Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure (65 page)

             
"
That
shouldn
'
t
be
possible.
Didn
'
t
we
arrange
to
have
her
propulsion
reduced
in
spec?
What
happened?
"

             
"
Her
Engineering
Commander
picked
up
the
underspec
on
just
about
everything
–
and
there
'
s
been
a
bit
of
a
row
about
it.
Ribble
was
dismissed
and
is
under
investigation,
the
whole
place
is
now
under
the
control
of
a
Fleet
Flag
Officer
and
they
'
ve
replaced
everything
in
the
propulsion
systems
and
engineering
that
we
'
d
managed
to
downrate.
"

             
"
The
Chairman
isn
'
t
going
to
like
that
at
all,
"
the
Security
Director
replied.
"
He
doesn
'
t
like
failure.
OK,
leave
that
one
with
me,
I
still
have
a
couple
of
aces
in
my
hand,
including
some
changes
we
'
ve
slipped
in
on
her
weapons
fit.
"
He
paused,
"
Anything
else
on
the
trials?
"

             
"
Yes,
she
'
s
going
back
onto
the
dock
to
complete
the
fitting
out
and
then
she
goes
into
workup.
They
are
saying
she
'
ll
be
operational
in
nine
months.
And
her
full
complement
of
strike
craft
is
to
be
shipped
in
the
next
two.
"

             
"
Right.
What
about
her
sister
ship?
"

             
"
Vengeance
?
She
'
s
been
brought
forward.
By
the
time
the
Vanguard
starts
her
workup,
Vengeance
will
be
fully
plated
and
under
atmosphere.
Twelve
months
tops
and
she
'
ll
be
operational.
"

             
The
Director
of
Security
cut
his
link
and
leaned
back.
Bad
news,
he
'
d
done
his
best
and
his
agents
had
worked
hard.
Someone
in
Fleet
had
obviously
spotted
the
substitutions
and
the
plan
had
fallen
apart
a
bit.
And
the
Chairman
wasn
'
t
going
to
be
happy.
Ari
Khamenei
wasn
'
t
a
man
who
forgave
failure
either.
He
frowned.
He
'
d
never
really
been
able
to
get
a
handle
on
the
Chairman,
half
the
time
he
seemed
reasonable
and
very
pleasant,
but
then
you
saw
the
other
side
of
him
when
things
went
wrong
–
and
that
was
something
you
didn
'
t
want
to
see
too
often.
He
straightened
up
and
keyed
a
link
code,
well,
if
you
have
to
hand
out
bad
news,
choose
your
day
and
your
time
carefully.

*
*
*

             
"
The
trials
have
gone
far
better
than
expected,
"
the
Admiral
told
Captain
Heron
as
they
relaxed
in
the
Captain
'
s
quarters
resplendent
in
Mess
Undress
uniforms.
"
Thanks
largely
to
your
Heads
of
Department
I
suspect.
"
He
sipped
his
drink
appreciatively.
"
Your
Engineering
Commander
may
be
small
and
petite
looking
but
I
think
a
few
of
the
staff
here
won
'
t
be
keen
to
get
on
her
wrong
side
again
in
a
hurry.
I
could
use
her
here
you
know.
Think
she
'
d
be
interested
in
a
transfer?
"

             
"
Mary?
"
He
grinned.
"
She
just
might
be
,
you
could
ask
her
at
dinner.
Though
I
should,
of
course,
object
to
her
taking
it,
sir.
I
think
my
need
is
greater
than
yours,
with
respect.
New
ship,
untried
tech
on
board?
I
need
the
very
best
here.
"

             
The
Admiral
studied
him
for
a
moment
over
the
rim
of
his
glass,
a
smile
twitching
the
corners
of
his
mouth
as
he
said,
"
I
could
insist,
but
I
take
your
point,
"
he
said.
"
I
might
just
demand
her
services
in
future
–
rank
does
have
some
privileges.
"

             
"
Of
course,
sir,
"
the
Captain
replied.
He
knew
the
Admiral
well
and
this
was
a
game
they
often
played.
Changing
the
subject
he
said,
"
Fritz
tells
me
that
the
AI
system
exceeds
everything
the
designers
expected.
In
fact
he
'
s
pretty
convinced
the
ship
is
at
least
partly
self-aware.
"

             
"
So
he
told
me.
I
must
admit
that
since
they
began
fitting
these
implants
into
all
us
senior
officers
I
have
occasionally
wondered
about
that.
Sometimes
I
only
have
to
wonder
where
I
can
find
the
information
I
need
and
it
appears
on
my
screen
or
tablet.
It
'
s
a
bit
disconcerting.
"