Resolute

Chapter 5

Three days later the Resolute docked at High Chance. The ship of many names docilely followed in its wake. Kris spent the time in transit composing a full report of what had happened for General Mac, and a shorter version on developments for Grampa Al. ''Your brain trust isn't being very brainy,'' Kris began. Kris composed a request for permission to visit New Bern, the nearest colony to Chance. Normally, she'd just visit a place, but being Commander, Navy District 41, and a princess… and a Longknife, New Bern might want to know she was coming before she showed up.

Kris watched the docking from the bridge of the Resolute. When she stood to leave, Sulwan stood as well. ''Ah, Your Highness, the crew has asked me to pose a question to you?''

Very formal. Even a tiny ducking of her head for a bow. ''Yes,'' Kris answered, trying to quickly slip into Noble when all she'd been thinking was Navy.

''About that ship out there. Is it a prize?''

Oh, right. Prize money. How could I have missed that? Kris did some quick thinking. ''It certainly looks like a prize to me, but as to whether or not we can keep it, or sell it under the ancient prize rules is a question I don't know how to answer. Tell the crew I'll try to have an answer in a day or so.''

The bridge crew seemed content with that answer.

Nelly, look into how we can make a ship appear. Papers as solid as false ones can be. And not traceable to my holding company that puts the money out.

I have been working on that. What do you want to name the ship?

Kris had had enough of being all sugar-and-spice nice. The Wasp. Cross it and it will sting you.

Penny waited at the gangway, Ron at her elbow. Kris raised an inquiring eyebrow. ''A Longknife goes out with one ship and a second follows her home. I figured you'd want to keep it and needed an adult to ask if you could,'' the mayor said.

''Depends on what legal niceties Chance will let me pull over some eyes, Mayor.''

Kris filled in both on the vanishing jump buoys and her little discovery of why. Captain Drago wandered up and stood by listening, apparently ready to provide a non-Longknife viewpoint.

''So you blasted the ship blasting your buoys,'' Ron said.

''Hardly,'' Kris answered. ''If there had been a fight, we would have been the one blasted. That ship is as heavily armed as a Kamikaze-class corvette.''

''A Typhoon in sheep's clothing,'' Penny whistled.

''Yes, yes,'' Captain Drago cut in. ''This young Longknife did very well. She had my ship fake steering problems and we invited the other ship over to help us. Thank heaven for that.''

''We put most of the crew asleep with drug darts,'' Jack said, quickly gliding past the ''most.''

''Upon interrogation, several admitted they boarded us with the intent of seizing the ship and taking us captive. Only the captain knows what he intended to do with us once we were prisoners. He's not talking.''

''So you did unto them before they could do unto you,'' Ron said in summary.

''By about half a second,'' Captain Drago said.

''Why was the ship destroying the buoys?'' Ron asked.

''Your guess is as good as mine,'' Kris said carefully. ''There was nothing in their records and those who know aren't talking. I replaced all the buoys. They'll tell us if any ships head this way from Brenner Pass.''

Ron looked at Kris like she was crazy paranoid, but didn't say it. ''Where is this ship registered?''

''About four different places, depending on which of its four sets of papers you're looking at,'' Captain Drago said. ''All in Greenfield territory.''

Ron's next glance at Kris said she was less paranoid than before. ''I want you, Captain, to come with me. There're some folks dirtside that will need your testimony.''

''Not mine?'' Kris said.

''I don't think you could help this matter,'' Ron said.

''You don't trust me because of what Hank told you.''

''I don't trust either of you any further than I can throw that space station of yours. Kris, until my people can make up their own minds, the less they see of you, the better.''

''We have twenty members of that ship's crew in custody,'' Kris said. ''They appear to have been involved in crimes ranging from destruction of government property and endangering the spaceways to conspiracy to commit piracy and maybe murder. I'm not prepared to try them. Can I turn them over to Chance?''

''Judge Maydell is working on that wreck of a ship of yours along with Judges Billie and Ardnet. They should be able to convene a court. Try them. Half a dozen of those old farts have tried or defended cases. It'll be good for the kids to see justice in action.''

''And the final disposal of the ship?'' Kris asked.

''Forfeiture of property involved in a crime is not an unusual penalty here on Chance,'' Ron said. ''Now, Kris, if you will excuse me and the Captain, we need to leave.'' And he did.

Kris waited until the mayor was out of earshot, weighed several dozen nasty things to say, and found that all she wanted to do was ask Penny how things were going. Penny's brief boiled down to fine. ''Everything okay with the Patton Museum?'' Kris asked. ''No kids hurt?''

''Nothing a bandage couldn't handle.'' Penny studied the new ship through the ports. ''She got a name?''

''Several. If I can swing buying her, she'll be the Wasp.''

Penny considered that for a moment. ''Nice name. I think I like it. Armed like the Typhoon, you say?''

''And protected by a Smart Metal cladding. Chief Beni can explain it to you.'' Penny's commlink began flashing.

''That was fast. Judge Maydell wants to borrow our court facilities. Do we have any?''

''If they say we do. Let them have anything they want.''

Kris was surprised, considering how long she'd been left hanging when charged with misappropriation of government property on Wardhaven, to find that the court would convene at noon the next day. She was not surprised to find that the court-assigned lawyers divided up the accused pretty much the way the Resolute's brig had them. Those with Engineer Chim pleaded guilty to lesser charges, threw themselves on the mercy of the court… and turned state's evidence.

The seven in the middle cells were found innocent of most charges by right of youth and ignorance. They were found guilty of being something that boiled down, at least to Kris, to being stupid and sentenced to probation and community service.

The last six were the hard cases. They denied that the court had any jurisdiction over them, seeing how the actions they were accused of were committed closer to Brenner than Chance, and demanded that they be sent there. They entered that plea on their own after declining the provided legal assistance.

Judge Maydell made short work of that. ''You're here in my court, and I don't pass off my problems to others lightly. The property you destroyed was from High Chance. The ship you boarded was chartered to High Chance.'' Her gavel came down hard. ''Prosecution, present your case.''

Kris was the first witness. Again, she recounted the story of how the Resolute and ship of many names came to cross paths.

''You caused the Resolute to appear to malfunction?'' Judge Billie, a short, white-haired woman, asked.

''Yes, Your Honor. It was my professional judgment that in a shoot-out, the Resolute would not survive.''

''And what did you find on that ship?'' the prosecutor asked.

''It was heavily armed.'' Kris described both the ship's hidden armament and the weapons taken from the boarding party. ''And when we boarded, the first officer threw a destruct switch. Only the action of the engineer saved all aboard from death.''

Cross-examination did not go nearly as well. ''She murdered my girlfriend in cold blood,'' was former Captain Jinks' opening statement. ''She should be here, not us.''

An objection was followed quickly by, ''Overruled.''

''I imagine there's a question in there somewhere for the witness,'' said Judge Maydell. ''Did you kill anyone?''

Kris swallowed hard and described switching to lethal ammunition to take down the woman in armor.

''See,'' Jinks spat. ''Cold blood. They say we were armed. Of course we were. There're crazy people out there in between the stars. Crazy people like this Longknife girl.''

The gavel came down for silence. ''Your point is made. Do any of the defense lawyers have anything to add to this matter?''

''Not at this time.''

There was a pause while the judges studied the ceiling, and Kris began to wonder where she could hire a good lawyer.

Judge Billie was the first to speak. ''You say this was a judgment call on your part, Ms. Longknife.''

''It was my professional judgment that the woman was armed and dangerous and that the Resolute was in severe danger. I ordered her not to go for her weapon. She did. I shot her.''

''And you based that professional judgment on…''

''Combat experience, Your Honor.''

The prosecutor stood. ''May I lay the witness's military record before the court?''

''Please do.''

The prosecutor entered into evidence his exhibit, a three-page listing of Kris's Navy experience. First copy went to the court reporter, then to the defense, then one each for the judges. Their reading was interrupted by a whistle from Ardnet. ''You've seen a lot of action, young lady.''

''The prosecution understands that this is not a complete record of her service, but only what is in the public domain.''

''There's more?'' Judge Maydell said, eyeing Kris over reading glasses.

''Yes, ma'am.''

''She should have to give it all up,'' Jinks demanded.

''This is a full list of your awards and decorations?'' Judge Billie asked. Kris nodded.

''Nothing spectacular there,'' Judge Ardnet said.

''Clearly you never served, Ardy,'' Billie said. ''The Wounded Lion is dated right after the Devolution ceremonies on Paris. I notice that you've got a V for combat valor added to your Devolution Medal. Is that a mistake? There's no official report of any combat taking place while we and the Society of Humanity were arranging that whopper of a divorce.''

''You are correct,'' Kris said.

''That there was no fighting, or that you got a V for valor in combat there?''

Kris said nothing.

''She has to answer the court,'' Jinks half screamed.

''Not if the court chooses to withdraw the question,'' Judge Maydell said. ''Judge Wilhelmina?''

''I withdraw the question. I can wait for the memoirs,'' the woman said. ''But it is clear to me that this young woman has seen combat far beyond what we have come to expect recently of one so young. I find her professional judgment is something this court should respect. What say you, Madame Senior Justice.''

Judge Maydell eyed Ardent. He nodded. ''This court finds that no one should have to wait until they are dead to prove that they are in harm's way. We find that the witness exercised legitimate professional judgment in this matter and shot first. The court will withhold final judgment in this matter until all testimony has been heard. Now, shall we get back to the case at hand.'' And the gavel rapped down.

The prosecution rested its case at three o'clock. The court adjourned to let the defense think on its case that night. It didn't help. The next day's presentation by Jinks was strident and hardly helped him. By noon the judges had ruled; ten years incarceration to be arranged at salt mines up the coast from Inside Strait, and forfeiture of the ship involved in the crimes, ''to pay court costs and replacement costs of the lost property. All other benefits from the sale of said ship to accrue to Chance's general fund with a strong recommendation from this court that they be used for the common defense, and spent quickly.'' And Judge Maydell gaveled the proceedings to a close.

Almost.

Once Jinks and the hard cases had been removed, Judge Maydell brought her gavel down again. ''The court will now entertain proposals for the disposal of that ship. We understand Lieutenant Longknife would like to buy it.''

''I would, Your Honor,'' Kris said from where she'd been sitting in the back row of seats, surrounded by kids taking a break from working on the Patton.

''Andy, you have any idea what a proper price is?'' Judge Ardnet asked the lawyer who a moment ago had been Mr. Prosecutor.

''When the court ordered the ship forfeited, I had my assistant start a search on recent sales of similar ships on Lorna Do and in the Helvetica Confederacy. That's all we have in our database. However, the armament and the smart-metal defense are hard to place a value on.''

''I might be able to offer some assistance on that,'' Kris said. ''I worked on a project involving the modification of the Kamikaze class, so I have the present value of Smart Metal. Nelly, feed that to the court.''

Done, but the real verification was Ardnet's whistle.

''That stuff doesn't come cheap.''

''Nor do four twenty-four-inch pulse lasers,'' Kris said, and added what Nuu Enterprises charged for arming a Kamikaze.

''We couldn't charge that much for this ship on the open market,'' Andy muttered.

''I'm not sure we'd want to sell all that to just anyone,'' Judge Maydell said.

''I'm willing to pay that price,'' Kris said, ''for the ship in that configuration.''

''And what would you do with the ship?'' Judge Maydell asked.

''Keep it here at High Chance. Initially,'' Kris said, then shrugged. ''For how long? That would depend on…'' She considered several ways to end the sentence. Whatever she said would be on the news in an hour. She left the sentence dangling.

''I can think of a dozen reasons the young lady might have to move on,'' Judge Billie said. ''None of them good for Chance. But at least some of us Proud Old Vets are happy to have you.''

Kris appreciated the sentiments, but she did have a problem. ''Your Honor, if it pleases the court, there is a problem with the sale of the ship and disposal of the funds you generate.'' Kris filled them in on the hope by the crew of the Resolute that there might be some prize money in it for them.

''That doesn't please the court,'' Judge Maydell said. ''But we should not bind the mouths of the kin that tread the grain. Clearly, they earned something at the risk of their very lives.''

''If I may offer an alternative,'' Andy said, ''the actual cost of the ship, verses the value of the weapons and Smart Metal added might serve as a good basis for splitting the sale. We take the value of the basic ship. They get the premium Her Highness is paying for the military aspects.''

''We'd be better off taking the other,'' Ardnet muttered.

''But it was the lasers that they were betting their lives against.'' Judge Maydell's gavel was up. ''This court holds that the crew gets the value of the warship part. Chance gets the value of the ship. Court is adjourned. Your Highness, we will take a check.'' And the gavel came down.

Kris had Nelly draw up a credit voucher for the clerk of the court. He reminded her not to remove said property ''until said voucher cleared.'' It felt strange to have a voucher in her name questioned. But this was a rather large one, and Chance was out at the end of nowhere.

Navigator Sulwan Kann just happened to duck her head in the courtroom. ''You done here?'' she asked.

Wondering how rapidly news traveled on her station, Kris motioned Sulwan over and told her how much of the ship's sales price would be available to divide up among the crew of the Resolute. Sulwan raised an eyebrow at the amount. ''Good thing we already agreed on who got what part of it. Captain Drago found something in the Ancient History section of the net and we all bought in. He included a portion for you, the ship owner.''

''Not for me. I'm buying the ship and it wouldn't feel right to get part of the prize money back for having taken it.''

''Do we get a part of the pot?'' Chief Beni asked as he and Abby just happened to walk in. Kris made a mental note never to count on privacy in her station.

''Yep, same as any crew member.''

''Well, Princess, when's payday?'' Abby asked.

So Kris was escorted over to the Resolute. The entire crew just happened to be aboard, and quickly lined up for pay. Nelly produced credit vouchers as required for each and every hand… including Jack. ''You risked your neck,'' Kris said.

''That's part of my job.''

''Yes, but according to the ancient laws of the sea, today you get paid for it.''

Gingerly, Jack took the check. ''More than a year's pay.''

''Don't spend it all in one place,'' Abby said with a laugh.

''I hope you won't need my ship for a few days,'' Captain Drago said with a broad smile directed at his crew. Several nodded enthusiastic agreement.

''Actually, I was thinking I might,'' Kris said. ''Could I talk privately to you and Sulwan for a moment.''

''In my cabin,'' the captain said with a grin.

''Jack, can we have a moment?''

What to do next had been eating at Kris. The powers that be on Chance wanted her gone. Where was the question. Kris would have headed for New Bern, to check out that flank. But she was getting negative replies back from the messages she'd sent out the day she got back. Some were no surprise.

The reply under General McMorrison's signature read as if the Prime Minister had dictated it. ''Problems like disappearing buoys are to be expected in unsettled times like these'' she could almost hear Father say. ''So good of you to catch those responsible. Be sure to turn them over to authorities on Chance for prosecution. Please remember not to use your own funds to circumvent the policy established by my, no, the official budget. Now be a good little girl and behave yourself.''

Grampa Al did not sound all that grateful that Kris had found a new use for Smart Metal. Indeed, he seemed offended that she had discovered what his own R & D staff hadn't. Or maybe they had discovered it but, since it cut into potential profits, kept mum about it. There were times when Kris found it easier to understand why some serving officers had so little taste for businessmen. This was one of them.

Grampa Trouble's short reply had been a balm. ''Wow, gal! Getting them to board you so you'd have an easier time capturing them! Sounds like something Ray or I might have thought up in our younger days. Good going, kid!''

The real surprise was the quick and blunt reply from New Bern. Verbal only, the unidentified sender did not mince words.

''We do not know what you are doing here in our sector of space, but a visit now would complicate matters. People would meet you, and when next you stuck your neck out and were about to have it chopped off, we might feel pressure to ride to your rescue. You can understand our reluctance to have footage sympathetic to you in our media archives. Please stay away.''

Maybe Kris should have given more thought to her reply, but she shot back her first version.

''As you probably know by now, somebody blew all the jump buoys between us and Brenner Pass. Unless you fancy having Peterwald space getting as close to you as Chance, you might want to start paying more attention to this end of space. While you can tell me not to come, and I will respect your views, you may find that Peterwald battleships are a bit harder to talk to.''

Kris would have preferred to say that in person, more delicately, but swapping messages left little room for finesse.

But with New Bern off her travel plans, Kris was left with time on her hands and a need to go. Why not give Nelly a treat?

Wee! Nelly shouted in the back of Kris's skull. We're going to go exploring. We're going to go exploring.

Not if you give me a headache.

On the way to the captain's cabin, Kris took Jack aside and brought the Marine in on the ''other'' reason Kris had jumped at command of Naval District 41.

Jack shook his head. ''So that's what this is all about.''

''I'll give you a full briefing when I bring the captain and navigator in on the secret. My question to you is security. Do you feel safe spending weeks with this crew while we look at what Nelly thinks may be very unique alien finds?''

''What do you think we'll discover?''

''Your guess is as good as mine.''

''It could be valuable.''

''Or it could be dust. Most likely it will be somewhere in the middle. And most of what we see we won't understand.''

''Why do this all by yourself? And why not give us poor working folks some warning about what we're headed for?''

''I'm Great-grampa Ray's little girl. Maybe exploring is in our blood. I don't know. It's out there and I want to be the first to see it.''

''Me too,'' Nelly added.

''They don't pay me enough for this job,'' Jack moaned as he followed Kris into the captain's cabin. A moment later, Captain Drago and his navigator filed into the room, sat down across from Kris, and said nothing.

Kris eyed Sulwan. ''I was wondering whether Navigation Officer Kann noticed some strange objects in the Chance and neighboring systems?''

The navigator glanced at her captain before answering. ''You mean those fuzzy things on my screen.''

Yes!

Down, girl, we do this my way, so be quiet or forget about us going exploring.

You are mean to me and a slave driver and I will be QUIET.

''Yes,'' Kris said to the navigator, trying to keep two conversations straight. ''What do you take them for?''

''I don't know,'' Sulwan said.

''What fuzzy things?'' the captain asked.

''There's one in the Chance system,'' his navigator answered. ''Another one in the next. They show up on our scans just like jump points, but not. A jump point is a solid gravitational expression on my nav board. Every jump point I've ever seen looks the same. A point. These two aren't. Not exactly. I don't know how to say it, but they seem kind of fuzzy.''

''You didn't tell me about them?'' Drago frowned.

''They're not on the charts. The last thing you need is a navigator who's seeing things that aren't there.''

Drago's raised eyebrow showed agreement with that. ''So how come you, Most Princess of Longknifes, are asking about what my Sulwan doesn't want to talk about?''

''Last year, when my job was kind of boring…'' Kris started.

''You in a boring job,'' Sulwan said, failing to suppress her feigned shock.

''It only lasted a few seconds,'' Jack said, dryly. ''Less than a minute.''

''May I go on?'' Kris asked. They nodded. ''My old friend, Trudy Seyd, retired Chief of Wardhaven's Info Warfare, asked if I'd help with an experiment. She slipped a piece of rock from Santa Maria into my personal computer's self-organizing matrix, and added software to protect her while she tested this rock.''

''Rock?'' Captain Drago said.

''It was from the Northern Range of Santa Maria. The ones Grampa Ray blew away. Anyway, the folks doing research on Santa Maria thought those mountains had been nanotech-modified for data storage by the computer the Three put in charge of that planet.''

''We don't hear much about the Three species who some say built the jump points a couple of million years ago and then went away,'' Sulwan said. ''Unless we stop at Santa Maria. They've got festival days there about the Three. I was there once.''

''I still think the jump points are natural,'' Captain Drago said. ''I don't like the idea of trusting my ship to some highway other species built while we were still throwing rocks.''

''Lots of people share your view,'' Kris agreed, and let it hang there.

''But?'' Drago went on.

''Nelly has been finagling that rock, and she thinks she has found star charts. Charts with more jump points on them than my Great-grampa Ray saw when he was still able to see stuff on Santa Maria and drew up the star charts we use today.''

''You bet I have. And you have seen them, too, in your dreams, Kris.''

''Yes, I have, Nelly,'' Kris agreed. The others were staring at Kris's collar bone, where Nelly rested comfortably.

''Are you sure these are jump points?'' Captain Drago asked.

''They appear to be. The charts seem to show stars we've identified and connections between them. At least one connection for each point.''

''But why do these look different?'' Drago asked, his bushy brows coming down, nuzzling each other like two caterpillars that couldn't decide whether to fight or be friends.

''Your guess is as good as mine,'' Kris said. ''Possibly, they built most of the jump point net, the part we know about, using one technology. Maybe these points used a new technology and were built after Santa Maria U was closed down.''

''And you want me to risk my ship on those ‘maybe's'?''

''You got it in one,'' Jack said. ''Don't you love working for this young optimist?''

''Maybe, maybe not,'' Drago said, rubbing his chin.

''It would be interesting, giving those jump points a look,'' Sulwan said. ''And we have the jump buoys already aboard. We could send one through first. Us later.''

''You want to do this!''

''Why not, Skipper? How often does anyone get a chance to open up a chunk of sky? Who knows? Maybe this is the hole the Three crawled in and pulled the road up behind them.''

Jack shook his head. ''And Kris, here, wants to stick her head in the lion's mouth and count its teeth.''

Captain Drago raised an eyebrow, then seemed to make a decision. ''I'll need to bring aboard more food and supplies. Nine tomorrow morning soon enough?''

''Sounds fine, Captain.'' That would leave Kris time to explain to Penny why she again had Kris's command. Kris told her over salads at the New Chicago Pizza Place.

''I wondered what you'd do about Ron asking you to make yourself scarce,'' Penny said, biting into a small tomato. ''I learned you were leaving from Chief Beni when he came back, waving a check fit to choke a horse. Remind me to go out with you next time you go hunting.''

''We captured the ship. I paid fair market value and…'' Kris said, unsure if she should tell Penny where she was off to.

''If that admiral at Wardhaven had surrendered his ship, would we have sold it and split the profits?'' Penny asked, her voice distant.

''The engineer was supposed to blow up the Wasp. I think the battleships had the same orders. It was really a waste of time for me to offer them a chance to haul down their colors.''

''And while you talked, that SOB targeted the 109,'' Penny said in a barely audible whisper.

And Tommy died under that fire.

There. It was out. Kris had tried for something that wasn't even there, and it had cost her best friend his life. Or it would have cost Penny her life if Tommy hadn't knocked her out of the way… and died for it.

Their eyes locked. But today Penny didn't flee the room. There wasn't even a tear tracing its way down her cheek. I guess she's getting better. Maybe I should be, too, Kris thought.

Three of the old vets came in, waved at Penny, saw who she was with and took another table. Penny waved back. She did use the napkin to daub at her left eye. ''You know, Kris, you ought to hang around here a bit. These are good people. I've been working on the Patton with a whole batch of them. End up eating most of my meals with them.''

''They talk a lot?''

''They listen a lot. Really good listeners. Most of them lost buddies, lovers in the war. Eighty years later, they still remember them. They still hurt, but the pain's scarred over. I'm starting to think there's hope for me.''

Kris glanced out at the crowd in the place. It was filling up, but they had a quiet corner in the back and, though everyone who came in seemed to have a smile and a wave for Penny, none moved into their private space.

''I hear you've taken to shooting first even if you can't ask questions later,'' Penny said, then filled her mouth and leaned forward to chew… and listen.

''That word all over the place?''

''Judge Maydell was working with me this afternoon. She says it looks like you made the hard call for the right reason, but she's wondering if it was only for the right reasons. She thinks your combat vita is way too full for someone our age.''

''She have any idea how I avoid getting shot at next time?''

Penny shook her head, and kept chewing.

Kris gazed up at the ceiling. ''If I got a sleepy dart into her cheek, would it have done the job? Or would the dart have just broken her jaw on the way into her brain? If I hit her eye, she'd be just as dead as she ended up. And if I planted a few darts in her scalp, would they have put her to sleep or just aggravated her?'' Penny nodded along.

''They were armed and dangerous. She wouldn't freeze, but went for her gun. The ones we captured said they intended to take over the Resolute. I was reading the situation correctly.''

''But,'' Penny said.

Kris tried to ignore the ''but.'' Still, it hung in the air.

''I enjoyed shooting her,'' Kris finally admitted. ''I never got a chance to blow the head off that admiral on the Revenge who gutted the 109. Was I shooting at her, or at him.'' Kris paused to let the question bounce around in her head for the forty millionth time. ''I just don't know.''

''You need a break,'' Penny said.

''I thought Training Command was supposed to be a break.''

''Maybe for me, but you ended up dodging a couple of bombs. Did you ever relax? Do you ever relax?''

''You're starting to sound like that police officer on Turantic. What did he say? ‘Each time you pull the trigger, it gets easier to pull it the next time.' ''

''And you get more and more different from the person you started out being,'' Penny added.

They both munched a few forkfuls of salad on that thought.

''And I thought I'd have dinner with you and counsel you a bit,'' Kris finally said.

''You are counseling me. You're making me feel great. I'm getting better a whole lot faster than you. I can't tell you how good that makes me feel,'' Penny said, sticking her tongue out.

Kris threw a cucumber slice at her.

''More of your aggression,'' Penny said, shaking her head in mock despair. ''You know what we need to do?''

''I can think of several hundred good ideas, but which one are you interested in particularly tonight?''

''We need to get drunk.''

''You know I can't afford that.''

''I'm sure we can get several Proud Old Vets to make sure you get to your ship on time tomorrow. They've told me enough tales of rolling buddies into the liberty launch in the nick of time. They'd cover for us if I asked.'' Penny was looking over the crowd, as if already picking out their shepherds.

''Penny, if I start drinking, there's no guarantee that I'll be sober by the time we get where we're going.''

''Were you that bad a drunk?''

Kris nodded. ''But, in college, I found I could get quite high on good friendship and a large bottle of ginger ale.''

''Well, I'll just have to provide the friendship, and, Bar-keep,'' Penny shouted. ''A bottle of your finest ginger ale.''

They polished off several bottles of ginger ale. And they didn't do it alone. Penny's new friends dropped in, to swap tales of battles lost and won, friends who survived, and those who didn't. There was no method to the stories. No moral or lesson. They were just where life had taken these people. Life that, over the years, they had learned they could live with.

This wasn't like her talking to Grampa Ray or Trouble. There, too often she sat as understudy, trying to find out how they did the family business and lived through it. How to be a Longknife and survive the experience.

Here she was listening to people whose biographies would never fill shelves in libraries. But they'd lived just as long. And maybe some of them had lived just as well or even better. Kris listened to them, and later in the evening, she learned she could cry with them. And later on, they showed they could cry with her. The place closed, and Tommy Chang joined them. His story wasn't of war, but of man's inhumanity to man. And of the rugged nature of a new planet that could snatch away the life it seemed to offer. Not all courage wore a uniform.

It was very late, or rather, early, when Penny escorted Kris to her room. ''Feel better?'' she asked.

''Are they always like that?''

''Sometimes. Usually it's not so intense. Like all things Longknife, I think you ratcheted up the demands on them. And they came through. They're beautiful, aren't they?''

''I've never felt so surrounded by friends.''

''Yes,'' Penny said.