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send officers who had displeased the bureaucracy in some way.  “And just as CAG this time.”
     
    “So you won’t be flying,” Rose said, regretfully.  “I always thought it kept you closer to us.”
     
    “I’ll try and sneak in as many hours as I can,” Kurt said.  The pace of combat was often shockingly swift.  It was quite possible that the CAG would be reduced to a spectator while his pilots fought and died to protect their starship.  “There will be new fighters too, it seems.  And bombers.”
     
    “Curious,” Rose said.  “Do you think that means they’ve improved the torpedo systems?”
     
    Kurt shrugged.  The pre-war bombers hadn't been designed to face alien plasma weaponry and the one attempt to test pre-war doctrine against the aliens had resulted in a horrific failure.  Their torpedoes were simply not capable of breaking through enemy point defence systems, even if they fired a massive salvo.  But now, if the system had been improved ...
     
    “We’ll find out, I guess,” he said, reviewing the message again.  “I’ve got two days of leave on Earth, then I have orders to report to Ark Royal prior to the arrival of new pilots.  And apparently I’m expected to brush up on international relations too.”
     
    Rose gave him a puzzled look.  “International relations?”
     
    “That's what it says,” Kurt said, swinging the terminal round so she could see the message.  “But not much else.”
     
    “They probably want us to go into battle with allies,” Rose suggested, after a moment.  “The Royal Navy can't bear the brunt of offensive operations on its own.”
     
    Kurt nodded, sourly.  The loss of two modern carriers at New Russia had cost the Royal Navy dearly.  Given that it took at least three years to build a modern carrier – and longer, if they wanted to add heavy armour – those ships would not be replaced any time soon.  If humanity wanted to go on the offensive, it would have to be a joint operation.
     
    He took a sip of his wine.  “And your own orders?”
     
    “Probably waiting for me,” Rose said.  “I’ll look at them later, afterwards.”
     
    She put the glass down and leaned forward to kiss his lips.  Kurt hesitated, tasting the wine on her lips, then kissed her back.  Part of him cursed himself angrily – what had started as a fling before certain death had become something more – while the rest of him urged that he move forward as fast as possible.  His hand reached up to feel her breast, straining against her uniform.  Slowly, he undid the zippers, allowing them to spring free ...
     
    Afterwards, when she had showered and left, he felt torn in two.  He felt deeply for her, yet he also felt deeply for his children.  How could he hurt them by having an affair?  At best, there would be a divorce; at worst, a long bitter court case.  And he might well lose his career in the crossfire.
     
    You’re a fucking idiot , he told himself, as he scrambled to his feet and headed towards the shower.  You should never have gotten involved with her .
     
    But now, he knew, he could never bring himself to break it up.
     
    A moment later, his terminal bleeped.  It was a message from Rose, informing him that she had been assigned back to Ark Royal too.  Kurt stared at it with mixed emotions, then turned and stepped into the shower.  Perhaps cold water would make him feel better.
     
    “Yep,” he muttered out loud.  “Definitely a fucking idiot.”
     

Chapter Four
     
    “I couldn't help noticing,” Ted said, as he stepped into the First Space Lord’s groundside office, “that London seems to be darker these days.”
     
    The First Space Lord nodded as they shook hands, then waved Ted and Fitzwilliam to chairs facing his desk.  “Between the war and the government’s emigration policy,” he said, “the city has lost quite a bit of its population.  People are thinking that they might be safer well away from large