Chapter 101: New Suspicions Part 2

The Admirals sunk lower and no one spoke.
"Mother," Prince Hubert said.
"You may call Us 'Your Majesty' or the 'Admiral Royal'." The Queen's words might have come out of an arctic blizzard for all the warmth they conveyed. "Commander Shillingsworth, explain yourself."
"Aye, Ma'am." Cal took a deep breath and stilled the trembling in her stomach. "After the recent incident, my personal guard requested I go nowhere without him."
"I've never seen him before," the Lord Admiral dared to point out.
"You wouldn't have." Cal crossed her arms to keep herself from shaking. "He's good at what he does. In case you are wondering about his qualifications, among his own people, Bundo would be the equivalent of an Anglian Duke. He was in command of his country's jungle legion when a situation arose which necessitated his departure." Cal relaxed her arms and bowed to the Queen. "I apologize for what must seem a foolish tantrum, but as the Commander of Royal Engineers, I need to know the people around me will obey orders. I cannot work with people who continually check on whether they should follow my commands. As I asked these worthy gentlemen: am I or am I not the Commander of the Royal Engineers?"
"You are." The Queen nodded her head. "The rest of you may rise." She claimed one of the chairs. "We dislike hidden agendas and mistrust secret orders."
"You as the Admiralty invested Commander Shillingsworth as equivalent to Admiral over the Royal Engineers, confirmed in Our name by HRH Hubert, sitting as acting Admiral Royal. If you had doubts, you should not have given her the commission. In this building," she waved her hand at the Shed, "Commander Shillingsworth's word is law and even I would not contradict her except at great need; any more than I would give orders on any of your ships." She stood up. "Now that We have that settled, We wish to see the work Our Royal Engineers have been doing."
Cal nodded at Bundo and led the way into the Shed.
"Admiral on deck!" Landers bellowed as he and every other engineer stood at attention, holding a salute.
The Queen nodded at them, then spent the next hour listening to explanations of the different aspects of the airship's design. The last place she visited was Cal's office.
"Wait outside," the queen instructed her guards before closing the door behind her and settling into one of the chairs. "We understand your frustration at the foolishness of old men, but know if you do something like this again, Commander, We will grant you command of a ship of the line and send you to patrol the Arctic Ocean."
"Aye, Ma'am. I apologize for letting my temper overrun my good sense." Cal stood at attention.
"Very well, Commander. We expect to see our city from the air for our Summer Ball. Are We clear? You've been given extraordinary power; We expect results to match."
"Your Majesty, I will obey your wish if I have to build the ship with my own hands." Cal went to her knee. "I will serve you and my country with my life. In everything, I am yours to command."
"Most commendable, We are touched by your fervour. Believe it or not, We were once young like you." The Queen stood. "Please forgive Our son. He changed his mind about putting you in command of your own security when you placed yourself between him and harm. He is alive because of you, We will not forget it."
Cal opened the door and the Queen swept out, pulling the prince and the Admiralty in her wake. Her Majesty paused at the top of the stairs.
"Since you are taking responsibility for security here, We expect you to keep yourself fully cognizant of the issues facing our great nation."
"Understood, Ma'am."
***
"Despite our agents' best efforts, we haven't been able to determine who funded the building of the fan engine. However, we have conclusive evidence that its design was based on plans stolen from the Shed. Commander Shillingsworth examined the plans used to construct the engine and found that other changes were made in the plans which made the thing even more unstable. We are now treating it as an assassination attempt on his Highness." Admiral of Intelligence McAllen sat down and waited for questions.
"I have been hearing some disturbing rumours." The Lord Admiral looked nervously at Cal. "They suggest she has a... close relationship with the ambassador from the Kershian Empire."
"Do they mention her friendship with the assistant to the Ambassador of the Zithayan Dynasty?" Cal leaned back against the wall. "Relax, I am aware of the talk. University students are always up to date on all the latest gossip."
"What do you plan to do about these lies?" The Lord Admiral looked nonplussed at Cal's lack of concern.
"Nothing." Cal sighed and leaned forward. "The more that I or any of you deny the rumours, the more credence some people will give them. If we ignore them, they will vanish with the next supposed scandal."
"And if they don't?" Vice-Admiral Peysk asked pointedly.
"If they outlast the usual gossip," Admiral McAllen tapped his fingers on the table, "then we can safely assume they are being spread deliberately. Either as an attack on Commander Shillingsworth, who is not without her enemies, or an attack on the project, hoping we will waste our time with doubt and extra layers of security."
Cal suppressed a grin. She'd only just learned that McAllen and Peysk were the only two to vote against limiting her command.