HEDY LAMARR<br/><br/>I sighed as the German ran to his plane. Idiot. I lifted a hand to the Boss as he sat in the launcher saddle.<strong>"Leave him there to stew, Bob, he can do the least harm where he is."</strong>Grinning, Bob lowered the launcher arm so the plane was dangling from it's launch hook in space with no way for the pilot to get out… and there we left him, his guns pointing uselessly down at the clouds towards which we were descending.<br/><br/>I turned to Johnston,<strong>"Hello again. You're aware this part of the ship is restricted to passengers of course? If something were to happen, some <em>accident</em>~"</strong>I shrugged,<strong>"~your insurance wouldn't cover it. It might be best for all concerned if you went back to your quarters,"</strong>I said, smiling as I walked over to Bob on the launcher crane and flipped to "off" the radio channel to the annoying German's plane. The arrogant sausage-eater could stew there until I was ready to get rid of him, the release hook was controlled from Bob's saddle, not from the plane's cockpit.<br/><br/>Outside, the roar of engines and the clatter of machine guns went on but from here I could see nothing and do even less. We had a command car crew and a solid engineer I knew at least that, and twenty good gunners. There was no reason for me to interfere; Steele needed to learn how the Big Blue manouvered and flew. Leaving the Master at Arms and his four men on the hangar floor with orders to shoot to kill if that Hun Monkey did anything, I climbed the gangway stairs.<br/><br/><strong>"Tell me,</strong>I said to Johnston, reaching his side and casually leaning on the rail that gave a grandstand view of the<em>Blue Ridge's</em>aircraft hangar deck,<strong>"When a lot of good men died in the war in Europe, why in hell did one complete idiot survive? And what brings you down here anyway, at a time like this?"</strong>I looked sideways up at him, my hand itching for the lack of a glass of bourbon cradled in it.