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Back Ark Royal
Chapters (42)
  1. Cover Blurb
  2. Contents
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty

He rose to his feet and saluted, as smartly as he could.  Captain Fitzwilliam – no, he’d be a Commander now – followed, his face blank and unreadable.  Ted sighed, inwardly.  Fitzwilliam would have a major chip on his shoulder after being told he would be given command – and then watching as it was snatched away from him.  Ted wouldn't really blame him for being irked, but he couldn't afford the distraction of a sulking XO.  They would have to talk and hash it out, perhaps over a drink ...

No, Ted told himself, firmly.  A drunkard could not take command of a ship that was going into action.  That was plain common sense.  You are not going to drink until the war is over.

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Captain James Montrose Fitzwilliam had to fight to keep his annoyance and disappointment from showing on his face as he followed his new commanding officer through the metallic corridors of Nelson Base.  It had seemed so perfect.  His uncle – a high-ranking officer – had known about the alert in time for James to attempt to push himself forward as Ark Royal’s commander.  A modern carrier would have required an officer with more experience – the old boy’s network went only so far – but Ark Royal didn't have such stringent requirements.  He could have taken command – and, in becoming the youngest commanding officer in the Royal Navy, ensured his swift promotion to command of a more modern starship.

But Commodore – Captain, he reminded himself – Smith had talked the Admiral into leaving him in command of Ark Royal.  The hell of it was, James knew, was that Smith might not be too far wrong.  James had served on two carriers and a frigate, but all three of them had been modern ships.  Britannia had barely been out of the slips when he'd served as her tactical officer.  But Ark Royal was over seventy years old.  She might well be harder to command than a more modern vessel.

Resentment bubbled at the corner of his mind, muted by the grim awareness that Smith might have saved him from embarrassment – or worse.  He wouldn't gain experience of serving as XO on a modern carrier if he served on Ark Royal – and he wouldn't gain command experience to offset the starship’s age.  His career might just have been frozen solid, as solid as Smith’s own ... and he'd done it to himself.  How could he reasonably blame Smith for wanting to keep command?  He wanted command!