''Your what!''
''Stay close, keep your mouth closed, and gun ready.''
''Where have I heard that order before?'' he said, giving Kris a wry grin and Penny a quick kiss. Then he stepped into the elevator. Kris hit the top button, and the car started moving.
The doors opened on a dimly lit bridge that smelled of machine oil, rosin, sweat, and ozone. The rest of the ship might smell like an office, but here it was a working ship. Two chairs swiveled around to face the elevator. A man and woman in dark flight suits, pistols in shoulder holsters, eyed Kris.
Kris turned her entrance onto the bridge into an excited half hop and wiggle. ''Wow, this really is maxi radi,'' she bubbled. ''This is really what makes the thing go?'' she asked, getting a peek around the side of the elevator. A third man worked at a console back there. Whatever it did, the board was up and held the man's attention.
''Excuse me, kid,'' the woman said, standing, ''but haven't you taken a wrong turn somewhere?''
''I told her our client would be down, not up, but she pushed the button before I could stop her,'' Tom said. ''Come on, Rosie, we've got a customer waiting.''
''But this one's good-looking, and I bet he could tell me what all of those flashing lights mean,'' Kris gushed and took two steps closer to the controls.
''Honey child, you do look like fun,'' the still-seated man said, ''but I am on duty, and this is not a sim. All this is working, and we can't have little girls playing with it.''
''Little girls?'' Kris pouted—and shot the fellow.
Tom brought down the woman. The fellow behind the elevator was just turning as Kris put three darts into him.
''I'm taller than you, little boy,'' Kris said as she turned the command chair and rolled the sleeping fellow out of it. ''Tom, get Penny. We've got some controls to figure out.''
Tom pulled the woman he'd shot into a fireman's carry and headed for the elevator. Kris studied the board, but, following the napping pilot's advice, touched nothing.
When the elevator returned, Abby was with Penny. ''The ship's ours. There were only two more crew on board. A fellow claiming to be the cook told us most hands were dirtside on leave. They were recalled after you kids started mowing things up, but they aren't back yet.''
''Let's close up the ship,'' Kris said.
''Give us a few minutes to get everyone off,'' Abby said, pulling sleepers into the elevator. ''Oh, and what looks like the owner's cabin has been locked from the outside and the inside. Jack's working on the problem.''
''Outside and inside,'' Kris muttered. ''Nelly, can you do anything about that?''
''I am concentrating on access to the ship's main network,'' Kris's computer said slowly, as if ashamed to admit she wasn't already in. ''This system is very well protected.''
''Well, get in,'' Kris said. ''The reactor is on a low trickle, but I'll have to add reaction mass for a good five minutes before we can get under way. When's the big boom scheduled?''
''Six point four two minutes.''
Abby and Tom left with the last two sleepers. Penny settled down on the other side of the bridge, examining that working station. ''Kris,'' she called half a minute later, ''I think this is an intelligence gathering post. I seem to have access to a whole lot of police and military data flow.''
''But they disconnected the land line from the main net. I saw the decoupled data line.''
''It's coming in on a tight beam. If I didn't know better, I'd say someone has hacked the central security net.''
''Curious and curiouser,'' Kris whispered, still eying the lights on the navigation board. ''Nelly, it would be real nice to do a few things.''
''I think I have broken the lock on your board, Kris. Try something.''
Kris tapped for a slight increase in reactor power.
Access Denied.
''I will keep working on that, Kris.''
''You do.'' Kris wanted to scream, pound on the workstation, run in circles. Instead, she walked slowly around the bridge. All stations faced the wall screens, a conventional merchant ship layout since no one put merchies into defensive battle spins. One station backed up the main nav position; that was where the woman had sat. The next few stations around the bridge circle were blank. One should have been sensors if this was a jump ship. Kris would wait until Nelly turned on all stations to make sure. The stations along the back were all data-gathering slots; some looked business, some scientific. Strange mix. Penny was deep into something, so Kris left her undisturbed.
The positions took on an engineering look as Kris made her way back to nav station… except the one next to navigation. It was totally blank, ready to be brought up and initialized. But as what?
Kris settled into the seat at nav. ''Nelly, it would be real nice if we could light a fire on this rig.''
''Try it again, please.''
Kris edged up the reactor level from 5 percent to 10 percent. The reactor responded. Sitting forward in her chair, Kris further increased the flow of reaction mass to the reactor. The amount of plasma into the standby race tract increased, and the electricity generated by the Magnetohydrodynamics engines rose with it. Kris fed that into capacitors… and found this yacht had a very large capacity for storing spare electricity.
''Jack, you ready to seal the hatches?''
''Getting the last extras over the side and sealing the gangway as we speak.''
''Break all connections except the mooring hold-downs. Then stand by. Nelly, how long until things get interesting on the station?''
''Three minutes or so,'' Nelly said.
''And why are you suddenly going general on me?'' Kris asked as she checked out her maneuvering jets. The ship bucked a bit, but the mooring lines held it tight.
''I became aware that though the command nanos have their instructions, the possibility of opposition means that instructions may not be executed on the second I planned.''
''Good, Nelly, you are catching on to how things work in the real world.''
''Your ‘real world' is messy.''
''What parts of this control system don't we control?''
''I am still trying to bring up the jump point sensors,'' Nelly said. ''They are under a different lockdown entirely.''
''Probably the woman I shot,'' Tom said, crossing from the elevator to the secondary control station. He tapped several buttons, then tapped more, shaking his head slowly. ''I see an atom laser gyro, but it won't initialize. Same for the gravimeter. Kris, we can't jump.''
''Nelly, keep working.''
''Kris''—Jack's words came through the ship's system—''I sure could use some help cracking into this last room.''
''Anyone shooting at you from it?''
''Not at the moment.''
''Then Nelly keeps hacking the jump station before she messes with anything else.''
''Dock eleven-d-one, this is the Port Master's office. We read you powering up. We remind you this port is closed.''
''Roger, Port Master,'' Kris drawled, ''we understand this port is closed. We're just running some tests. We've been parked here a while and, if you'll excuse my comment, things are getting a bit interesting on your station. Just in case Pier Eleven were to, maybe, fall off, my owner wants to know I could maneuver to a new dock.''
''I understand your owner is antsy. Just you understand I have orders to shoot anyone departing the station.''
''Assuming they still have power,'' Kris whispered, resting her hand on the console mike. On it, but not totally over it.
''I heard that. We all have our problems tonight. Just you don't go adding any more to my growing list.''
''Roger, Port Master, over and out.'' This time Kris did wait to say anything further until the mike showed a solid red light. ''That ought to keep him off our back for a while.''
''But did you have to give me a heart attack doing it?'' Penny said, leaning back in her chair so she could see Kris. ''I know getting out of here is like, top and highest priority, but you might want to see what I found.''