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frustration, at least not that I’d seen. I chalked it up to the lack of sleep.
    “You’ve done very well, but your best was not quite good enough,” I said. “Also, you need to get some rest, man. Part of an officer’s responsibility in my fleet is to maintain his readiness. All things in moderation, as they say.”
    Miklos glowered at the screen, unable to lift his burning eyes up to me. I walked away to the big viewscreens on the walls. They were so high-resolution they looked like windows.
    Outside the station sat a hulking shadow. It looked quite a bit like the carrier I’d designed in a ten minute stretch a few days earlier. But there were holes in it—in the hull. Not all the smart metal had been troweled over the exterior.
    “Shame about the holes,” I said.
    For some reason, this put Miklos over the edge. “For your information, Colonel,” he snapped, “those holes are your doing.”
    I glanced back at him in surprise. “Really? How did I manage that?”
    “By redesigning the ship with too thin of an exterior layer of smart metal. The ship was designed to use the thick hull as part of its structural integrity. We haven’t been able to compensate.”
    I nodded and made a clucking sound. “Well, my design was only a starting point, really. You can adjust it.”
    “We will,” Miklos said, “but there just wasn’t any time in the schedule for a redesign and correction.”
    I frowned at the ship. Really, it was an impressive effort.
    I felt myself bending. I didn’t like it, as bending wasn’t my way. To get things done, a leader had to establish the rules and stick to them. If people started getting the idea your deadlines were only guidelines —they would relax and nothing would get done. It was only human nature.
    Still, I liked the idea of having this ship on the expedition into the Thor system. It would transform a thin force into a much stronger one. I’d begun to think of the carrier as a small mobile battle station, and the idea of having such a flying fortress to back me up was seductive.
    “I’ll tell you what, Commodore. The task force will get underway now, but I’ll leave behind ten small ships. They will form your carrier’s escort. When your carrier is ready, send it out the Crustacean worlds after me.”
    Miklos looked startled. “You want the ship to come in later? As a relief force?”
    “Yes. In some ways this improves the plan. We can head out with the vanguard at top speed and render any assistance we can. Then your carrier group will follow to a safely established position. This way, the ship won’t slow down the entire fleet. If you finish tomorrow, it will come in two days behind us. That’s not too long to wait for the support.”
    I glanced at him again. The transformation in his mood was obvious and dramatic. The light of hope had returned to his dark eyes.
    “You will get that support, sir,” he said. “But did you say carriers , as in the plural form…?”
    “Yes,” I said. “I’m impressed by the design, and the versatility is there, at least on the planning boards. I want two of them. Stay here after the first one is done and finish a second. Don’t let anyone sit on their hands here at the station. Double-shifts for everyone.”
    I heard a few groans from the staffers, but pretended I hadn’t noticed.
    “You’ll stay here,” I continued, “When you finish the second ship, send it with another fighter wing stripped from the battle station to the Helios ring garrison. That will make up for having their strength reduced so significantly. You’ll stay in-system even after the ships are built. In my absence, you’ll be in charge of defending our colonies.”
    Miklos nodded rapidly. “I can do that, sir.”
    I almost laughed. Given the chance to build a second of his beloved carriers, all his plans to rave at me had instantly faded. I had to admire his dedication to Fleet. He was passionate about his forces.
    “Uh, who should command the first