Intrepid

''Can we rotate ship?'' Kris asked.

''Of course,'' came back immediately.

''How fast?''

All eyes turned to Sulwan. ''Usually it takes a second or two. I hit the jets to get us going. When we get there, I hit the opposite jets to stop us.''

''And if you use the jets the full time you're starting and stopping?'' Kris asked.

''That's in the book under DON'T NORMALLY THINK ABOUT IT. You've only got so much fuel for the reaction jets.''

''How much fuel do we have?''

''We're pretty much topped off. If we have to load more, it's a manual job.''

''We could do it after the flyby,'' the captain said.

''Let's plan on it,'' Kris said.

''High gee in one minute,'' the quartermaster announced.

''Bridge crew, let's get cracking,'' Captain Drago said.

Kris turned back to her board. ''Nelly, show me the stern rocket engines of the Tourin.'' They appeared on Kris's board.

''Now, assuming I fire two lasers at thirty thousand klicks from close encounter, what kind of an angle could I get on those jets?''

A red wash swept over the right side of the rocket engines, cutting the two outer ones off at their tops, the next three in their middles, and even taking a nip out of the four inners.

''That's optimum?'' Kris said.

''Yes,'' Nelly said. ''We would need all the luck in the world to pull that off.'' Beside Kris, Vicky raised an eyebrow.

''Nelly's been reading fiction for several years now. It makes her easier to talk to.''

''Makes you easier to understand,'' the computer added.

''Assuming I fire two more lasers at thirty thousand klicks, or as soon as we can get the Wasp settled down after a flip, what kind of damage can I do to the left side?''

The red wash now took out most of that side.

''Assuming we have all the luck in the world,'' Vicky said.

''Assuming,'' Kris agreed.

''Is it always like this?'' Vicky asked.

''Always like what?''

''Your planning. You start with one plan. Bounce it around among your team, get it better, then have some others look at it, and it keeps getting better.''

Kris thought for a moment. ''It was like this at Wardhaven.'' Then Kris remembered her audience and cut off the longer explanation. ''At Chance, your brother didn't give us a lot of time to plan.''

''Do you think he'd be alive if he had?'' came across as an honest question.

''I really don't know. I tried and tried to talk him down. He had a captain with him, just like you do, but he was the commodore, and I understand Captain Slovo spent the first half of the battle in the brig.''

''Poor planning on my brother's part.''

''And part of the reason you're an ensign.''

''That's the story of my life, doing penance for my brother's sins. What about on Eden, did you plan for that?''

''Not for any of the things you threw my way. Those were run-and-shoot, shoot-and-run affairs.''

''I didn't do any planning,'' Vicky said, shaking her head thoughtfully. ''Just hired whoever I could find available. Very poor planning on my part.''

''I hope you aren't thinking of having me plan your next assassination attempt on me,'' Kris said, trying to make it into a joke … but only half of one.

''No. I'm sorry, Kris. I'm not ever planning another attack on you.'' But she left unsaid whom she might be planning for.

And Kris doubted Vicky's promise of peace between the two of them would hold up in a court of law.

* * *

They were less than thirty minutes from intercept when a boffin called up to the bridge.

''Are you aware the target is rotating?''

''No, we weren't,'' Kris said.

''Kind of hard to tell, but there's a dull part on the ship. We clock it as coming by about every fifty-six seconds. That puppy is making 3.2457 gees acceleration and rotating about every minute. God help the passenger that tries to get up and walk.''

''Send me your data,'' Kris said. ''That may have an impact on my targeting the lasers.''

''It's on its way, Miss Longknife.''

Vicky gave Kris a look. ''Miss Longknife?''

''With the mad scientists, I can never tell what they're going to call me. My father cut back long-term research this budget, and half of them aren't talking to me at all.''

''So it's not all crumpets and cream on Wardhaven.''

''I never told you it was.''

''I don't know if the Tourin is having trouble keeping up its acceleration,'' Nelly said, ''or if your boffins are giving me better data, but it appears the acceleration is falling a bit.''

''What about the rotation?'' Kris asked.

''If I was a bunch of gomers,'' Captain Drago said, ''flying a ship into a planet, I'd put on rotation. Right, Captain Krätz?''

''Yes, we should have expected it. By rotating the ship, they don't have to correct for any rocket engine that can't quite keep up the demanded thrust. Just as an arrow spins to balance any wobble in its flight.''

''So now we don't know exactly which way is down for the stern when we hit it,'' Vicky said.

''I should have mentioned that,'' Kris said. ''No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. That's what makes sure that all our planning doesn't make life boring for us.''