“It may well make your career,” James said, although he didn't have the slightest idea of why anyone would have thought that too.  “But it will not, I'm afraid, be safe.”

Yang stood.  “If you don’t mind, Commander, I have to go file a report,” he said.  “Can I leave Barbie in your capable hands?”

James blinked in surprise.  Yang knew perfectly well there was no way to file a report, not until they returned to Earth or sent another ship back in their place.  It puzzled him until he looked at Barbie – so that was her name – and realised that she was on the verge of crying.  He scowled at Yang’s retreating back, then wondered just who had wanted to be rid of her.  Maybe she was too silly to be considered an asset even in the most liberal mainstream media outlet ...

Or maybe someone made her boss send her away, James thought, ruefully.  From what he’d heard, media outlets were driven by feuds and jealousies that made the aristocracy look calm and reasonable.  She seduced someone and her rival exacted a little revenge ...

“It isn't safe at all,” he confirmed.  “But the Old Lady is a tough little ship.  She’ll survive.”

Barbie – absently, he wondered if that was just a media name – reached out and gave him a hug.  James hesitated, then returned the hug, feeling her body pressing against his.  She felt odd, almost childish, to the touch.  The feeling was disturbing on a very primal level, so he pushed her away as soon as he decently could.  Up close, her body seemed almost too thin to be sexual.  According to her file, she was in her mid-twenties.  He would have questioned if she was barely entering her teens.

“Thank you,” she said.  She stepped backwards and turned, allowing him to see her buttocks.  They too were thin, thin enough to be almost unrecognisable.  “I’ll hold you to it.”

James rolled his eyes as she walked out of the compartment, leaving him alone.  If Ark Royal were to be destroyed, James would die beside her ... and the rest of the crew.  Perhaps, just perhaps, they could evacuate ... no, that wasn't likely to happen.  Even if they did, they would be exploding outwards into alien-controlled territory.  Would the aliens ignore the lifepods, fire on them or take their crews prisoner?  There was no way to know.

“Idiot,” he muttered.

***

“This isn't a plan,” Charles objected, when he looked at the finished operational outline.  “I think this is guaranteed suicide.”

Ivan’s face didn't change, but there was a definite hint of amusement in his eyes.  “I always knew you British were soft,” he said.  “This plan is bound to succeed.”

Charles gave him a sharp look.  “Because it’s so absurd that no one in their right mind would expect it?”

“Precisely,” Ivan said.  “We go anywhere and do anything to complete the mission.”