Her bag was flung aboard the 'Indefatigable' and a hand was held out to help her out she raised her hand to meet his and to her surprise it was Horatio and much to his surprise it was the girl he helped up just a half hour ago.

'Hello again' she said cheerfully to Mr. Hornblower.

'Hello'

'Mr. Hornblower do you know this young lady' Captain Pellew enquired

'Uh…no…yes…I mean no sir' Hornblower eventually spitted out.

'Well, man do you know the young lady' asked Captain Pellew

'Ur no sir, I do not sir' Hornblower finally answered

'Well, then may I enquire as to your name' asked Captain Pellew once she had found her feet.

'Uh… yes, Sir Elita Gersten sir' she said with a RAF salute to the captain.

Captain Pellew saluted back not quiet sure why but he did.

'Uh…well then, Mr Kennedy find this lady a bunk please and some dry clothes'. He said looking Elita up and down with a percular eye.

'Aye, Aye sir'

She presented her self back on deck in some of her own clothes which gets a look as women rarely wore trousers of such a tight fashion. They would wear dresses.

'Are you all settled in then' asked Captain Pellew as she came up the stairs.

'Yes sir, thank you sir'

'Well now how did you come to be aboard by ship miss…?'

'Gersten sir'

'Miss Gersten' Captain Pellew enquired after she went up the stairs to the deck he was standing on.

'Well…I'm a traveller sir, I travel all over to meet and greet new people sir'

'Hum…interesting' said Pellew not looking that interested. More thinking what is this girl about.

She spent the rest of the day just roaming the ship under the watchful eye of Sir Captain Edward Pellew and his Lieutenants and Midshipmans.

She was invented to dine with the Captain and she was dreading it as the Doctor usually did the talking to get them both out of trouble.

She came in poised and ready in a long a-line cream top and skinny blue jeans and her boots. Captain Pellew was sitting to her right, lieutenant Bracegridle in front, to his right someone she didn't recognise. A few other people she didn't know and Lieutenant Hornblower was sat to her left and to his left Mr. Kennedy.

'Ha Ha Ha, very good Mr Bowles' laughed the Captain, probably something about the French.

'Now, then I think we should care to know more about our young traveller guest'.

'Oh, there's nothing much to tell' Elita said staring at her wine glass.

'Well let's start with whom are you travelling with… your father '

'Uh no he's dead sir'

'Oh well, I'm sorry, so who do you travel with then'.

'Uh…the Doctor'

'Oh the Doctor of what, medicine'

'No a Doctor of … science kind of' now looking quiet uncomfortable.

'So is this doctor your husband' asked the Captain with intrigue in his voice.

'No, no way, his more of a friend then anything else, god no' she said half shouting. Everyone now looking very interested in her obviously a woman of her age and education would have been married in their view. Thank god for the 21st century.

'What are you to this Doctor Person?'

'I'm his assistant, I travel with him a sort of companion nothing else' she said the last bit in a stern voice.

'So I'm sure we will meet this Doctor soon then' the captain said more of a question really than a statement .Yeah I hope we will Eltia said in her head not really sure to respond or not.

And that was the end of that the dinner conversation went on to another subject something about that we were heading for the south of France to take out a fort.

Archie and Horatio were undressing form their uniform in their Cabin.

'Well what do you think of our new guest the Archie' said Horatio.

'I think that she is a strange character and there's a lot that she is not telling us'

'Hum… I feel the same Archie and her name …well it's not exactly very English. For a start Elita is French which comes from the word 'to choose' and her second name…''

'Gersten'

'Yes Gersten is a very peculiar name not English at all'

'But she is quiet handsome, you have to say'

'Uh, yes Archie' Horatio said just to agree with his friend and looked very amazed.

'And who are you' asked he Doctor to an old looking man with mostly grey hair sitting in a chair in a stone fortress.

'My name is not what should concern you Doctor; it's what I won't from you'

'What do you want and where am I and where's Elita'

'Oh all in good time Doctor, all your question will be answered, I assure you, Doctor' with that the Doctor was taken into a cell in the south of the fort facing the courtyard.

A few days had passed and Elita had no idea where the Doctor was or what ha d happened to him. She was thinking should she ask the Captain how long it would take them to get to France as she had never travelled like this before, but thought it would only take them a week or so, there's no real point in asking the Captain.

Everyone seemed too busy with whatever they were doing do she thought she would go below decks to find something to do , when the Acting Lieutenant Kennedy came along the deck with his hands behind his back.

'How are you miss'

'I'm fine thank you

'You just seem to be somewhere else '

'oh I'm just worried about the Doctor that's all, even though I shouldn't be worried about him , he is always getting into trouble and somehow he always get out of it in his weird but wonderful way of his' speaking a bit too fast for the young Midshipman to quiet follow her.

'Oh and why shouldn't you worry about your Doctor?'

'Uh he is not my Doctor he is just the doctor 'she said now with a more relaxed atmosphere between them.

'Is that his name The Doctor?'

'Yes I don't know why I just call him that'

'Doesn't he have a name?'

'Yes, but I think Doctor is more of a title'

'Oh I see'

Their conversation went on for about half an hour until he was called by Horatio to the Boardroom.