Moments later, Ark Royal shuddered as her drives came online, propelling her onwards towards the tramline ... and destiny.

***

The flight suits were supposed to be the most comfortable outfits in the Royal Navy, Kurt had been told.  With inserted computer systems, each one cost upwards of a hundred thousand pounds, a price tag that never failed to make civilians sputter in horror.  They were supposed to be comfortable ... so why did he feel sweat trickling down his back?

Your first real combat jump, he told himself.  The starfighter pilots were on alert, crammed into their craft and braced for immediate launch ... if they ran into an alien ambush.  He couldn't help thinking of the possible disasters waiting for them.  What if the aliens had an ambush waiting for them that would blow Ark Royal away before she launched her fighters?  Or what if ... he tried to push the thought out of his mind, but it mocked him.  He felt helplessly vulnerable.  Outside, even in his fragile fighter, he would have a chance.  Inside, he knew that he could die before the fighters were launched into space.

“All hands, prepare for jump,” the XO’s voice said.  “I say again, all hands prepare for jump.”

Kurt braced himself, feeling tension running down his spine.  All of the pilots probably felt the same way.  Combat jumps were rare, even in exercises; now, they were performing one for real.  If something went wrong ... angrily, he forced himself to think about the series of v-mails he had recorded for his children.  Of course, if the entire flotilla was wiped out, they would never receive them.  It was one of the reasons the Admiralty insisted on all naval personnel recording farewell messages and rewriting their wills prior to departure.

He wondered, absently, what they would think of him after he died.  Would they think of him as a hero or a man who had abandoned his family to play starfighter pilot?  He hadn't had a choice, yet it might not matter.  Part of Kurt still resented his father for dying, even though the old man hadn't had a choice either.  Would Penny and Percy understand why he’d had to go or would they resent him for dying?  God knew it wasn't as through the family could claim a proper pension from his former employers.  He wouldn’t be old enough to qualify for the company’s pension scheme, if he died today.  And the Royal Navy pension wouldn't be enough for the family.

Molly will hate me, he thought, morosely.  And why not?  Without his income, the kids would have to be transferred to a free school.  Their education would suffer quite badly, he knew; he had no faith at all in government-run schools.  And Penny would fall in with an even worse crowd than she had at her private school.  But she’d probably be pleased.  At least she wouldn't have to put up with Madame Capet any longer.