Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure (86 page)

             
"
Wise
decision
my
friend.
I
shall
arrange
for
you
to
meet
our
Major,
he
will
enlighten
you.
"
He
raised
his
tankard
and
said,
"
I
am
sure
you
will
find
it
a
most
profitable
venture.
Of
course,
we
will
rely
upon
your
good
offices
to
alert
us
to
any
attempts
to
interfere
with
our
mutual
operations.
"

             
Barclay
returned
the
salute
and
smiled.
"
Of
course,
though
for
how
much
longer
we
remain
I
do
not
at
this
present
know.
"

***

             
The
outcome
of
this
conversation
was
to
see
Mister
Midshipman
Barclay
enter
into
an
agreement
with
a
small
consortium
of
Rum
Corps
officers
who
promptly
registered
a
claim
to
a
large
tract
of
well-watered
arable
land
on
the
North
side
of
the
harbour.
Unknowingly
Eamon
Barclay
was
laying
the
foundations
to
a
future
fortune.
His
partnership
with
the
Rum
Corps
did
reach
the
ears
of
his
Captain,
but
there
was
little
Captain
Blackwood
could
do
or
say
about
it.

-

             
"
The
trials
have
gone
extremely
well,
"
Captain
Heron
said
as
he
surveyed
his
assembled
Command
Team.
"
Well
done
to
you
all.
Now,
all
the
defects
that
showed
up
during
the
trials
will
be
addressed
during
the
next
six
weeks.
After
that
we
will
conduct
a
further
series
of
trials
and
then
we
will
be
embarking
our
strike
squadrons
to
commence
our
work
up
to
operational
efficiency.
Any
problems
not
on
the
schedule
you
have
on
your
tablets?
"

             
"
Yes,
sir.
"
Commander
Mary
Allison
got
in
the
first
strike.
"
The
schedule
doesn
'
t
include
the
backup
of
our
reactor
controls.
The
backup
system
isn
'
t
working
properly
and
needs
to
be
a
constant
monitor
rather
than
the
half
hour
check
as
it
is
now.
"

             
"
Good
point.
See
that
it
is
added
will
you.
Anything
else?
"

             
"
I
'
ve
raised
this
before,
but
the
whole
shielding
system
needs
to
be
rerouted
or
given
more
shielding
to
the
command
fibres
and
the
projectors.
As
it
is
it
'
s
vulnerable
in
several
places
and
these
need
to
be
moved.
"

             
"
Moving
them
isn
'
t
an
option
at
this
stage
I
would
think.
"
The
Captain
turned
to
the
Dockyard
Manager
and
asked,
"
What
can
be
done
to
increase
the
shielding
to
the
vulnerable
nodes
and
sections?
"

             
"
Difficult.
"
The
Manager
knew
he
wasn
'
t
going
to
be
able
to
refuse
–
too
much
depended
on
getting
this
right.
If
the
ship
was
ever
called
upon
to
engage
an
enemy
her
defensive
screens
had
to
be
operable
even
under
damaged
conditions.
"
But
I
will
liaise
with
the
Commander
and
get
my
best
engineers
to
look
at
it
and
see
what
we
can
achieve.
"

             
"
Good,
thank
you.
"
The
Captain
turned
to
the
Communications
Commander.
"
What
about
your
systems
Fritz?
"

             
Commander
Rheinhard
von
Dieffenbach
smiled.
"
My
computer
is
very
good.
The
AI
is
learning
fast
and
will
surpass
all
expectations.
However,
some
of
the
nodes
are
in
positions
where
they
may
suffer
damage
in
an
engagement.
I
'
d
like
to
relocate
some
and
increase
the
protection
on
those
I
cannot
move.
"

             
"
Won
'
t
relocating
some
of
the
nodes
cause
the
computer
to
lose
a
lot
of
what
it
has
learned?
"
asked
Commander
Nicolas
Gray,
the
Strike
Wing
Flight
Commander,
newly
joined
and
already
comfortably
settled
among
his
colleagues.

             
"
Nein
,
"
Fritz
von
Dieffenbach
responded,
"
This
is
not
like
the
simple
systems
you
have
encountered
before.
This
is
a
new
system
entirely.
This
ship
thinks,
"
he
finished
proudly.

             
"
One
thing
I
'
d
like
shifted.
"
Commander
Valerie
Petrocova
cut
in.
"
There
is
a
scanner
array
mounted
on
the
fore
part
of
the
ship,
topside,
which
interferes
with
the
"
A
"
arc
of
the
upper
Plasma
Battery.
Can
it
be
relocated
either
above
the
battery
and
outside
of
its
arc
of
fire
or
shifted
to
another
position?
There
'
s
a
place
just
forward
of
the
fin
which
would
give
it
the
same
sweep
and
be
clear
of
the
projectors.
"