early on. After two years, it was down to three or four a week.

...

The layover passed quickly and Berryl accompanied TJ and Morg to "Tulip" to retrieve 'her bolts'. It also allowed Berryl to talk with the "Tulips" and assess the ambience — nothing so crass as closely inspecting the females with whom TJ was associating. The Bosun gave Berryl a guided tour — because she was TJ's mother and had nothing at all to do with 'what does this woman have that had 'Ready Teddy' Strathlawn searching for her for two decades?' Cordial relations were established and on departure the Bosun and Cissie Cooper promised to tell Berryl if TJ misbehaved himself, which left Shirley Wood hurriedly excusing herself.

Clare informed the boat's company of the XO's impending departure and sailing still four short. Machinist 1st Jones had been cleared for duty early and been posted to HMS "Madrigal", a BB; Clare Gillard then had a conference with her officers and the two senior ORs. She proposed that an Officer of the Watch would be physically present on the bridge during Middle and Morning, and during the other watches one of the watchkeepers would be 'on call'. Clare told them she would be on the on call roster. The present training schedule was to continue and lecturers please post a proposed curriculum on the 'puter notices. The only non-emergency time the full crew would stand to would be manning for leaving and entering harbour.

Clare had escorted the Senior Messenger to the safe documents and seen the sealed bags locked away. Shirley escorted the other Messenger to the main 'puter and the data dump performed. The routines for departure proceeded and at the appropriate part of the ritual, the commander was informed and entered the bridge. Main engines were started and "Tulip" 'cast off' (the Bosun had got that plate repaired) for Bhute.

Standing down from departure stations resulted in a slight crush in the mess (aka 'the common room' with the crew touching base; Berryl's visit was openly discussed and TJ interrogated about his mother and how had she ... TJ was able to openly discuss his mother and pointed out that officially he was the child of a widow; which statement succeeded in distracting the questioners.

TJ raised the point that the fabric 'store' contained only six bolts of 'Rish linen, eight of yak wool, and one of black spider silk. He suggested a couple of the lower deck get together with Morg and look at establishing a store of fabrics apart from what the crew would purchase for private and or family use. The store would be self-funding with Lucy's donation the foundation; Morg and he now donated the material already used but they needed to keep four bolts of 'Rish, four of yak wool and that last bolt of spider silk for their family (the Kingdom was not a provider of any exotic fabrics).

Of course this led to what was available at Bhute, Wolton's Star and Helena. Bhute was known for its synthetics and Helena for a fine long fibre wool; no one knew much about Woltons. 'Nita James made a rude noise and informed the group they were totally 'iggerent' if they hadn't heard of Bhutes 'Biologicals' — an open weave type of material which just 'kerluunnggg' to you, moulded to your body with body warmth and there was some which became translucent and you could get it in any colour; no sewing just edge to edge it, apply some solution and it grew together.

"Oohhh, I've seen it once and its positively gorgeous" 'Nita raved "but dammit I cant wear the stuff with this top hamper of mine; I'm huge"

"And that's a problem?" Morg smirked and then shrunk as every female eye glared at him. Because 'Nita regarded Morg as her special friend who gave her all the help she wanted, she explained,

"Morg, these are heavy and it gives me aches which you rub out for me; as much as I love the back rubs I'd rather them just a trifle smaller — well lighter really but unfortunately large means heavvyyy. Also gravity doesn't help. I know they can be firmed but its like playing with a wooden cone What I'd really like is the reduction the reducers do on the Pleasure Planet but you have to lie down after for six weeks while the skin takes up and I'm a working girl who can't afford to be looked after for six weeks. Nor the cost of the tit job to be realistic about it. Anyway, fabrics..."

The conversation continued with Morg only listening with one ear.

Next day, Morg went looking for TJ, to find him in the men's lounge,

"What's on your mind? You're 'broidering circuits again?"

"Denny. Tuning a ship to its shields. I think I can tune the ship to the surrounding space, well n space, hyper needs sails to travel and I can't see a way of tuning them at all."

"Oh! I wanted to talk to you 'bout 'Nita. She does complain about that chest of hers. I was thinking of miniaturising anti gravity equipment to hold up breast weight."

TJ slowly pocketed his 'broidery, in the face of a here and now solvable problem; he turned to Orville

"Orville, what size power source is needed to lift, say two kilogrammes indefinitely?"

"Oh, two long life power cells, rechargeable, replaceable, in a converter; hhmm, fifty mil by twenty by twenty, weigh ... aahh, twenty five grammes — could ovalise it or shape it to suit. I can knock one up in a day or so."

"Shape an antigravity pad to underside a breast," Morg started to run with the idea, "you can get them down to a mil thick, treat the surface to become adherent with body heat, even flesh toned or perhaps transparent. Power source tucked between breasts. Thank you, fellas; I'll talk with 'Nita and nail down the details.

The watches fell such that 'Nita, and later Dulcie, joined Morg in his cabin. 'Nita and Morg were relaxing and discussing 'Nita's breasts.

"You cant be a 'tit' man, Morg, not with my size" Dulcie protested.

"I'm a 'person' man, Dulcie; but I got thinking about 'Nita's breast problem. and got the "Men's Trust" going. 'Nita says you can't put the power source between the breasts as the bulge would figuratively destroy the flow of the line and she is right. Putting it between the thighs does the same unless the wearer is model shaped and they don't have breasts anyway. And of course, there would be a wire to run and that limits the fabrics and cuts."

Conversation faded thereafter as the concentration changed.

Next day, Clare Gillard, who was in the full breasted category, approached Morg as he sat in the Common Room for his 'watch'.

"Dulcie was telling me about your solution for heavy breasts. I like the idea of the anti gravity pads and they will work as the technology exists. Hello Cissie, we're talking about the problem with large mammaries."

"Don't have a problem meself but you'll make a fortune if you can do it" Cissie opined.

"The wire run could be managed" Clare continued " as I remember reading a home medical handbook as a kid and it was talking about the history of heart problems of centuries ago with wires running into the heart from batteries placed in the armpit."

"That would rule out sleeveless backless whatever" Cissie pointed out.

"And the power source would be permanently in place" Clare continued "permantly outputting power unless switched and that presents problems."

"We could put the wire under the skin to the groin region and have an induction coil on the end of it to go next to the power source. But where would you put the power source?"

The women exchanged 'stupid men' looks before staring at Morg who finally 'got it' and turned crimson causing both women to burst out laughing which only increased when Cissie asked,