Intrepid Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  About the Author

  Praise for Kris Longknife AUDACIOUS

  “ ‘I’m a woman of very few words, but lots of action.’ So said Mae West, but it might just as well have been Lieutenant Kris Longknife, princess of the one hundred worlds of Wardhaven. Kris can kick, shoot, and punch her way out of any dangerous situation, and she can do it while wearing stilettos and a tight cocktail dress. She’s all business, with a Hells Angel handshake and a ‘get out of my face’ attitude. But her hair always looks good. Audacious maintains a crisp pace and lively banter . . . Kris Longknife is funny, and she entertains us.” —Sci Fi Weekly

  “The [fifth] book in this fast-paced, exciting military SF series continues the saga of a strong heroine who knows how to kick serious ass and make an impression on friends and enemies alike. Mike Shepherd has a great ear for dialogue and talent for injecting dry humor into things at just the right moment . . . The characters are engaging, and the plot is full of twists and peppered liberally with sharply described action. I always look forward to installments in the Kris Longknife series because I know I’m guaranteed a good time with plenty of adventure. Audacious doesn’t disappoint in this regard. Military SF fans are bound to get a kick out of the series as a whole, and fans will be glad to see Kris hasn’t lost any of her edge.” —SF Site

  “Mike Shepherd is a fantastic storyteller who excels at writing military science fiction. His protagonist is a strong-willed, independent thinker who does what she thinks is best for humanity . . . There is plenty of action and tension . . . This is a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience for science fiction fans.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  ... and for the Kris Longknife novels

  “Shepherd’s grasp of timing and intrigue remains solid, and Kris’s latest challenge makes for an engaging space opera, seasoned with political machinations and the thrills of mysterious ancient technology, that promises to reveal some interesting things about the future Kris inhabits.” —Booklist

  “Enthralling ... fast paced ... a well-crafted space opera with an engaging hero ... I’d like to read more.” —SFRevu

  “Everyone who has read Kris Longknife will hope for further adventures starring this brave, independent, and intrepid heroine. Mike Shepherd has written an action-packed, exciting space opera that starts at light speed and just keeps getting better. This is outer-space military science fiction at its adventurous best.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “I’m looking forward to her next adventure.”

  —The Weekly Press (Philadelphia)

  “Fans of the Honor Harrington escapades will welcome the adventures of another strong female in outer space starring in a thrill-a-page military space opera. The heroine’s dry wit [and] ability to know what she is good at [as well as] her faults while keeping her regal DNA in perspective—especially during a crisis—endear her to readers. The audience will root for the determined, courageous, and endearing heroine as she displays intelligence and leadership during lethal confrontations.”

  —Alternative Worlds

  “[Shepherd] has a good sense of pace . . . very neatly handled, and served with a twist of wry. A surprisingly talented read from a very underrated author.” —Bewildering Stories

  “Shepherd does a really good job with this book. If you’re looking for an entertaining space opera with some colorful characters, this is your book. Shepherd grew up Navy, and he does an excellent job of showing the complex demands and duties of an officer. I look forward to the next in the series.”

  —Books ’n’ Bytes

  “You don’t have to be a military sci-fi enthusiast to appreciate the thrill-a-minute plot and engaging characterization.”

  —Romantic Times

  Ace titles by Mike Shepherd

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: MUTINEER

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: DESERTER

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: DEFIANT

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: RESOLUTE

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: AUDACIOUS

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: INTREPID

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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  Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

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  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: INTREPID

  An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Ace mass-market edition / November 2008

  Copyright © 2008 by Mike Moscoe.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form

  without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in

  violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Gro
up (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  ISBN: 9781101078907

  ACE

  Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  ACE and the “A” design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  Version_2

  1

  Lieutenant Kris Longknife had been looking for a fight for most of the last week. Strange enough, not only had the pirates she was hunting been lying low, but no one in all of human space had offered her the chance to cross swords, cross lasers, cross fire, or even toss a few cross words their way.

  This had to be a first.

  Kris finished zipping up her shipsuit and turned on Abby, her personal maid. For once, even she was beating a hasty retreat to her own quarters next door to Kris’s.

  Kris put an end to that. “We need to talk.”

  Any talk with Abby inevitably entailed cross words, often crossed knives, and, occasionally, cross fire.

  Abby stopped in her tracks and, without bending her rigid spine even a fraction of an inch, glanced over her shoulder. “I’ve never known you to have problems getting a word out. What’s been keeping you so quiet?”

  “I’m not quiet,” Kris shot back in her defense, and realized just as quickly that Abby was, once again, counterattacking before Kris even got her own attack decently under way.

  “All while I was dressing you, Your Lieutenantship, Highness, and Longknifehood, you were silent as a statue.”

  Kris’s repost sounded weak even to her. “Lost in thought.”

  “Well, when you find your way home, I’ll be next door helping Cara with her schoolwork.”

  “She’s doing very well,” Nelly, Kris’s personal computer, chimed in from where she rode on Kris’s collar. The idea that Nelly, after her latest upgrades—worth a major chunk of the cost of the ship they were riding in—was spending a hunk of her capacity helping a twelve-year-old girl catch up on her school learning was not what Kris wanted to hear.

  “Thank you, Nelly,” Abby said.

  “No thank you, Nelly. That is what we need to talk about. A warship is no place to raise a twelve-year-old girl.”

  “The Wasp is not a warship,” Abby said with a sniff.

  “Yes it is,” Kris snapped right back, placing her hands on her hips. “The Wasp mounts twenty-four-inch pulse lasers and sports Smart Metal™ armor. And we are out here, past the rim of colonized space, trolling for pirates.”

  “That is no never mind,” Abby said, her hands now on her hips. “I am the contracting rep. I initialed the contract and represent Wardhaven aboard the Wasp, and I know there is nothing in the contract of this merchant ship that makes it a warship.”

  “We’ve got a rump company of Marines.”

  “And a whole lot of scientists and their equipment on board. This ship is covered with shipping containers.”

  “We’ve got to look like a merchant ship if we’re going to get a pirate to take a shot at us. Any smart pirate would just sail on by a warship,” Kris said, voice rising.

  “There you go, talking like one of those Longknifes,” Abby snapped. “No wonder Admiral Crossenshield insisted I be his contract rep on the Wasp. And you better believe Captain Drago and half the crew breathed a sigh of relief when they found out you wouldn’t be in their direct chain of command.”

  Kris started to point out that they were civilians, and whatever relationship they might have with a Navy lieutenant, it wouldn’t be hooked to any chain of command. Certainly not any chain of command that a normal, sane Navy might have.

  But Kris heard the creak of the door opening between her cabin and Abby’s, and a dark-haired head with the hugest round eyes peeked in.

  When Kris had first been introduced to Cara, she’d taken her for maybe eight, nine years old. The ship’s food had been kind to the girl, but she still didn’t look her full twelve years.

  Except for those dark, limpid eyes . . . Eyes that had seen so much and lost so much more. Eyes so young should not have that much old in them.

  “Are you arguing about me, Auntie Abby?”

  “No, honeybunch. Aunt Abby has these little talks with the princess regularly.”

  “You’re not going to lose your job, are you? We won’t have to leave the ship, will we?” Cara struggled to just say the words, but they trembled at the end.

  “My Cara, you don’t have to worry about that. Not one bit. The princess here can’t fire me. Her momma hired me, and her momma’s gonna have to fire me.” Abby chuckled wickedly. “And this here princess wants to talk to her momma even less than you ever wanted to talk to Gamma Ganna.”

  If it was possible for hugest eyes to get bigger . . . they did. “Really?”

  “Really. Trust me. Now you run along back and do some more of your schoolwork with Nelly.”

  “Nelly makes learning fun,” Cara said, and closed the door.

  “I make learning fun,” Nelly said, with more glee than should ever exist in a computer’s voice. “Wow.”

  Kris plopped down in her desk chair. It didn’t have quite the effect she wanted. The Wasp was under an economical merchant acceleration of .85 gees. She kind of floated into the chair. Abby crossed the room to sit on Kris’s narrow bed. Although Kris might be a major stockholder in Nuu Enterprises, the Wasp was a warship, and facilities were Spartan. Aboard the ship.

  Now, the living conditions for the boffins were another thing. Professor mFumbo had taken it for granted that the containers were his to fill with scientific gadgets, quarters, separate recreation facilities for the fully tenured and the technical support. Same for the health club and spa.

  Well, at least the Marines were making good use of the workout facilities. Good thing, with the ship doing a leisurely and muscle-weakening .85-gee cruise.

  “Shall we finish this conversation . . . at a dull roar,” Abby said, her voice just above a whisper. “I take it that you are not happy with the setup here.”

  “When Grampa Ray offered me the Wasp, it . . . it sounded like just what I’d dreamed of. A ship to explore the stars out beyond the rim of human space. A research team to study what we were looking at. A team of Marines and some twenty-four-inch pulse lasers in case we needed to do something about what we found. What more could a girl ask for?”

  Abby chuckled dryly. “It might be nice if we were actually doing that.”

  Kris tried to chuckle, but the sound came out more as a snort. “Who’d have thought that while Earth and the rest of humanity were arguing over spreading out or hiding from any aliens by staying home, some Rim rats would just take off and do it all by themselves!”

  The Wasp’s third jump had been into a system with an unreported colony. That had quickly led to the discovery of three more and rumors of a dozen others!

  “When do you think that the king or your papa is gonna answer your report?” Abby asked.

  Kris just shook her head. Starting up a colony cost money. Lots of it. Someone was making a mountain of unsecured loans to finance these new outposts of humanity. Someone was sponsoring the explorations that found habitable planets. That left a big question of who. And why!

  Questions neither King/Grampa Ray nor Kris’s father, the Prime Minister of Wardhaven, had answers for. And as if the “Sooners,” as they called themselves, weren’t enough of a problem, they’d attracted pirates.

  Starting a year or two ago, about the time Earth and the Rim gave up on making a go of the Society of Humanity, the tramp merchant ships that made irregular calls among the Sooners started disappearing. Two in just the last three months.

  As much as the Sooners did not want to see a uniformed naval officer from Wardhaven . . . and a Longknife to boot . . . they were almost happy to see the Wasp and hoped that someone with the authority of the law was finally taking an interest in them.

>   Kris fidgeted. It was nice finally to be appreciated by someone, even if it was the Sooners, who shouldn’t have been where they were. But it left her with a bunch of unhappy scientists whose exploration was on hold. And a crew waiting, waiting, waiting for the pirates to make their move.

  “What’s eating you, woman?” Abby demanded.

  “Nothing,” Kris insisted, then noticed that her right foot was tapping out a rapid tattoo. She froze it in place. Now her stomach wanted to spin.

  “Don’t you go lying to me, boss. I’m Abby. I know you, baby ducks.” Her maid eyed Kris sideways. “You got your panties in a twist because those pirates won’t come out and play with you.”

  “No,” Kris insisted.

  “What’s it been, one, two months since someone took a potshot at you? Since you blew away some very deserving rats?”

  “Something like that,” Kris admitted, lamely.

  “Kris, I think you’re starting to enjoy all that fuss and feathers.”

  Kris had been warned by those who should know, experienced cops, old Gunny Sergeants, that the rush could become as addictive as any drug. Was she hooked on being not quite killed? On doing the killing? She swallowed hard on the thought.

  Abby shook her head. “Woman, get your head on straight. You got nothing to worry about on the Wasp. Don’t you think we can recognize those silly-ass games your great-grampa plays that he thinks will keep you safe? Yep, he made me COR, but when hell’s a popping, Captain Drago’s going to be looking your way for orders. ’Cause you’ll be there, at his elbow. And me? I’m gonna be under the bed holding Cara safe.”

  That forced a laugh from Kris. Despite Abby’s constant claims to being a twice-baptized and very devout coward, Kris would more than likely be trailing Abby into the shoot-out.

  “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got to help a little girl catch up on a whole lot of schooling. I don’t know what they were doing in those Eden schools, but it wasn’t teaching.”