Part of his mind insisted that wouldn't be a bad thing.  Their relationship had changed; they were no longer the horny teenagers who’d fallen into bed together.  Molly was too tired for sex most of the time and, in all honesty, investment banking had killed Kurt’s fire too.  It wouldn't hurt her if he went to Sin City for a few hours of pleasure with a whore.  The rest of his mind insisted that it would be disastrous.  Molly hadn't given him permission to sleep with anyone else; she'd be heartbroken – or at least very angry – if he cheated on her.

“Damn it,” he muttered out loud.  Starfighter pilots chased women like there was no tomorrow ... because, quite often, there was at least the prospect of there being no tomorrow.  Now, after the aliens had sliced apart the defences of New Russia, it was quite likely that the rest of the starfighter pilots would die too, along with the other officers and men.  He’d been horny as hell when he’d been an active duty pilot ... and now he was such a pilot again.  “What the hell do I do?”

He found himself unsure of what to say.  He didn't have to go to Sin City; it would be simple enough to arrange the trip, if there were pilots who would want to go.  Besides, there was a war on.  It was quite likely that permission would be refused.  He could claim that he’d asked the XO and been turned down.

And what, he asked himself, is the difference between that and your reluctance to suggest to the headteacher that Madam Capet be held to account?

Angrily, he reread the message.  There was no official flight from the Royal Navy’s yards to Sin City, not when the Luna settlement had such a bad reputation.  But there were plenty of ways to reach the settlement from Armstrong City or Baxter Base.  They could go ...

Irked, he forwarded the message to the XO – let him handle it – then started to write out a new message to Penny.  Maybe he could talk some sense into her.  Or maybe she would just do whatever the hell she felt like, anyway.  At her age, listening to authority was an overrated pastime.  But one day, he feared, she would go too far.  For all the money parents like him invested in private school, there were still some pupils who ended up in prison before they were even old enough to legally drink.

And then he started to write another letter to Percy.

***

“I suggest we insert a handful of additional rail guns here and here,” Anderson said, tapping the paper schematics.  James wasn't sure why the ancient engineer insisted on using paper, rather than holograms, but it certainly added novelty to the experience.  “We lost the guns here fairly quickly, which could have been disastrous.  It certainly will be next time.”