“I have the final set of medical reports,” Midshipwoman Lopez said, once she had stepped into James’s cabin and closed the hatch behind her.  “Doctor Hastings requests that you make time to discuss a handful of issues with her.”

“Understood,” James said, as he took the datapad she offered him and glanced down at it thoughtfully.  Regulations stated that every officer and crewman had to undergo a complete physical examination, but putting them off as long as possible was an old Royal Navy tradition.  He’d set a good example by reporting for his own exam as soon as the doctor had configured sickbay to her liking, yet he’d still had to chase the other senior officers to force them to put time aside to see the doctor.  “Take a seat.”

He studied the younger woman as she sat down, resting her hands on her lap.  Midshipwoman Lopez’s file was curiously empty, without even the codes that might imply that there were details well above his level of access.  As far as he could tell, she’d gone through the Academy – she hadn't been part of the honours class, but she’d hardly done badly – and then been assigned to Ark Royal.  It made no sense.  None of the original crew had been assigned to Ark Royal without screwing up at one point or another.  But Midshipwoman Lopez seemed to be the exception.

Maybe she annoyed someone, he thought.  But who could a Midshipwoman annoy who would assign her to Ark Royal?  It was true that some Admirals could be hellishly vindictive, but something so blatant would only attract attention – and the old boy’s network had ways to deal with Admirals who abused their positions too much.

He threw caution to the winds and asked.  “Why are you here?”

“You told me you wanted the reports as soon as possible,” Midshipwoman Lopez said.  “I brought them to you ...”

“Not now,” James said.  “Why are you assigned to Ark Royal?”

“I requested it,” Midshipwoman Lopez said.

James gaped at her, unable to even try to control his expression.  He had requested the assignment to Ark Royal, but he'd assumed that he would be her CO.  If that hadn't seemed likely, he would have tried to take a position on one of the more modern carriers.  Even if he hadn't been promoted to command, he would have been well-placed to take command later, once his CO moved onwards.

But someone as hopelessly junior as a midshipwoman?  She would always have the shadow of Ark Royal looming over her, reminding her future commanding officers that she would require extensive retraining to serve on a modern starship.  Maybe, just maybe, she’d assumed that she would climb the ranks on Ark Royal, but that would still leave her on a starship that should be sent to the breakers.  Unless she'd known, somehow, that Ark Royal would be called back to service ...