"James Doohan - Flight Engineer Volume 2 - The Privateer-" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doohan James)

Captain Roger Knott’s craggy features did put one in mind of an eagle. Especially the piercing glare of his pale
eyes and his aquiline beak of a nose. Right now she was getting the full value of that famous glare of his. He returned
her crisp salute more casually and indicated a chair before his desk.
“Have a seat,” he said.
“Thank you, sir.”
Knott studied her for a moment. He saw a competent young woman in her mid twenties, with a lean intelligent
face and warm, sherry brown eyes. He liked James, he trusted her work, and he wasn’t especially happy about the
reason that brought her here.
Ordinarily he wouldn’t be taking appointments this late in the day. But he needed distraction from Grettirson’s
board of inquiry and he saw no reason to keep either the lieutenant commander or himself in suspense regarding her
request.
“This is sudden,” he said, tapping the document displayed on the screen built into his desk.
“I’ve been considering it for several weeks, Captain, and this seemed like an excellent time to request a change of
this nature.”
Knott raised his brows and leaned back in his chair.
 “It does?”
“Yes, sir.” Sarah leaned forward. “There are a number of vacancies in the Speed squadron and I’m a qualified
Speed pilot.”
“You haven’t flown a Speed in four years, Commander,” Knott demurred.
Sarah nodded. “But I’ve hardly been in dry dock, sir. I’m prepared to take a simulation exam.” She met Knott’s
eyes calmly and when he nodded she went on. “In addition, there’s a pilot officer on Ontario Base that’s amply
qualified to replace me. I’d like to commend to your attention Lieutenant Barry Chueng. He was scheduled to head
the Dauntless’s WACCI crew.” She stopped.
The Dauntless no longer had a WACCI division, nor any Speeds of her own. Those that hadn’t been blasted apart
by the Mollies or their Fibian allies had, perforce, been left behind in Mollie space while the Dauntless made the
desperate leap to Ontario Station. Subsequent missions to that area had found nothing but some charred debris.
“But the Dauntless might very well be decommissioned,” she continued, “and in any case she’s in no condition to
do anything right now. A good many of her people have already been reassigned. Chueng is in an odd place, though.
He hasn’t been able to present his orders to Captain Montoya and so he can’t be reassigned as yet.”
Knott permitted himself a small smile.
“And you recommend that I put in a request for his services?”
“Immediately, sir. He’s good.” Sarah began to allow herself to hope that the Old Man would allow her to do this.
Meeting Barry Chueng had given her the impetus to get rolling on it, and now that her mind was made up she was
impatient to make the change.
Knott looked down at her transfer request and pursed his lips.
“I thought that you enjoyed what you were doing, Lt. Commander,” he said quietly.
“I have, sir. I’ve learned a lot and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.” She hesitated. “But I think it’s time to get my
career back on the fast track. I don’t think I’d like to be a WACCI pilot for the next twenty years. There are other
things I want to learn and to do, sir.”
Knott leaned back and tapped his desk thoughtfully. He was disappointed. After a lot of effort he’d obtained, in
almost every instance, exactly the people he wanted. He’d been pleased at the way they worked together, respected
and liked one another. Naturally he’d hoped to keep them together for a longer period of time; they’d help prove that
fast light carriers were a worthwhile use for scarce antihydrogen and shipyard space. He’d fought hard to prove the
concept, and having the right people was a big part of it.
As well, James was a known factor and he didn’t relish giving that up. By the same token, if he trusted her
judgement, then he should accept her word when she said Lieutenant Chueng was a suitable replacement. He should
also trust her judgement if she said it was time for her to move on. Stepping on a request like this was no way to
nurture a junior officer. And she had to do it this way. She was taking a step sideways, surrendering command of her
highly specialized group, in order to be in line for a step up in a more general command position. WAACI pilots