Intrepid

''Miss Longknife,'' came in an older and more thoughtful voice. ''Are you one of those Longknifes?''

''I have the honor of having Ray Longknife as my great-grandfather.''

''And you're a princess. Is the rest of human space falling back on those old tried and failed ruling tropes?''

''I prefer to think we are trying a new twist on an old way of looking at things.''

''Well, I'm sorry our young protector of the peace seems to have lost his peace. He did have a point. We do not disturb the Great Guides for small talk.''

''We Longknifes do not go far beyond the accepted rim of human settlement for small talk.''

''There is that. We will let you and a proper escort land. You seem very confident that you know where you are going, but we will light a bonfire beacon for you.''

''Not a radio beacon.''

''If you know us at all, you know we abhor such things.''

''Light your beacon. We'll be down next orbit,'' Kris said, then waited until her commlink button was clearly red. ''Chief, are all links closed?'' They apparently were closed enough that the chief did not hear the question.

''So,'' Jack said, ''how big is a proper escort, my risk-taking princess? How many Marines should I saddle up?''

''All of them, I think,'' Kris said.

That got a wide smile from her security honcho.

Sixty-four minutes later, all four shuttles separated from the Wasp and began their descent. They held nearly a full company of Marines in full battle rattle. The only Marine not in armor was Jack, in dress red and blues. He had on his spider-silk underwear, as did Kris and Penny, Abby … in uniform … and Chief Beni with an armful of black boxes.

Cara wanted to come, too. ''Isn't meeting new and strange cultures a great way to enlarge my education?'' Got a no from Kris, Abby, and Nelly, in that order. The youngster locked herself in her room to pout. Kris sincerely hoped her negotiations with the Great Guides of the Abdicators would go better than her first try with a twelve-year-old.

The big town was indeed the landing site designated by a huge bonfire now burning on the right shore of its river, the side with the rocky mountain. The first two shuttles were full of Marines, as was the fourth; Kris's team was in the third. Kris left the driving to others as she scanned everything they knew about the Abdicators. That they were noisy about their views and secretive about their plans was known to all.

ANY HINT AS TO WHY THEY IMMIGRATED OUT PAST THE RIM? Kris asked Nelly.

NO HINT IN ANY OF THE MEDIA AT THE TIME. THEY WERE A GENERAL PAIN IN THE NECK, PREACHING DEATH AND DESTRUCTION ON STREET CORNERS ONE MINUTE, THEN GONE. MOST REPORTS REMARK ON THE UNIVERSAL APPROVAL OF THE PEACE AND QUIET.

BUT NO ONE KNEW OR CARED WHERE THEY WENT?

APPARENTLY NOT, KRIS. THE MEDIA HAD THE USUAL NUMBER OF CELEBRITY MURDERS, DRUG USERS, AND ANTICS TO COVER. AND THE DEBATE ON TAXES, BUDGETS, AND EXPANSION.

SHOW ME THE PICTURES OF THE GREAT GUIDES.

Nelly did. A dozen men, all in middle age, all looking very intense, stared back at Kris. None looked at all interested in what she might have to say.

The shuttle landed smoothly and ran itself up on the bank of the river. Jack dismounted first, then offered Kris a hand so she might step from the shuttle to dry land at no risk of falling into the river mud. The Marines in her shuttle trotted past their officers and ran to join the other Marines in formal ranks.

Not everyone stood row on row, making a great target. A dozen qualified snipers roamed a sort of perimeter. They would have kept back any crowd … if there had been a crowd. On the streets visible from where Kris stood, a half dozen women walked as if they had someplace to be. And ignored the show.

The one exception was an large open-top car with a driver in front and a man in back. Kris and Jack, Abby and Penny maybe two paces behind, strolled through the break between first and second platoon and up to the car. The man in the back stood.

''I am Princess Kristine,'' Kris said to him.

''I am Prometheus, who talked with you earlier. My driver is Lucifer, who had the honor to talk with you first.''

Who would name a child after the devil? But now that she was closer, other things became clearer. It wasn't just women walking by, but men as well. All hair was long. Both sexes wore the same bedsheet thing as the two men in the car.

MAYBE IT IS A TOGA? Nelly offered.

Toga, Prometheus, Lucifer was all coming up Greek to Kris. But then, that could be one of the reasons they set off on their own, to build a world they wanted. Get ready for a wild bunch of mixing and matching, Kris warned herself.

Prometheus opened the door and stepped to the ground. ''I brought you a car, not fire. But from the looks of matters, I would have needed a truck convoy, and we really don't have that many trucks to spare. Would you care to ride with me or walk with your, um, friends.'' He finished with a bit of a smile, though Kris had no idea why.