Intrepid

Kris saw no reason to claim that she'd gotten her own lovely hands dirty. Abby had said many bad words as she'd spent much of the trip back restoring what she called Kris's ''princess skin.''

''Your Highness, I've heard about these things. Never drawn up a contract for such an expedition, though I must say a contract to hold up among thieves would be truly a work of art.''

Kris was willing to bet money, good Wardhaven dollars, that the original boilerplate contract for this kind of thing had been done by Morley Preston, Esquire, himself.

Kris cut through the jungle of verbiage with a simple question. ''Do you think the ground leader of such an expedition could get a fair trial here on Cuzco?''

The man didn't even bat an eye. ''Oh my, of course, Your Highness. He would get the fairest of trials. I'd even take him on pro bono, assuming he agreed to sign a contract to let us agent him once we've got him off with parole and community service. I suspect many people would pay well for his advice on what to do … and not do in a matter like that. The successful ones say so little. He'd be quite a moneymaking profit center.''

Kris stood. Dinner was over. Indeed, if she didn't get this snake out of her sight, her dinner was likely to end up all over the front of him … a not-unpleasant thought at the moment.

Morley stood. ''But I was hoping that you and I might enjoy the evening. You've been so long aboard ship, and I understand that as captain, you can't, you know, enjoy some of the more pleasant aspects of adult life.''

Kris was examining just how she'd break two arms and a leg. But she'd spotted Jack in civvies holding down a table with a woman Marine. Gunny stood only a second after Kris did.

The good guys had not let her out of their sight. And knowing them, they'd probably feel obliged to help clean up her mess. No, she'd keep her dinner down … and put this maggot behind her. NELLY, MAKE A NOTE. I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH ANY FIRM INVOLVING MORLEY PRESTON AGAIN.

NOTE TAKEN. I AM ADVISING NUU ENTERPRISES OF YOUR DECISION.

Turning her back on the lawyer, she marched for the door. Quickly, her security detail formed on her. Only when she was out of the restaurant, and far from the air sullied by that man, did she slow down.

Jack came up on one side of her, Gunny the other. She took both their arms. ''I am so glad to see you two.''

''That bad,'' Gunny said.

''I am so glad I'm sharing my life with a bunch of heart-breakers and hard cases the likes of you,'' she said. She would have loved to rest her head on Jack's shoulder, but there was a limit to what an officer could do, even away from the ship. Even when she was dressed up for a night on the town and so was he.

There was a lot to hate about what she did. The terror. The blood. The killing. The dying.

But there was a lot to like about it, too. Sometimes she got to stop some of the really bad stuff from happening, like Panda. And she got to do it with the likes of men and women like those around her.

She'd put up with a lot of long cruises for that.

46

Back at the Wasp, there was no rest for the wicked. Late as it was, Kris roused her staff and went immediately to work.

Abby showed up in a wrap and fuzzy slippers. ''Cara likes them,'' was all she said. Colonel Cortez was halfway through a yawn when he caught sight of Kris's outfit. It is possible for a grown man's eyes to bug out.

''We've got problems, ladies and gentlemen,'' Kris said by way of preamble, ''and several of them need action now.'' She filled them in on the legal mess revolving around their prize money.

Captain Drago muttered a curse when Kris finished.

''Can't sell the Feathered Serpent here,'' Penny said.

''My opinion exactly,'' Kris said. ''We have to refuel her here, but we need to get her to United space ASAP.''

''I'll start forging her new papers,'' Abby said. ''If they only have to stand up to a couple of port calls, that shouldn't be too big a problem. Once they drop the reps off at Pitts Hope, the crew can take the Serpent to Chance, get her declared forfeit, and we'll have an ironbound set of papers for her.''

''Now there's the problem of Birridas,'' Kris said.

''Birridas?'' Professor mFumbo echoed. He'd just come in. Dressed in a red smoker's jacket, complete with a never-lit pipe, he looked quite debonair. And suddenly very worried. ''Your Highness, Birridas is the shortest way to the Ferret's Head nebula. I do remind you that you promised that research would be the next priority. And would be for at least two full months.''

''Yes, Professor, and I will not renege,'' Kris said. ''But there's a problem on Birridas.'' Kris quickly filled them in.

''I see,'' Professor mFumbo said. ''I agree on the detour. It may add a few days to our run, but what must be must be.'' Around the table, that seemed to represent a universal consensus.

''Excuse me,'' Kris said, ''but you misunderstand me. We are going to Birridas.''

The room exploded into dead silence.

''Kris, are you crazy?'' Jack asked.