Intrepid

''You gave me a tour of your defenses on Chance, remember? The ones that even our little commodore saw would be a bad idea to take on.'' The chief led Kris into a gray-painted work area with pipes and conduits. He pointed at a ladder.

''Up or down?'' Kris asked.

''Down.''

Kris began descending; he followed. The sailors stayed behind. ''I thought you were the flagship's senior chief.''

''I was, but after that incident, the commodore didn't much like my puss. Captain Slovo shipped me over to the Surprise.''

''Sorry about Captain Slovo,'' Kris said.

''A lot of good men disappeared with him. Sure would like to know who made it happen,'' the chief growled.

Kris wondered if the chief shared her own opinion about that, but kept the thought to herself and kept going down the ladder. After quite a while, there was no more down.

Two sailors with automatic rifles guarded a platform that seemed to rest on the outer shell of the station.

''Time to see how fast you can trot,'' the chief said, joining her and pointing at a catwalk that stretched into the distance. To the right and left, it curved up.

Kris started trotting.

And kept on trotting for a very long time. There were cross catwalks, but the chief said nothing, and Kris just kept trotting. It would have been nice to stand up, but even a short man would have had to bend at the waist in this crawl space.

Finally, they came to a crosswalk with two armed sailors. ''Go right,'' the chief called. Kris gave the sailors a smile and did the ninety-degree right turn called for.

''Isn't there a slidewalk we could take?'' Kris asked, her back aching.

''You want to shoot it out with security types?'' the chief shot back.

''So that's the choice, run like rats in the walls or shoot.''

''Seems that way at the moment.'' He started to say something else, apparently thought better of it, and trotted on. ''Wait until that long, tall back of yours has my kind of miles on it. Then you can complain.''

''I thought sailors had a right to complain,'' Kris quipped.

''That don't extend to junior officers, now does it?''

Kris shut up and trotted.

After a left turn at a cross marked by two Greenfeld Marines, they came to a platform with six Marines and sailors guarding it. They helped Kris climb a short ladder … which brought her to the main deck promenade. Kris stood, straightened her uniform, turned … and found herself facing the escalator down to a pier that was crawling with armed sailors and Marines. Kris couldn't figure out what they were doing, but they seemed to know because there was nothing purposeless in their movements.

The chief escorted Kris down to the first deck of the pier, then across the guarded gangway, saluting the flag and requesting permission to come aboard. Kris also boarded in the traditional manner, and followed the ensign that the JOOD assigned to show her to the wardroom.

A very busy wardroom.

Schematics of the station covered two walls. Maps of the planet below filled in the other two. A captain and his ensign studied them for a moment more after Kris entered, then, with a word, the walls went blank.

''Keeping secrets?'' Kris asked.

''What are Greenfeld internal matters are ours,'' Vicky said. ''Let them stay that way for now. I'm sure your Admiral Crossenshield will give you a badly garbled and totally wrong assessment of this situation. It may take him a few days to jump to the wrong conclusions, but, no doubt, he will find his pole vault somewhere. How do we stay alive with such bunglers?''

''I think I've given you a pretty up-front and honest sample of how I do it over the last few days,'' Kris said evenly.

''So you have,'' Vicky said. ''But you can't tell me that my dad getting you out of old Eddie's maw wasn't a big help.''

''You've talked to your dad?''

''Yeah, the Navy has a landline down the beanstalk that State Security doesn't know about. Dad says thank you. He says he'll rethink his attitude toward you Longknifes.''

''Can I take that to the bank?'' Kris asked.

''Probably not. We'd best get you out of here fast.''

''Am I going to do more catwalk dancing?'' Kris asked.

Krätz allowed a very small smile at Kris's joke. ''You can return to the Wasp the way we got to the Surprise. Your longboat is in our Number 2 lander bay.''

Vicky insisted on doing the honors. But the walk turned out to be mostly quiet. At least until they got to the longboat's hatch. ''I'm glad I didn't kill you on Eden,'' Vicky said.

''So am I,'' Kris agreed.

''I'm really sorry I brought your great-grandmother into the thing. I've never known my grandmothers. Hardly knew my mother before Dad broke up with her.''

''It hasn't been an easy life for either one of us.''

''Ever had a real friend?'' Vicky asked. ''A bosom buddy?''

''Oh, you would have to bring those two up, wouldn't you?''