Kris Longknife: Furious Read online

  Praise for

  Kris Longknife

  DARING

  “Shepherd delivers no shortage of military action, in space and on the ground. It’s cinematic, dramatic, and dynamic . . . [He also] demonstrates a knack for characterization, balancing serious moments with dry humor . . . [Daring is] a thoroughly enjoyable adventure featuring one of science fiction’s most interesting recurring heroines.”

  —Tor.com

  “A tightly written, action-packed adventure from start to finish . . . Heart-thumping action will keep the reader engrossed and emotionally involved. It will be hard waiting for the next in the series.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  Kris Longknife

  REDOUBTABLE

  “Readers have come to depend on Mike Shepherd for fast-paced military science fiction bound to compelling story lines and adrenaline-pumping battles. This eighth in the Kris Longknife series does not disappoint. Kris Longknife is a hero to the core, with plenty of juice left for future installments.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “A rousing space opera that has extremely entertaining characters . . . an enjoyable addition to the series.”

  —Night Owl Reviews

  Kris Longknife

  UNDAUNTED

  “An exciting, action-packed adventure . . . Mr. Shepherd has injected the same humor into this book as he did in the rest of the series . . . I really love these books, and Undaunted is a great addition to the series.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  Kris Longknife

  INTREPID

  “[Kris Longknife] will remind readers of David Weber’s Honor Harrington with her strength and intelligence. Mike Shepherd provides an exciting military science fiction thriller.”

  —Genre Go Round Reviews

  “A good read for fans of the series and of military science fiction.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  Kris Longknife

  AUDACIOUS

  “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

  “‘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.”

  —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 . . . 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

  More praise for the Kris Longknife novels

  “A whopping good read . . . fast-paced, exciting, nicely detailed, with some innovative touches.”

  —Elizabeth Moon, Nebula Award–winning author of Echoes of Betrayal

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

  —Booklist

  “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, ability to know what she is good at [as well as] her faults, [all] 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.”

  —Bewildering Stories

  “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

  Ace Books by Mike Shepherd

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: MUTINEER

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: DESERTER

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: DEFIANT

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: RESOLUTE

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: AUDACIOUS

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: INTREPID

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: UNDAUNTED

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: REDOUBTABLE

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: DARING

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: FURIOUS

  eSpecials

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: TRAINING DAZE

  KRIS LONGKNIFE: WELCOME HOME / GO AWAY

  Kris Longknife

  FURIOUS

  Mike Shepherd

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  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: FURIOUS

  An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author

  PUBLISHING HISTORY

  Ace mass-market edition / November 2012

  Copyright © 2012 by Mike Moscoe.

  Cover art by Scott Grimando.

  Cover design by Annette Fiore DeFex.

  Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electr
onic 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 Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  ISBN: 978-1-101-61213-2

  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 of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  Contents

  Praise

  Also By

  Title Page

  Copyright

  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

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  About The Author

  1

  Princess Kristine Longknife studied herself in the mirror above the bar. She didn’t look any different. Her Navy blues still sported the two and a half stripes of a lieutenant commander. Why did she feel so different?

  She sat in her usual chair at the far end of the bar. The next eight chairs were empty, by mutual consent of both her and the small crowd at the other end. A few misinformed men had entered her space.

  One look from Kris, and they fled.

  At the other end of the bar, quiet chatter rose and fell. An occasional joke brought forth bleary laughter. A deathly hush resided at Kris’s end.

  The emphasis was on death.

  Kris lifted her nightly liter of Scotch and swirled the liquid around, studying it in the faint light. This faithful soldier was about half-gone.

  Kris poured herself another shot of the fiery liquid. There was no tremble in her hands. No sign at all that she had polished off the first half of her nightly allotment in the three hours since she had come off duty.

  She downed the shot without tasting it. Some people waxed lyrical about the warmth of good Scottish whiskey as it passed from lips to stomach.

  Kris hated the stuff.

  To her it tasted more like something for cleaning paint-encrusted brushes, something you’d punish yourself by imbibing.

  “Punish.” There was that word again. It seemed to come up a lot in Kris’s thoughts.

  “Punish,” as in they’re dead, and you’re alive, and you ought to be punished for that state of affairs.

  Kris poured herself more poison and drank it down. The last time she had crawled into a bottle, after little Eddy died, and she survived the kidnapping, the liquor at least did its job. It wrapped her in cotton candy and made the days easy to forget and deadened the terrors of the nights.

  Now her nightly self-medication did nothing to tame the nightmares.

  Well, she’d managed to show up at the squadron with nothing worse than a dull headache from the night before. And no, so far, she hadn’t let herself partake of the hair of the dog that bit her the night before. The fast patrol boats were puny, but any warship, no matter how tiny, could easily turn and kill a handler who did not treat her with respect.

  Kris had killed enough already. She would not add more to her list of slaughtered subordinates.

  Kris poured another shot and eyed it like she might some hostile alien cruiser. She’d had quite a few of them in the crosshairs of her 24-inch pulse lasers. Those she knew how to handle.

  It was what you did after you’d won the fight that had Kris defeated.

  She reached for her punishment.

  “Auntie Kris, please come home,” left Kris clenching an empty fist.

  A glance in the mirror above her head showed a thirteen-year-old girl in a tee that shimmered through the faces of some popular band. Her swirling floor-length skirt showed every color of the rainbow, and sparkled as well.

  Kris closed her eyes against the glare; teenagers were going to go blind before they reached twenty if all those riotous colors stayed in fashion. The Navy officer turned to face her latest truant officer. “You can’t come in here. You’re under age.”

  Cara, one of the few survivors of Kris’s company, gave her a short teen shrug . . . whatever . . . and shot the barkeep a quick, easy grin. He went on doing what he was doing at the other end of the bar, and Cara flounced over to sit next to Kris.

  “It doesn’t seem that anything is really illegal on Madigan’s Rainbow so long as it doesn’t mess with one of the shareholders.”

  The thirteen-year-old had gotten that right. The hired help could do just about anything on this benighted planet. Anything but upset one of the old farts who owned a share in the place. Inconvenience one of them, and you’d be on the next ship out.

  Maybe inside with oxygen to breathe if you didn’t piss them off too much. Otherwise, maybe outside with not so much to breathe.

  “You know, the day after I arrived, I tried to buy a share in this . . . place,” Kris settled for. Cussing in front of a thirteen-year-old girl seemed undignified. Besides, considering Cara’s background on New Eden, she likely knew far worse than Kris had picked up in her sheltered upbringing and years in the Navy.

  “You did?” Cara answered, wide-eyed. “What happened?”

  Warming to a conversation with someone who would let Kris ramble where she chose, the princess and major shareholder in Nuu Enterprises went on.

  “I plunked down a credit chit worth two shares, dared them to say I wasn’t rich enough to buy into their little hideaway.”

  “Wow,” was Cara’s innocent reaction.

  “Then the planet manager let me in on a little secret. You don’t just have to have money; you got to be liked.”

  “Oh,” Cara said. Even a teenager from New Eden knew the reputation Longknifes had in human space.

  “Yep, any shareholder could veto any new applicant.”

  “What happened?” was more a space holder than a question.

  “An hour after the general manager sent out my application, she had a list of vetoes that was longer than her stockholders list.”

  “How’d that happen?” Now there was honest puzzlement, rare in a teenager.

  “Some people vetoed me twice. Didn’t want to risk their first veto getting lost on the net.”

  “Oh,” Cara said. “I see.”

  “Yeah,” Kris said, downing the drink she’d poured before Cara arriv
ed. “I may have billions of good Wardhaven dollars in my portfolio, but I’m just a scat-lugging hireling on Madigan’s Rainbow.”

  Kris considered that as she poured her next drink. After surveying the smooth flow of liquid from bottle to shot glass, she made a command decision.

  “Barkeep, a drink for my short friend here.”

  “I’m not that much shorter than you,” Cara snorted under her breath. And she spoke the truth. Her last growth spurt, fueled by good food on the Wasp, was carrying her close to Kris’s own six feet.

  Further discussions of altitude and attitude was cut short by the bartender’s curt, “What will you have?”

  “A Shirley Temple,” Cara beamed proudly, “with three cherries.”

  The bartender set to work at his end of the bar.

  “Where’d you learn about a Shirley Temple?” Kris demanded after downing her own poison and refilling her glass.

  “Auntie Abby told me to order one if you insisted I drink something.”

  Unlike “Auntie Kris,” Abby really was Cara’s aunt, and only living relative in human space. Not that following a Longknife around both in and out of human space made it all that easy to stay a living person, relative or otherwise.

  Abby was nominally Kris’s maid. She was also a whole lot more, some of which helped Kris stay alive.

  Sometimes.

  Barely.

  At the moment, no one could help Kris stay alive but Kris.

  Maybe.

  “So,” Kris said, belting down another shot, “why’d Abby send you to get me?”

  “Because she already had one black eye and doesn’t want another,” had the kind of innocent truth that one mumbled under one’s breath, not expecting a teenager to pick up on it and pass it along.

  It was also true.

  Last night, Kris had objected to being dragged off to bed before her liter was a truly dead soldier. Surprises of surprises, Kris had caught Abby off guard and landed a good one. Shocked, whether at what she’d done or that Abby had actually dropped her guard for a second, Kris went docilely to bed.

  And had to suffer through today with more attention and less of a headache.

  Sending a kid, and a girl at that. Abby was really playing dirty.

  Kris managed to get three more shots in while Cara polished off her drink and openly relished the taste of each bright red cherry.