''Well, if Hank considers that to be top secret, far be it from me to spill the beans,'' Kris said lightly.
Without orders, but in accordance with protocol, Jack and Penny boarded the launch first, then stepping aft to give Kris and Captain Slovo freedom to enter. The Captain handed Kris aboard, boarded himself and came to attention facing forward.
Henry Smythe-Peterwald the Thirteenth in full military regalia stood beside the front seat. Long formal frock coat was topped by a hat that could have been stolen from the captain of a sailing ship, gold fringed and rising high in the middle as it tapered fore and aft. On his chest was a fistful of medals, Distinguished this. Meritorious that. Kris wondered if the poor fellow who approved all of them had actually written up some fiction, or just stamped them. To Keep the Boss's Brat Happy.
And why didn't anyone on Wardhaven ever worry about what might make the Prime Minister's brat a bit happier. Oh well.
Captain Slovo announced most formally, ''Her Highness, Princess Kristine of the United Sentients.''
Hank took one look at Kris and let his perfect face slip into a perfect pout. Was the Commodore just a bit upset not to have a lowly lieutenant to lord it over? Kris thought, and suppressed the grin she felt at her first victory of the night.
Hank whirled to put his back to Kris and sat down, much like a child's balloon losing air. And got entangled in the sword he wore on his left. He should have taken the right-hand seat, but that would not have given him the direct line of sight he wanted. Oh yes, I've totally messed up his little show.
Beside Kris, Captain Slovo coughed softly. ''I believe the last seat is reserved for you, farthest from the controls.''
And I believe you blew it when you announced me, but I'm glad you did. And you only walked into the trap I set for you. I'm sorry, Captain, you deserve a better master, Kris thought as she went where she was directed.
Penny took the seat beside her. Jack settled into the one ahead of her, his cake slicer out of his way and his service automatic in easy reach. Kris automatically arranged her skirt so her own automatic, now holstered above her right knee, was easily in reach. Then she relaxed. The battle tonight would not be fought with bullets. At least not at first.
Hank made his initial play and fell flat. Kris awaited his next move, which turned out to be part of his first. Five captains tromped aboard. Apparently, Hank wanted all his skippers to witness the humiliation of the Commander, Wardhaven's Naval District 41. Unfortunately, all they saw was their own boss in a huff and Kris, smiling regally from aft as they came on board.
Certainly, that had not been in Hank's Plan of the Day.
And Kris was getting a good look at the men who called the shots on his ships. Three quickly settled around their young commodore. As a group, they were young and, Kris suspected, new to their jobs. Seated amidships with the flag captain were two others, older as well. While the forward bunch quickly found themselves something to laugh about… or at… the older captains buckled themselves in, giving quick measured glances forward, and furtive ones aft. Captain Slovo leaned forward and the other two put their heads together, but only for a moment. With solemn loyalty to their superior, they frowned at Kris and settled back into their seats, their faces Navy bland.
Kris leaned over toward Penny. ''Can you get me info on these ships and officers?''
''Yes, Your Highness. They're brand-new and not in my database. I sent off a priority query, but nothing's back yet.''
The ride down went smoothly; Kris could not have done it better. A glance out the window showed Last Chance's airport was not as sleepy as usual. The flight line was crowded with liberty launches; people lined the perimeter fence. Lots of people had turned out for the show. The politician in Kris wondered what they expected, and if they'd be happy with what they got.
Today, the commodore's barge was quickly towed to a spot for all to see. Sailors and Marines lined up in ranks and a brass band in Greenfeld's colors played their anthem. Kris stayed seated when the hatch opened. A stairway with a top landing big enough for a stage rolled up to the door. Hank led his captains onto it, not giving Kris a glance.
For her part, Kris gave him a friendly nod. It might have been lost on Hank, but not on Captain Slovo, or the other two following in his wake. The last one actually nodded and touched his hat. The campaign is joined and yielding some results.
On the stage/stairway, Hank talked into a powerful mike that carried his words across the flight line to the waiting crowd. His crew was at attention, so silence was expected from them. Through the door, Kris could see a portion of the fence line. They stood quietly as Hank announced that ''Space unites us all'' and went on to praise the prosperity that the recent years had brought to everyone ''smart enough to know which way the wind was blowing.'' He ended with the firm hope that the people of Chance would take every advantage that came to people who ''got on the winning bandwagon early and helped it over the top.''
Some chief must have dismissed the sailors from attention, because they provided their commodore with a rousing cheer.
The fence was just as quiet as it had been through the entire spiel.
Hank muttered something to his young captains. Kris could just make out his words. ''They'll learn. We'll show them.''
Kris did not stand until Hank and team were down the stairs and Penny reported they had boarded limos and were leaving. Protocol requires the senior to lead. And while Penny and she were both lieutenants, Penny had Kris beaten by over a year in rank. Still, with a smile, Penny deferred. Jack stepped to the door, took a long look for snipers, grenadiers, others who might ruin his yet untarnished record of keeping alive human space's most available target, and nodded Kris forward.
Kris stepped onto the landing, smiled at everyone in sight, gave a wave as she'd been taught, and started to head down the stairs, ignored by all but the last few media hounds who hadn't yet followed Hank into town.
''Hey, there's our princess,'' someone shouted.
And a cheer went up. Kris found herself waving at a fence line of people. Kids, women, men, waved back at her and gave her the cheers that had somehow eluded Hank's little sales pitch.
She stood there for a long minute waving back and feeling the roar wash over her. There were a few shouts for ''Speech, Speech,'' but they never caught on… to Kris's relief. Hank would be an easy act to follow, but she'd rather not have to play in the muddy waters he'd left. Let the full impact of his words sink in… and her humble quiet and friendly smile.
The crowd was still waving and cheering when Kris made her way slowly down the steps. A limo stopped at the foot of the stairs. Surprise, surprise, Steve Jr. was driving.
''Jack, would you please inform this young Kamikaze pilot that we do not have a schedule that requires us to be anywhere anytime soon and that he can drive us slowly into town.''
''Dad said to set a new record for the drive,'' Steve Jr. beamed.
''He did, did he?'' Jack said, sliding into the front seat.
''Yep, longest time to cover the distance,'' the boy said. ''Which is gonna be hard to do, cause Tanona is driving that kid admiral, and she's the slowest driver on this planet.''
Kris waved at the crowd as Steve headed for the gate. Most were walking to their cars, but one little girl was waving hard enough that Kris feared her arm might fall off. Kris gave her a big smile and hearty wave. As they stopped briefly at the gate, the six-year-old turned, and Kris caught the eager exchange.
‘'Mommy, Mommy, the princess waved at me. Just at me.''
''I'm sure she did,'' her mommy answered without looking up from strapping a younger sibling into a car seat.