50
Kris's staff room, now changed by the situation into a Tac Room, was just the way they'd left it during the stampede to the bridge. A chair was overturned on the floor.
One wall showed a schematic of the Dedicated Workers of Tourin. The wall next to it was covered with opened files. The wall across from it showed … a spiderweb. Beside it was a series of files not found, and similar error messages.
At the table, Chief Beni was alternately cursing, pulling his hair out, and pounding on his own large unit, which he'd plugged into the table. He looked up as Kris came in. ''What kind of junk is this we're getting from that Peterwald ship? Are they trying to bring down our main ship's computer?''
''They better not be,'' Vicky said, and rattled off a long string of letters, numbers, words, and even a whistle at the end.
The wall of spiderwebbing blinked black for a moment, then came up steady with a schematic of the Tourin not at all different from that on the opposite wall.
''Sorry,'' Vicky said. ''It's all password encrypted. I didn't expect the files to get here so fast.''
''You did threaten to shoot the man,'' Kris pointed out.
''Yes, but I still thought it would take more time to get the information together and over the net.''
''I think State Security has a priority for ‘it gets there now, or I get shot,' '' Captain Krätz said.
Kris hoped he was joking, but wouldn't have taken the bet. The nod from Vicky looked far too of course for her to even consider that bet. For the first time in her life Kris could honestly think, Thank God I was born a Longknife.
How can the Peterwalds run an empire this way?
Are they running it, or is it running them? Killing them?
Point taken.
Kris focused on the Tourin. Where warships like the Typhoon were built small and slim and rounded to offer lasers less of a target, the Tourin was huge and built like a brick to contain more cabin space and, apparently, to give each premium cabin its own view out. Forward, the ship tapered deck by deck with the most expensive rooms having both views out and ahead. The bridge was at the very apex of the stepped pyramid.
''Do we target the bridge?'' Kris asked, half to herself, half to those around her. Captain Drago had stayed on his own bridge to oversee the powering-up process. Still, Kris had one cruiser captain. He was shaking his head.
''I don't think the bridge will get you anything. There's a backup control room well aft, just before Engineering,'' Krätz said. On the schematic behind Kris, a space glowed red just forward of where she'd expect the power plant to begin. ''These liners are intended to be easily converted to either troop transports, or, if big lasers are provided, ships able to stand against anything but a battleship.''
''Might explain your security man's reluctance to provide this to us,'' Abby said.
Captain Krätz gently cleared his throat. ''You do know, Your Highness, that your maid, now apparently Army officer, regularly publishes information about what you do?''
''Oh,'' Kris said, a puzzle piece falling into place. ''Is that why that Security colonel was about to swallow his cud? He was meeting Abby face-to-face and couldn't figure out how to react to a spy being in our midst.''
Abby, for her part, did a letter-perfect curtsy.
''You don't sound surprised,'' Krätz said.
''Abby, what's it worth to you not to have your cover blown?'' Kris called cheerfully over her shoulder.
''Hey, not fair. You're supposed to be paying me for early copies of my reports and slightly modified ones that you can use for your paperwork.'' The maid sounded very unhappy.
''It's not me you need to bribe. Looks to me like you better buy this captain's silence.''
''Me, too,'' Vicky called. ''I always need a new dress.''
''What bribe?'' was a low growl coming from the door as the State Security colonel followed Gunny in.
''A bit of levity,'' Kris growled right back, ''to lighten the burden of figuring out how to damage a starliner with five thousand souls aboard.''
''Why damage it?'' the colonel said. ''Just blow it up.''
That brought a strained silence.
''Kris,'' Vicky said in a low voice, ''that is how I feel too. It's my dad's life we're talking about.''
''Your dad and a whole lot of people down on that planet,'' Kris agreed. ''But it's not as easy as that. Has anyone calculated the kinetic power of one of our pulse lasers?'' Normally Kris would have asked Nelly to do it, but the low hum in the back of Kris's head said that the old girl was fully occupied.
''I've got it,'' Penny said. ''Entered it before that battle above Chance and never purged it.''
Beside Kris, Vicky swallowed hard at the mention of the battle in which her brother died. She also threw Penny a hard glance, as if memorizing her face.
Penny looked back just as hard. ''A lot of us fought at Chance, and my husband died stopping those battleships above Wardhaven.''
Vicky started to open her mouth.
Kris cut her off. ''Enough, girls. A lot of people are hurting from a lot of things that might have been better not done. Today, we have today's problems. Captain, can you tell us something about the thickness of the hide on this thing? The decks and strength girders.''
''That is a state secret,'' the colonel pointed out.
''You can keep the secret and start looking for a new First Citizen, or you can tell us and maybe we can save his life. Your call. Or should I have Miss Victoria call Lieutenant General Boyng again?''
The colonel in black looked like he'd swallowed something bitter, but he nodded Captain Krätz's way. That Greenfeld officer ran off a list of numbers.
Penny fed them into her computer, then paused a moment before announcing, ''Not good. We'll achieve complete burn through, one side to the other, using only twenty-five percent of the power of one of our four pulse lasers.''
''So we can punch four or maybe sixteen holes in that can,'' Kris said. ''Can we slice it in half? Quarters? Sixteenths?''
Penny eyed her wrist unit. ''Half, definitely. Maybe into three chunks. Not four.''
''And they would hit the planet in three places with one-third the power,'' Colonel Cortez said.
''No,'' Kris said at the same time Krätz did. Kris deferred to the Greenfeld captain.
''If we do anything to the engines as we pass, the ship stops accelerating. Its course assumes that it will keep its acceleration constant right up to collision. If we stop its acceleration, it will miss the planet entirely.''
''Assuming they do not change its course,'' the security colonel snapped. ''Just one hit in the right part of its power plant, and the containment field collapses. The ship and terrorists vanish, and we have no more problem.''
''Kris …'' Vicky said, not quite pleading.
''That is an option,'' Kris said slowly. ''But it is my last option. I did not put on this uniform to kill five thousand people whose only crime was buying a ticket to ride or taking a job to pander to them. Am I understood, Colonel!''
Kris locked eyes with the man from State Security. He glared right back at her.
''My duty is to the state, and the First Citizen.''
''And you know way too much about blowing up a ship for my liking and seem only too quick to do it.''
''Enough, the two of you!'' Vicky shouted. ''If you don't want to hit the electric generators, what do you intend to hit?''
Kris ran her hands along the schematic on the wall. ''The bridge, the living spaces have no value to us. The colonel is right, we need to hit the engineering area,'' she said, coming to rest there. ''The question is how do we cripple and drive the ship hopelessly off course, so that it can't be put back on course,'' Kris glanced at the colonel. ''But not blow it apart.''