The lights went to full. The bulkheads gleamed gray again. And without an order given, chairs were hurriedly pushed in by sailors and Marines.
Kris's staff collapsed into the chairs and found themselves staring at each other. Kris had a very puzzled team … that now included a captain from her sworn enemy.
Oh, and his daughter.
Vicky settled into the chair at her captain's right hand. He'd taken the seat at the foot of the table, opposite Kris. ''Have you really come here to save my dad's life?'' Vicky asked.
''I don't see much choice in the matter. If your father is killed anytime soon, Lucifer and his team will paint my fingerprints all over the plot. Propagandists will demand I either stand a kangaroo trial here or war. Since I don't think King Ray would hand me over for a show trial, it looks like war.''
''You don't sound all that sure about your king,'' Captain Krätz said, a knowing smile on his face.
Kris made a face. ''Let's just say I don't want to find out. Grampa Ray has tossed me into a lot of messes, sink or swim. I'd prefer not to see how I could manage on Greenfeld.''
''I wouldn't want to take my chances with what passed for a justice system back home, either,'' Vicky said. Then changed the subject. ''How do we stop this devil boy from killing my dad?''
Captain Krätz was shaking his head. ''I don't see that he has any chance of getting close to the First Citizen.''
''I agree,'' Kris said.
''Now, hold it,'' Jack said, half out of his seat. ''You dragged us out here to stop devil boy. I like her choice of words. But now you say he ain't likely to kill anyone. Kris!''
Kris just shrugged. Since Captain Krätz made no effort to talk, she explained. ''Lucifer and his Xanadu team are fish out of water. They're hicks with hayseed in their hair. They can hardly open their mouths without getting arrested. No. There is no way they'll get close enough to Peterwald to kill him.''
''And we're here because …'' Jack said, sounding very tired.
''Because,'' Captain Krätz said, ''they will be captured. Under interrogation, they will mention your Kris. If anyone kills Ensign Victoria's dad, the trail is set to lead straight back to Kris. Heads, they win. Tails, you lose.''
Jack settled back into his chair, eyed the overhead, and muttered a long stream of curses.
Now it was Kris's turn to lean forward. ''Who came up with the stupid idea of having Vicky's father go on safari on a half-pacified planet?'' Kris asked.
It was Vicky who answered. ''It could have been any number of factions. Dad prides himself on being ‘The Mighty Hunter.' Show him something he hasn't killed, and he'll be off in a flash. When I heard Birridas was joining the Alliance, I would have bet Dad would be here hunting in no time.''
Captain Krätz nodded along. ''It was just that none of us thought he'd come before planetary defenses were in place. And the idea of not trusting the Navy to guard the planet. It's almost as if …'' The captain could not finish that sentence.
''It's almost as if you were being set up for something,'' Captain Drago said. Then paused. ''Wait one.'' Now his eyes fixed on the overhead as he listened to something. Then he stood. ''Kris, I strongly suggest that we continue this conversation on the bridge. It seems matters are developing.''
''What's happening?'' came in a half dozen voices.
''It's quicker to see than to explain it,'' hung curtly in the air as Captain Drago rushed for the door.
Kris had had enough of stately pomp and pretensions; she sprinted right after him.
48
A breathless minute later, Kris's team arranged themselves in front of the main screen. A deadly serious Sulwan Kann explained what they were looking at.
''Three minutes ago, the FolkFestiva starliner Dedicated Workers of Tourin came through Jump Point Alpha. It did so at twenty thousand klicks an hour.'' That drew a low whistle from those qualified to know just how suicidal that was.
''Is that a problem?'' Colonel Cortez asked.
''Only if you want to get where you're going,'' Captain Drago explained. ''Jump points orbit two, three, six planets, and the influence of all of them affect the jump point, making them seem to wander aimlessly from the perspective of any one planet. A smart captain and navigator approach a jump carefully to make sure it hasn't moved. You approach it too fast, and you may end up at some planet halfway across the galaxy. If you've got a spin on your boat, it only gets worse.''
Drago rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ''Usually liners and expensive battleships tiptoe through a jump. Strange.''
''And it's gotten stranger,'' Sulwan announced. ''She's hit the accelerator—3.26 gees.''
''No captain of a liner puts his passengers under that kind of acceleration,'' Captain Krätz said.
''So we assume that the Workers of Tourin is no longer under its captain's control,'' Colonel Cortez observed softly.
''Talk to me about the Tourin,'' Drago ordered.
Sulwan brought up the required specs.
''A million tons,'' Jack said. ''Oh God.''
''Five thousand passengers and crew.'' Penny's voice broke.
''How long before she gets here?'' Kris asked, voice cold.
''Assuming the Tourin keeps accelerating, and does not flip and start decelerating,'' Sulwan said as the screen changed to reflect her words, ''we've got seven hours, thirty-three minutes before it digs a big hole off the coast of South Continent.''
''Where my dad's hunting,'' Vicky added.
''You'll have to get him out. There's time,'' Kris said.
''No,'' Krätz cut in. ''There's a storm raging there. Think big, bad hurricane. It's got everything grounded.''
Kris frowned. ''Assassin's luck, or planned?''
Krätz shrugged. ''It is the season for those things.''
''So, seven and a half hours. How many ships can you get under way?'' Kris asked, eyeing the Greenfeld captain.
Captain Krätz shook his head. ''We told State Security that this dinky station's reactor would need a month to boil enough plasma to power up the fleet, but no. ‘One of your ship's engineers might send his reactor critical and try to kill the First Citizen.' Every ship had to go cold steel. They are all a bunch of idiots,'' Krätz roared.
With effort, he recovered his temper. ''And now it seems that some of them are traitors as well. We have been set up.''
Captain Drago cleared his throat. ''With all respect to the captain, there is one ship that can get under way.''
''Who?'' Captain Krätz demanded.
''Us,'' Captain Drago said, with a sly smile.
The Greenfeld captain frowned. Then his eyes grew wide for a moment before he growled, ''You wouldn't do that!''
''The Wasp was rigged for that procedure last overhaul,'' Drago shot back. ''We are an exploration ship. There was no way to foretell what our needs might be out beyond the Rim.''
''That's insane. Worse, it's suicidal and mass murder.''
''Not when properly done with modern power supplies.''
Kris felt like she was watching a Ping-Pong match. Only she had no idea what it was that the two men were batting back and forth. ''Would one of you mind,'' she shouted into the rapid fire of words, ''telling the rest of us what you are talking about?''
For a moment longer, the two captains stood eyeing each other. Then Captain Krätz gave a curt wave at Captain Drago.
Drago, with a confident half bow, began. ''Our four landers have antimatter cells. We can remove them and rig two of them to our auxiliary power supply generators. Those two will get the magnetic containment field up. Then we dump the other two into the main reactor and jump-start the fusion process,'' he said, proud as the calico cat that swallowed the Cheshire canary.