Kris Longknife: Tenacious (Kris Longknife novellas Book 12) (25 page)

“Well,
Jack, it’s now official. I have been invited to the General Session of the Associated Peoples annual session. Apparently, it’s being held three months early just for little old me.”

Kris tried to keep a happy grin on her face. Unfortunately for the debutante in her past, she was none too sure she meant a word she said.

“Where is this shooting gallery going to be held?” Jack asked before Amanda, Penny, or their tagalongs could say a word.

“One of the largest cities on the planet. It’s located in the zone with the highest tech. The one that first contacted us.”

“And then proceeded to keep the bad news to itself,” Jacques pointed out.

“Has anything been heard from the people you lased from orbit?” Masao asked.

“Not so much as a peep,” Kris said. “And when we cross their territory, we are not even tracked by radar.”

“Total shutdown,” Penny said. “But I notice we’re still on alert.”

“It only takes a few seconds to turn a radar on, track us, and launch,” Jack pointed out.

“So, are you going down?” Amanda asked.

“The invitations from both of the major zones say their leaders will be there personally and wish ‘to speak to me eye to eye.’ That phrase may not mean what it says.”

“Or it can mean exactly what it says,” Jacques put in.

“Yes.”

“So what do we do?” Penny asked.

“We do what we always do,” Jack growled. “We keep her safe despite herself. Penny, you are the admiral’s coordinator with the local police. So get on the horn and talk to the local police. Coordinate. Me, I’m the chief of her security. I will be talking to the chief of the security details of these other two top cats and seeing what they’re doing to keep their primaries safe.”

General Montoya paused for a breath. “We are going down to talk with civilized people with the usual problems of organized civility. Honey,” Jack said, turning to Kris, “don’t wait up for me tonight. I may be dirtside for a day or two.”

“You’re not mad at me, are you, Jack?”

“No, love. You do what you do, and I do what I do. We knew it would be like this when we decided to share as much of our lives as we could.”

Kris blew him a kiss, but he and Penny were already having their computers hook them into what passed for a communications net dirtside.

In seconds, both were talking to someone. Minutes later, they were headed dirtside on the same longboat with a detachment of Marines.

Jack was not in her bed that night, nor the next one. That day, the aliens finally showed up, clearly swinging around the sun and still in their long line ahead.

And that was the day Kris was formally invited to address the Associated Peoples the next day . . . with Jack’s approval.

She arose early the next day, pulled on her spider silks and donned her vice admiral’s dress uniform. At the last minute, she slipped on an armored wig as well.

What had Jack called it, the shooting gallery? Certainly, there was no one down there that had a beef with one of those damn Longknifes. However, she had flattened someone’s mountain.

Fearless Leader had not been heard from since the mountain got slagged, and the squadron continued to zip above that zone with not even a hint of radar ranging. Still, Kris chose to take no chance.

It proved to be a wise choice.

The
admiral’s barge landed in a river and was promptly surrounded by police boats and led to a pier. Kris exited into a wharf, covered against the rain and even heated against the damp chill.

On a gallery above her, cameras rolled and lights flashed. There were a lot of shouts to look this way, and Kris did. She remembered how to do the princess thing and smiled and waved as was necessary to the role.

Jack let her stand there, but there was a large black limo waiting for her. And farther back, several large SUV-type rigs with an ambulance at the rear.

“You really do have this all prepared,” Kris said through her wide smile.

“It’s been a while,” Jack answered through a tight smile, “but it’s like a bicycle. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you always know how to fall off again.”

Kris had to chuckle at that.

“This is your allotted time for waving,” a furry female with a sleek black coat and interesting silver harness said. “It is time to be going,” and she entered the limo.

Kris gave one last wave and slipped inside. Jack, in dress blue and reds did the same. In a moment, the cavalcade was on its way.

“You speak our language very well,” Kris said, settling into her place.

“I am a professional translator. I have mastered twelve languages and can read eighteen. Your language is moderately easy. I have been studying it since we started picking up your communications.”

Kris eyed Jack.

“When you talked to the kids, you’d talk and Nelly would translate. Both seemed to have gotten through. It also appears that Nelly included several of the original copies of our reports as well as the translations.”

“I thought they might come in handy,” Nelly said.

“I found them most helpful. Now, about your schedule,” the female said.

“I am Kris Longknife,” Kris said, offering her hand.

“Oh. I am sorry if I have violated greetings protocol. I am Zarra ak Torina. At your server.”

“At your service,” Nelly said.

“At your service,” Zarra corrected. “And this is?” she said, staring at Kris’s collarbone.

“My personal computer,” Kris said. “She is also my translator.”

“Computer?”

“You have computational machines,” Kris said.

“Yes, for weapons design and some other things. Businesses are starting to use them for billing and inventory.”

“Very primitive,” Nelly said.

N
ELLY, SHUSH.
I
THINK
WE NEED TO KEEP YOU
OUT OF THIS.

S
POILSPO
RT.

“We use computers for much more. And ours are much smaller. Have you landed a person on your moon?”

Zarra shook her head. “There is talk of doing that, but many think it is just talk.”

“On our first planet, the race to put a man on the moon sparked all kinds of improvements in life and technology. I will suggest that your leaders undertake that challenge if they want to expand their horizons.”

“Just your being here is a major expansion of our horizons,” the translator said.

“No doubt,” Kris said before Nelly could.

“We are driving to the Tower of the Associated Peoples Grand Assembly. Almost every country has chosen to send its leader to this meeting, so you will be seen by most everyone. There will also be private meetings so you can talk face-to-face with President of Columm Almar, President Almar, and Prime Minister of the Bizalt Kingdom, Madame Gerrot. They represent the two most powerful zones now that President for Life Solzen seems to have departed this life.”

“Is she the one that fired on us?”

“Yes.”

“Foolish to do it once. Stupid to do it twice.”

“Many of us agree with you. Apparently, what you did to her mountain redoubt has also taken out most of those who implemented her rule. The country is in disorder. All wonder what will come of that chaos.”

Kris chose not to remark on that.

The ride was smooth, attesting to the weight of the car, and, no doubt, the thickness of the armor. Here and there along the drive, people on the sidewalks paused to wave. They seemed dressed for the wet weather in substantially more than the interpreter, leaving Kris to wonder what the attitudes were toward clothes.

Y
OU SHOULD HAVE
ASKED ME SOONER, OR W
ATCHED A FEW OF THE
SOAP OPERAS,
Nelly growled in Kris’s head. T
HEY DO
N’T MUCH CARE FOR CL
OTHES, BUT THEY LIKE
TO BE WET EVEN LESS.
Y
OU HAIRLESS APES MA
Y HAVE TO GET USED T
O A MORE OPEN ATTITU
DE.

T
HANK YOU,
N
ELLY.

Y
OU’RE WELCOME,
K
RIS.

They drove into a basement and directly to a wide-open entrance. The interpreter exited first, then stepped aside to allow Jack to step out. From the following black rigs, Musashi Marines in bright red dress uniforms rushed to form a defensive perimeter, all eyes out. Only when they had taken up station did Jack motion Kris out.

He offered her a hand, and she stood.

Again, a wall well away from them was taken up by cameras and their crews. Kris smiled and waved like a good princess, then went where her guides led.

The Marines fell in on both sides of her.

“They don’t mind having armed Marines in their halls of power?” Kris said through another wide smile.

“These aren’t their halls of power,” Jack answered through tight lips. “And they like a parade as much as the next. Although, I got the impression they wanted the Marines buck naked. That would spoil everything, though. Most of them think our Marines are female.”

“How’s it feel to be a guy in a gal’s world?”

“No different than it ever does, Mrs. Montoya.”

That almost broke Kris up.

Zarra led them to a large foyer with high walls on two sides but open to the next floor up on the other two. Again, there were camera crews recording everything. The rails on the upper floors were lined with people who watched and waved. Kris spotted two young ones, only about half the height of grown-ups waving madly. She waved back. Zeth and her young boyfriend had made it just as they had planned. They’d even managed to ship a picture of themselves up to the
Wasp
so Kris could recognize them.

But their time would be later. Zarra led Kris to a female who might have once had a lovely gold-and-black-striped coat but which now showed much gray in place of black.

“May I present to you, the Elected Speaker of the Associated Assembly, Von ak N’tire.”

Kris held out her hand. The elderly female held out her paw, but, no sooner had Kris and she touched palms than the Elected Speaker pulled Kris into a wide hug. Kris suspected she could have been crushed in the hug, but it was pro forma at best.

Quickly, it was over, and Kris stepped back.

Y
OU
COULD HAVE WARNED ME
ABOUT THAT,
J
ACK,
she said on Nelly Net.

W
H
AT, AND TAKE ALL THE
FUN OUT OF IT?

Then a slug slammed into Kris’s back before she even heard the shot fired.

Kris
hit the deck both because that was what she’d been told to do, and because she had to. The force of that slug was that bad.

When the second slug hit her, she rolled both to make it harder to hit her again and because the round made her.

It also hurt like hell. Even the new spider silk was having a problem with the force of these slugs.

“Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot,” Jack shouted as he came to stand between Kris and the next round.

Around Kris, the Musashi Marines had their rifles up, but Jack was right. Whoever the target was, she was lost among all the people watching from above.

Who were now racing away, either because of the shots fired or the sight of a whole lot of Marine M-6s raised at them with intent.

“Penny, do you have an eye on the shooter?”

“I have her. A white with thin black stripes. She’s ditched her gun, but we have nano scouts following her. I don’t think she expected our technology. We’ll get her. No, make that we’ve got her. Five local blues—well, black and silvers—have her.”

That was followed by a “Damn.”

“What happened, Penny?” Jack demanded.

“She suicided. She slipped something in her mouth and now she’s down, kicking in convulsions and foaming at the mouth. We’ll get nothing from interrogating that one.”

By now, Marines had formed a protective wall around Kris. Only now did Jack kneel down beside her.

“I see you wore your spider silk today.”

“Damn right I did, nanny. And you didn’t even have to bug me about it.”

“That’s why I’ve decided to keep you, wife. You are proving to be very educable.”

“And I’m hurting like mad. Can you give me a lift up?”

Jack offered her both his hands. She swung herself around, tensed every muscle she could handle, and let him haul her up.

“Ouch,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Is it that bad?”

“I’ve had worse.”

Now both the translator and the Elected Speaker were at her side. One was babbling, and the other wasn’t making a lot of sense.

“Calm down,” Kris said, drawing a slow breath. “I am hurt but not injured.”

“You have skin tough enough to resist a slug thrower?” asked Zarra.

“Let’s just say that I do,” Kris said, not willing to give more away than she had to. “Where are the two I need to meet?”

The Speaker led Kris quickly to a door. It was opened by what Kris took to be a soldier. She had a slug rifle and her leather harness was brightly shined and sported several brass buttons.

The soldier stepped aside to let Kris and Jack enter but closed the door before any Marines came in. Since Jack took that as acceptable, Kris did, too.

Penny, in dress blues, allowed herself in a side door and trotted to meet Kris before she reached the two groups waiting at the end of a long hall.

It was quite a luxurious hall. Lined with marble pillars, the floor was a fine, golden hardwood. Between the pillars stood statues in perfect white marble of other felines. Some held spears. Others held books. The balance seemed about even.

As Penny joined them, Jack spoke through a hardly moving mouth. “Do we know anything about the failed assassin?”

“The official story is that it was a madwoman, driven around the bend by the shock of learning that there was life among the stars, something that wasn’t considered possible before a week ago. The most likely story is that one of the survivors of Solzen’s crew thought to get a leg up in the present intramural sport of offing anyone reaching for the fallen President for Life’s baton by offing you. The assassin was known to be associated with a spy network from Fearless Leader’s side.”

“They knew it and didn’t haul her in,” Kris said, trying not to lose her smile.

“If you’ve got them made, you never haul them in. You follow them and see if they take you to someone that you don’t know about.”

Spoken like a true intelligence officer.

Kris came to a halt an equal distance from the two groups as they were from each other. At the center of the groups were two females. One wore a blue coat, edged in gold. The other wore a red cape. As it turned out, President Almar of the Columm Almar wore the coat. The Prime Minister of the Bizalt Kingdom, Madame Gerrot, sported the cape.

Kris saluted. The two of them bowed from the neck. Those around them bowed from the waist.

President Almar stepped forward a pace. “I wish to greet you in the name of the Congress of Columm, in the name of our people and on my own behalf,” she said.

Kris heard the statement as an echo, one from Zarra, the other in her head from Nelly.

N
ELLY, LET
Z
ARRA DO THE TRANS
LATION.
I
F YOU IDENTI
FY A MAJOR FAILURE, T
ELL ME IN MY HEAD AN
D LET ME FIGURE OUT
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.

Y
ES,
K
RIS.

Now Prime Minister Gerrot took a step forward. “I also wish to greet you in the name of the ancient parliament of the Bizalt Kingdom and in the name of our monarch and the people of our ancient land, as well as myself.”

Kris took a step forward. “I am Her Royal Highness, Admiral Kristine Longknife, Viceroy to the people of Alwa and Commander of the Alwa Defense Sector. I wish to greet you in the name of the people of the United Society, their congress, and my liege, King Raymond, the First of that name. And if I may, I wish to greet you in the name of all humanity as well as the Iteeche Empire, may we long share peace with them, and the people of Alwa.”

“There are three different races riding between the stars,” President Almar remarked.

“Yes,” Kris said, not putting too fine a point on the Alwans.

There was quite a discussion among their own advisors about that.

President Almar seemed to shush them with a scowl before turning back to Kris.

“I wish to apologize for the assault on your person,” she said.

“I understand the problem. President Solzen was foolish to fire on us the first time. To fire on us the second time was stupid. No doubt her continued silence is causing much confusion in many corners.” Zarra had liked the foolish, stupid meme. Kris was thinking of adding it to her speech if it went over here.

“In life, Solzen showed herself to be many things,” Madame Gerrot said. “No doubt she will meditate long and hard on her folly from where she rots in hell. Meanwhile, it leaves us with many things to contemplate. Can we expect attacks like you showed us from these aliens you say are coming?”

“I should think by now your own astronomers can see them,” Kris said.

Madame Gerrot glanced behind her. One of her advisors came up to whisper in her ear. “Why was I not told about this sooner?” she snapped.

The advisor gave what looked like a shrug and backed away. Kris eyed the two leaders. Neither of them showed any gray, but something about Madame Gerrot left Kris with a sense of age.

“We have seen the ships coming around the sun that you told us of,” President Almar said. “Will they pound us as hard as you pounded Solzen?”

K
RIS, THE W
ORD FOR POUND THAT S
HE USED HAS A NEGATI
VE CONNOTATION.
C
ATS
CUT AND SLASH.
D
UMB A
NIMALS HAMMER AND PO
UND,
Nelly put in.

“Solzen behaved like a dumb animal, trying to throw rocks at what was not within her reach. I could have cut or slashed her. I chose to hammer her. I have enough weapons in easy reach that I can do whatever I chose to do.”

Both national leaders turned back to their advisors.

G
OOD JAB THERE,
K
RIS,
Jack said on Nelly Net.

T
HANK YOU,
N
ELLY, FOR THE INPUT.

Y
OU’RE WELCOME,
K
RIS.

Now the top cats were looking at each other, as if to decide who was the top cat. Finally, Almar spoke.

“May I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer it.”

K
RIS, THAT IS VERY T
ENTATIVE.
A
LMOST SUBM
ISSIVE, IF WE CAN TRU
ST THE SOAP OPERAS.

“You will have to ask the question before I can know if I can answer it or decide if I will,” Kris said, pulling herself up to her full height, which just about equaled that of the cat before her.

“Why are you here?” President Almar asked. “What brings you to our solar system now, just when we are being attacked? The timing seems much more than a coincidence.”

Kris had expected that question. She’d spent the better part of the last day going over it with Amanda and Jacques. Their final conclusion was that the truth would be better than evasion. Kris had harbored a hope that it would not come up.

At least it was raised in semiprivate.

“I am here because I chased a ship full of mutineers here,” Kris said slowly. “I caught them and would have gone back to Alwa except we discovered your radio and TV transmissions at the same time we identified the alien ships that had fled here to lick their wounds and regroup after the last time we defeated them.”

Kris paused to make sure her translator had stayed with her. Then she went on.

“Hard as it may be to believe, it is a long series of coincidences that led me here. After capturing my miscreants, I was considering going back to Alwa without making contact with you. However, when the aliens launched their attack, I chose to defend you.”

“There are twenty-two of them and only eight of you,” Madame Gerrot said. “Do you expect to win this battle?”

“I expect to, but one never knows in battle, does one?”

“No,” Almar said. “Lady Chance dances a jig in every battle.”

“What will you do if you win?” Lady Gerrot asked. Now her tail was twitching.

“I will return to Alwa, which I have a duty to defend on my honor,” Kris said. “But I think your question was what will I do about you here?”

“That is correct,” President Almar said, standing very still, as if waiting to pounce.

“I would prefer to leave you alone,” Kris answered.

“Alone?” came from both of them. Kris didn’t even need a translator for that. In their surprise and shock, both took a step back. Several of their advisors seemed to be pacing now, tails lashing their sides.

Kris went into her prepared speech. She spoke slowly both so the translator could follow her and so her words would have weight.

“You are at a precarious stage of your civilization. You are still divided into tribal factions. Only now, you are tribal factions with atomic weapons. You can destroy yourselves and everything that lives on this planet. I would prefer not to have anything to do with you until you decide for yourselves if you are to wipe yourselves out or will grow beyond your childhood.”

“That is an interesting perspective,” Almar said with a snort.

“You are where we were four or five hundred years ago. We chose one path. You are still at that crossroads. Which path will you choose?”

“Will these aliens you are about to fight stand by while we choose?” Almar asked.

Now it was Kris’s turn to frown. If she’d had a tail, she might have twitched it. “They create a problem.”

“Will you stay here and guard us?” Madame Gerrot demanded.

“No,” Kris said.

“And why not?” President Almar asked.

“I am charged to defend Alwa,” Kris said.

There was a long pause at that.

“And you do not have enough ships to do that, do you?” President Almar said slowly.

“What admiral ever had enough ships for her job?” Madame Gerrot said slyly.

“I think you are inviting us into a war that is still very much in doubt, isn’t it?” Almar said.

“I am not inviting you into any war. It is coming at you,” Kris said.

“But you cannot defend us,” Gerrot snapped.

“And you cannot defend yourselves,” Kris snapped right back.

The two leaders turned back at that and joined in heated conversation with their advisors.

T
HIS GOING WELL?
Jack asked on Nelly Net.

A
BOUT A
S WELL AS
I
EXPECTED
.

K
RIS,
I
CAN FOLLOW M
OST OF THEIR TALK.
S
O
ME WANT TO TAKE YOU
HOSTAGE AND DEMAND Y
OU PROTECT THEM.
O
THE
RS FEAR YOU.
T
HAT SLA
GGED MOUNTAIN REALLY
IMPRESSED THEM.
A
FE
W JUST WISH YOU’D GO
AWAY AND TAKE THE OT
HER ALIENS WITH YOU.

S
O, NO CONSENSUS,
N
ELL
Y.

N
OTHING EVEN CLOSE
.

J
ACK?

I
’VE ALREADY A
LERTED THE
M
ARINES O
UTSIDE.
T
HERE DOESN’T
APPEAR TO BE ANY MO
VE TO CONTAIN THEM.
I
’VE GOT OTHERS MOVIN
G INTO PLACE.

P
ENNY?

I
’VE SET REPEATERS INTO MOST
OF THE POLICE NETS.
T
HEIR ELECTRONICS ARE
NOT VERY SOPHISTICA
TED.
T
HERE’S NOTHING
ON ANY NET ABOUT MOV
ING AGAINST US.

S
O IT
’S JUST TALK.
J
ACK, KE
EP YOUR
M
ARINES ON S
TANDBY.
T
HERE’S NO TE
LLING WHAT ONE DESPE
RATE TYPE MIGHT DO.

T
RUST ME,
A
DMIRAL, MY W
IFE,
I
’M VERY ALERT.

Finally, the two statesmen stepped away from their advisors and faced Kris.

“What might we do to gain a defensive alliance with you and your king?” Madame Gerrot asked.