Kris Longknife's Assassin

by Mike Shepherd

  Daddy sent me here, I had no choice?

  Yes, but that doesn’t mean I just sit in a corner and pout. I did that when I was six. What have I done here?

  This gave Vicky pause. Most of her life she’d done nothing. Oh, she’d raided cookie jars, driven tutors to distraction and snuck some boys into her bed as much to get Daddy’s attention as to enjoy the wresting under the sheets. Still, she’d never been given a chance to do anything.

  The Navy, however, had given her a job. Admittedly, it was not much of one, but it was the first she’d ever had and Vicky thought she’d done pretty well by it. She’d delivered the occasional high priority message. She was training her crew.

  I’m really training my girls and I’m really making a difference for them.

  I hope.

  Would she walk away from this if she suddenly had the chance?

  No. No, I would not.

  Captain Krätz finished up with the Longknife princess, and the two of them, in their security bubble, returned to the Surprise in silence.

  Chapter 23

  Before they crossed the brow, Vicky broke the silence. “You have the Longknife file, sir?”

  “I do,” her captain said.

  “Could you walk me through it, sir?”

  “I think I have an hour just now. Shall we do so while the little hellion is still fresh in your mind?” he said. A small smile and a distant look came over her captain as he spoke of the “hellion.”

  “Please, sir.”

  They went straight to his in-port cabin. He had that particular reader in his safe. Together they flipped through the first couple of pages.

  “Kris Longknife joined the Navy straight out of college,” Vicky noted.

  “To her parent’s dismay and disgust, I might add, as a parent myself.”

  “She was Navy, but she led Marines in the rescue of a little girl,” Vicky noted.

  “Which turned out to be an assassination attempt on her.”

  “A very complex one,” Vicky noted. “Well done compared to those feeble tries I made.”

  The captain just nodded.

  “She was at the Paris system when all the fleets from the Society of Humanity came together to celebrate the break up,” Vicky read.

  “There are rumors that the fleet review didn’t go quite as planned. You may have noticed that large gold star Kris Longknife sports. It’s Earth’s highest honor, the Order of the Wounded Lion. Ever wondered why Earth gave it to her”

  Vicky shook her head.

  “Neither do our intelligence boys,” Krätz said.

  “She was on Turantic when it almost went to war with Hamilton,” Vicky said, going on. “There was a quarantine of some sort.”

  “It turns out that Ironclad Software may have had something to do in faking the quarantine that kept Kris Longknife trapped there.”

  Vicky thought back. “I met the owner of Ironclad. Mr. Sandfire isn’t it?”

  “Yes. He died on Turantic when the space station blew up.”

  “Wasn’t Kris Longknife at the bottom of that?” Vicky asked.

  “Even our security types can’t figure out how she might have done it.”

  “So that Wardhaven princess is a terrorist.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. There were amusement parks on that space station. Strangely, they all emptied well before the station exploded. Something about the toilets not working.”

  Vicky gave her captain a puzzled look. He just shrugged, but there has a hint of a smile as he did so.

  Vicky flipped the page. “Oh, she stole Hank’s yacht to escape the station. I wonder how Hank took to that.”

  “You will note that he was requested to file a contact report, but failed to do so.”

  “Hmm.” Vicky said. Hank was always bragging about the girls he had on his yacht. Was Kris Longknife one of his conquest? Somehow Vicky doubted that.

  “And that brings us to those mysterious battleships and their attack on Wardhaven. Only twelve little mosquito boats to defend. It says that Kris was relieved of her command of one of them, then came back and took command of the squadron and the entire defense effort.”

  “How did she do that?”

  “The analysts are stumped,” Captain Krätz said.

  Again, Vicky and her captain found themselves exchanging puzzled glances and shrugs.

  “Then she gets command of Naval District 41, an admiral’s billet, and her a lieutenant. That was when your commodore brother crossed her path, and you know how that turned out.”

  “And I know how things turned out on New Eden,” Vicky added, trying to avoid her own fiasco.

  “You might want to read the entire section. There was a lot more going on than just your sideshow.”

  “I will, but I’ve taken enough of your time, Captain. There is one thing, sir. I would like to continue in my assignment as communication watch officer. I’m working with my team and I don’t want to leave them until the next promotion list comes out.”

  “You should begin rotations if you’re to know how a warship works.”

  “Yes, sir. I know, but I really want to . . . finish what I started.”

  “Then you shall,” the captain said. There was something strange in the look he gave Vicky. Something strange she didn’t understand, and that she’d never seen before.

  Vicky stood, came to attention, did a better about face . . . she’d been working on it as part of her leadership training . . . and walked from the captain’s cabin.

  Back in her quarters, the girls wanted the lowdown on her date with the captain. When Vicky told them it had actually been a meeting with Princess Kris Longknife, she was greeted with a chorus of “Oh,” and the room fell silent. They may not have read Kris’s file, but the story of the Wardhaven princess that was a Navy officer had not failed to reach the women of the Greenfeld Navy.

  “Is she as good as they say?” one J.G. asked.

  “She’s a Longknife. She is bad,” one lieutenant with strong political inclinations said.

  “She’s good,” Vicky whispered. “She’s very, very good.”

  And I think I want to be like her when I grow up, Vicky dare not add.

  Vicky needed a nap before her watch. This dinner had come out of her sleep time. The rest of the girls left her alone as she got out of her dowdy dinner wear and into some shorts and a T to sleep in.

  Chapter 24

  The weeks flew by quickly. Her team took their tests and came back pumped like they had never been before, or at least in the last few years.

  “Ms. Peterwald, I gave the book answers,” Amala said. “I still don’t think they’re right, but I put them down.”

  Vicky nodded, being a friendly as she dared be to a petty officer. “You know, Muller, after working with the midnight watch for this last month, I kind of agree with you, but I put the book answers down, too.”

  “I can’t wait to see how we did.”

  Vicky was still waiting when a runner appeared at her elbow in the wardroom. “The captain sends his compliments and requires Ensign Peterwald in his in-space cabin.”

  That cabin was just off the bridge. The officer with the conn might be officially in charge of the ship, but the skipper was always in command.

  Vicky wolfed down the last few bites of her hash on a plank, and followed the runner to the bridge. Now, she knew her way blindfolded. Really, she’d made her way there blindfolded to pass her own communication watch standing requirement.

  I’ve learned a lot since I stumbled aboard.

  And she was proud of every jot and tittle of it.

  As she knocked on the open door, Captain Krätz looked up from a red printed message.

  “Come in and close the door, Ensign.”

  Vicky did. The room would make a broom closet look spacious. There was just enough space for a small desk, table and a bunk. Vicky stood.

  “Sit down, Ensign.”

  Vicky blinked twice in surprise, and sat on his bunk.

  “We h
ave been ordered to Birradas. It seems your father wants you at his side for a safari. Do you have any idea why?”

  Vicky thought for a moment. “Daddy does like to hunt, and the bigger they are, the better. Computer, what animals are hunted on Birradas?”

  “The most sought after trophy head is that of a t-rex. The animal is similar to a huge and vicious dinosaur that roamed Earth sixty-five million years ago. It is hunted with a rocket launcher.”

  “Oh, Lord,” Vicky moaned. “Birradas just joined Daddy’s alliance. He’s off to kill one of those things.”

  “Well, he wants you there when he does, so we are headed to the newest planet in the alliance.”

  Vicky frowned. “How new?”

  The captain consulted his own computer. “Two months ago. There appear to be claims of vote tampering and there have been incidents during its initial occupation.”

  “Oh, State Security will love having Daddy roaming the outback of that planet with other people out there with rocket launchers.”

  “That is their problem. Now, I must consider ours.”

  “If I have to follow Daddy around while he’s hunting, does that mean I won’t return to the Surprise?”

  “That, I don’t know. I am more worried about having both you and your father loose in a shooting gallery. May I ask who inherits after you?”

  “You aren’t really expecting an answer, are you?”

  “Not really. Rather I will leave it as an exercise for the class.”

  Vicky considered the question and didn’t like any of the answers.

  “Maybe Daddy will get his t-rex before I get down there.”

  The captain nodded. “I am pulling you from communications and assigning you to the Marine detachment for instructions in personal safety and security.”

  “I’d hate to leave my watch before the promotion lists are posted,” Vicky said. Her watch rated a chief and two or more first class petty officers. Amala and at least two of the other girls were working higher jobs for less pay.

  Vicky locked on the captain and did not break eye contact.

  He tapped his computer. “You can tell Muller that she will be getting her hat the end of this month. Your radio and network techs have will also be making first class.”

  “Any chance you could swing a promotion for my telephone tech?”

  “She fell half a point below the cut,” the captain said, with no flex in his words.

  “May I see her test, sir? There is always a chance that the grading machine might have missed something.”

  “You want me to break out the actual test and go over it with you?” On his brows a storm was brewing.

  Vicky prepared for some rough sailing. “No, sir. But you could authorize the training officer to let me review the test. Or would it be better if I just went through channels?”

  “You are a dog, young woman. You get your teeth into something and you don’t let go.”

  “It might be one of the few virtues we Peterwalds have, sir.”

  “Well, persistence is a virtue. No need to ask, all four of your petty officers earned their promotions with outstanding grades on their tests.”

  “All four?”

  “Can’t a captain give one of his junior officers a test that is not in the book?”

  Vicky watched as a wide smile grew on her skipper.

  “You had me fighting for nothing!”

  “I wanted to see what, or rather, whom you would fight for. You passed.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Vicky said. She twisted the “sir,” the way Amala would.

  “Now we go to Birradas and see what we must fight for, no?”

  “Yes, sir,” Vicky said again, not at all enthusiastic.

  Chapter 25

  No sooner did the Surprise docked at High Birradas, than Vicky had orders to dawn her blues and report to the captain’s in-port cabin. She found him hunched over an unfamiliar communications device with the X.O. at his elbow.

  “The Wasp is about to dock, too,” Captain Krätz said.

  “With Kris Longknife? What in the world is she doing here?” Vicky asked.

  No one answered.

  “Now we see if this little gadget really works. Connect me with Kris Longknife’s computer,” the skipper said. The box he’d been studying blinked twice.

  “Who is calling?” came through clearly.

  “This is Captain Krätz. Don’t tell Kris Longknife, but she really wants to take this call.”

  There was a long pause, then “I’ve put you through.”

  “Hi Kris, Captain Krätz here. I saw the Wasp had talked her way in and figured you might still be aboard.”

  “How are the girls, and your junior communications officer?”

  “The girls are fine. Looks like some weddings are in a couple of their futures. Good men all. It will be a joy to marry them off. And the junior comm watchstander is at my elbow. Her dad wants her on South Continent with him, but she’s in no hurry. Your file says you like to stay clear of your old man, too. Glad my girls don’t have whatever disease you two girls have.”

  “I love talking family, Captain, but I don’t think that’s why you called.”

  “Nope, I figured I better warn you. Real soon you’re going to be asked to dump your reactor core and offload all ship-stored power to the station. That includes the capacitors for the lasers you don’t have.”

  “We’re going to be asked to dump our reactor core before we dock,” Kris repeated.

  “What?” came from somewhere.

  “Nelly, go public with this call.”

  “Yes,” Captain Krätz said. “Every ship tied up, including my Surprise, is cold reactor and empty capacitors. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they didn’t trust us.”

  “What could possibly make them think that?” came from the other voice.

  At that moment, a background message that sounded like Talk Between Ships interrupted. “As soon as you attach to the first dock tie-down, you must vent your reactor to space. Both of them. You still got an engine problem that just has to be worked on here.”

  “I told you I do.” that other voice said. “Engineering, prepare to vent all reactor contents to space. Be sure to do it away from the pier.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  “Thank you Captain Krätz for the warning,” Kris said.

  “I figured you’d like a bit of advance word. Your file says paranoia runs in your family.”

  “Understandable since someone does seem out to get us.”

  “I would know nothing of that.”

  “Speaking of that, you must be curious as to why I’m here.”

  “The thought did cross my mind,” Captain Krätz said dryly.

  “It seems their’s a plot afoot to kill Mr. Harry Peterwald.”

  “Do tell. There’s been only four attempts this week,” he said, eyeing Vicky. “Three died in the act and one during interrogation. Mind you, none of that is in the papers. My security officer told me as a stern reminder that all of the restrictions on movement for my crew are indeed necessary.”

  Vicky silently echoed Kris’s “Four?” who then went on, ““Captain Krätz, were any of the assassins connected to either Xanadu or the Abdicator movement?”

  “Good heavens, are those nuts still running around?” her captain actually looked surprised. Was that possible? “But no, all were home grown from Birridas. At least that’s the story. Me, I suspect if they looked real hard at some of those entrails, they might lead back to the Palace. But dead men tell no tales.”

  “Xanadu does exist, and I’ve been there twice in the last month or so. It appears that a small tactical team of young enthusiasts have been sent by the Guides of the Abdicators to start a war. Our best guess is that it would involve killing your Peterwald.”

  “The Abdicators, ah,” Captain Krätz tapped a reader, then scowled at what he saw. “They were street-corner noisemakers. Never used terrorist tactics.”

  “Things have changed. The new
and improved version does.”

  “Oh.” Her skipper eyed the overhead, then spoke slowly. “But how would killing Harry involve us in a war?”

  “As I said, Captain. I’ve been to Xanadu twice in the last month or so. They are now here. I suspect that the whole business is intended to have Longknife fingerprints all over it.”

  Her captain’s “Oh,” was echoed silently by Vicky.

  “Princess, I need to talk to my security officer pronto,” Captain Krätz said. “Will you be available to talk later?”

  “I’ve been told none of us can leave the Wasp.”

  “Right. You’re under even tighter restrictions then we are. Give me a bit. I suspect State Security will want to talk to us. Oh, and I’ve had Ensign Victoria listening in on this. We may need a direct line to the Palace soon.

  “I think we will,” Kris said.

  The commlink was hardly broken, and the black box put away before Krätz was asking the ship’s senior Political Officer to his quarters. It took longer to explain to him what was coming at them than it took to hear it the first time. Vicky finally settled the matter.

  “Someone is out to kill my dad. Are you going to ignore this matter?”

  They were soon headed for the Wasp. Somewhere along the way they picked up an escort of State Security guards with machine pistols. They only to come to a halt at the Wardhaven ship. Kris had a six man security team waiting. They were in full battle armor.

  Their leader stepped forward. “Do you have business on this ship, sir?”

  “I am Colonel vin Martin to see this Longknife girl.”

  “You request an audience with Her Highness, Kristine Longknife,” the NCO corrected.

  “May I remind you that we are in Greenfeld space. We have no truck with princes.”

  That left Vicky wondering how she managed to grow up in a palace

  “I know where I am, Colonel,” said the armed and armored NCO. How he got his voice so gentle but ringing of steel was something Vicky wanted to learn. “May I point out that you are on board a Wardhaven warship bearing the great-granddaughter of King Raymond the First of United Sentients.”

  The two men glared at each other for a bit. It was the colonel who folded. “Please advise this putative princess of yours that State Security requests and requires a meeting with her.”