Ark Royal (53 page)

“That’s good,” Molly said, reluctantly.  She took the cheque and folded it into her pocket.  “I ...”

“I missed you too,” Kurt said.  It was true, in a way.  “And thank you for waiting.”

He picked his wife up and carried her into the bedroom.  It had been a long time, far longer than just his deployment to
Ark Royal
, yet there was something ... odd about their lovemaking.  Afterwards, he lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling.  What was different now?  His experience with Rose ... or realising that, perhaps, Molly didn't really miss him when he was gone.

His terminal bleeped.  When he picked it up, he saw a message from Rose.  She'd been assigned to Luna Academy too.

Kurt cursed under his breath, torn between delight and bitter guilt.  It made sense to send Rose there; her experience, after all, wasn't too different from his.  And she could relate to the younger pilots better than himself.  But he also knew that he would be tempted, horribly tempted, to get back into bed with her.  Maybe he could bring Molly and the kids to the moon with him ...

... And Gayle had practically been living with the family.

He looked over at Molly’s sleeping form, wonderingly.  Had she been desperate enough to pay Gayle to stay when she was in the house ... or had she been elsewhere?  And, if so, where?  Had she been having an affair ?  Had she been having an affair
too
?  But why didn’t the prospect bother him?  Had he fallen out of love with his wife and never really noticed?

Kurt sighed and tried to sleep, putting the mystery aside for a later day.

But sleep was a long time in coming.

***

“Congratulations, Admiral,” Commander – no,
Captain
– Fitzwilliam said.

“Thank you,” Ted said.  “And congratulations to you too.”

They stood together, looking down through the observation blister at
Ark Royal’s
dented launch tube.  The shipyard workers were already at it, removing the damaged components and rapidly replacing them with devices built from scratch.  Given a week, Ted had been promised, the carrier would be as good as new.  He hoped, devoutly, that they were right.

“We did well, sir,” Fitzwilliam said, finally.  “I received a v-mail from Major Parnell.  He and his men are being feted all over Hereford.”

“I know,” Ted agreed.  Hereford was the home of the SAS, still the best special forces unit in the whole damn human sphere.  For the Royal Marines to be feted so openly meant that they’d done something truly extraordinary.  But then, who else had captured an alien ship?  “He’ll be back soon.”

He smiled at the thought.  The Admiralty had handed out promotions all round, although most of the senior crew had refused to leave the carrier.  Given their fame, the Admiralty hadn't bothered to argue.  Besides, who else was more experienced with the ancient carrier?

His smile grew wider.  The aliens probably knew
Ark Royal
now, knew her and feared her.  For a ship that had come alarmingly close to being scrapped, it was no small achievement.

And for a drunkard, the medals on his chest – from every spacefaring human power and some of the ones that remained trapped on Earth - were no small achievement either.

“Yes,” he said, finally.  “We did very well.”

The End

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