“We will,” Yang said, finally.  He gave James a look that promised future trouble.  “And thank you for your candour.”

Yang didn't seem amused.  James smiled to himself, wondering if Yang was interested in Barbie.  Why not?  Whatever usual restrictions the reporters had on their behaviour – assuming that there were any restrictions – would have faded when they'd finally realised that they were trapped.  Anyone with even a small amount of experience would be able to tell that Ark Royal had escaped by the skin of her teeth.  And, the next time, their jury-rigged repairs might not stand up to what the aliens handed out.

James shrugged.  If they made it home, they would be heroes and Yang’s superiors would see no profit in hammering James – or Captain Smith.  And if they didn't make it home, the whole episode was thoroughly irrelevant.  There wouldn't even be a messenger buoy left behind to mark their passage.

Maybe we should leave one here, James thought, making a mental note to suggest it to the Captain.  The Russians will know where we went, even if they can't know what happened afterwards.  If humanity wins the war, sooner or later they will come looking for us ...

***

Kurt stared down at his screen, trying to compose a message.  Silent running was strange for the pilots; half of them remained in their cockpits, ready for immediate launch, while the other half tried to relax.  But it was so hard to relax, knowing that the alert might sound at any moment.  Alien passive sensors were watching for them even now.

He cursed his own weakness as he angrily banished the half-written message from his screen, rather than bothering to save it for a later rewrite.  Sleeping with Rose had been a mistake, of that he was sure.  He’d known that right after the first time, which hadn't been enough to stop himself from doing it twice more.  Everyone knew that Rose, as the new senior squadron leader, was expected to coordinate her plans with her superior officer’s plans.  No one would raise eyebrows at them spending time together, let alone disturb them.  And no one would realise that they’d spent more time fucking like wild animals than actually doing their work ...

You should be ashamed of yourself, he told himself.  He was ashamed, he knew, no matter how hard he tried to deny it.  Just not ashamed enough.

Angrily, he stood up and headed for the hatch, thinking hard.  Relationships between officers of different ranks were forbidden, as were relationships between starfighter pilots who happened to share the same wardroom.  Sure, there were times when such rules might be ignored – if Ark Royal never made it home, there would be no reason to care about regulations – but somehow he doubted this was one of those times.