Under the console, out of sight, Peta bristled. "I wasn't aware that I needed permission. M'am," she added, almost as if she remembered her manners as an afterthought.
She wriggled her way out from the dark and, half sitting up, she explained herself.
"It's a fairly routine upgrade of the ship's operating system. I thought it was within my duties to maintain the fast, safe and efficient flying of this vessel, and I did not believe it required your attention.
"To be honest, I'm surprised it hasn't been done yet. It seems to me like it would have been a pretty backward pilot as hadn't noticed it." She glanced briefly at the tool in her hand, and stashed it away in her tool kit.