Intrepid

''Gimme that.'' The camera changed hands. And ended up dropped on the ground. The last picture it sent was of a boot about to crush it underfoot.

''Hernando Cortez,'' Kris said softly.

''A Hernando Cortez,'' Nelly put in helpfully, ''was one of the first conquistadors. He conquered the Aztecs of Mexico.''

''Looted their gold and enslaved their people,'' Bobby Joe added.

''Interesting choice of names for their ground commander,'' Gunny said.

''Could be just coincidence,'' Kris said. Then chuckled. ''Didn't Cortez burn the ships that brought him in? Wonder how this Cortez took to us sinking ours?'' Kris would have to ask him … once he was her prisoner.

''Thorpe's under the horizon,'' Sergeant Bruce announced as he entered the room. ''They've got an underground garage, and we've rigged five of their trucks with trailers. About time to saddle up and head south.''

''We can borrow your trucks?'' Kris asked the elder.

''I suspect Jamie gave your men that understanding,'' Grampa Bobby Joe said. Jamie was right behind Sergeant Bruce.

''My pa's got the trucks ready to go. And a dozen of our best with the squirrel rifles. I was planning on going.''

Andy looked torn. Wanting to go, tired of being gone. Bobby Joe reached for him. ''Son, you been gone too long. Not sure the neighbors would recognize you. Let Jamie and his pa, Billy, take this herd out. We need some good shooters at home.''

A grin swept Andy's face, and he gave the elder a huge hug.

''We'll be going,'' Kris said. ''You have any suggestions for a place that would give us cover eighty minutes down the road?''

''Try the Polska place. She's got a truck-repair barn that ought to be able to hide you.''

And Kris and her team, augmented by thirteen locals, started their trek south, to battle.

Kris was on the road when the Wasp came over the horizon. She immediately tight-beamed up a short report giving her present status and what she'd found out from the locals. She ended by asking if they'd heard anything from Jack.

Captain Drago appeared on Kris's eyeball a second later. ''Jack's been staying quiet, just as planned. And I'm not picking up a whole lot about him from up here, either.''

''Any idea what the other guy is up to?'' Kris asked.

''Finally, I can say something about that. Since last orbit these folks, Colonel Cortez, huh,'' Drago said, ''have gotten rather rambunctious.''

''Not hiding their movements, huh?''

''Abby figures they are, but things aren't going all their way anymore. Here's a picture of the road north from the first town upriver from Landingburg to town two. Notice all the traffic pulled off to the side of the road. Troopers standing around kicking the tires.''

Jamie glanced over from where he was driving … and doing a good job of keeping the truck out of holes and away from rocks. ''These guys aren't all that careful with our rolling stock.''

''You're going to have to explain that to me,'' Kris said.

His pa leaned his head through the open window between the truck's cab and it's flat bed where he was riding. ''Ma'am, we got a lot of old stuff. Some of our rolling stock has been rolling since Grampa got it off the lander. It's old. You might even say cranky. Now if you know how to treat it right, it's fine. But you figure you can just twist the key, pound on the gas, and it'll take you where you want to go, you're in for a whole world of stall, flood, and other nasty stuff.

''Every truck on the farm has its own way of looking at you. Why do you think Jamie's driving this heap? He has the touch for it. Me, I gave up on this one years ago.''

''Peggy's not a bad ride, Pa, not if you treat her right.''

''So you say,'' the older man said, and went back to talking with Sergeant Bruce on the flat bed.

Kris passed that intel along to Captain Drago.

''Somebody should have thought ahead about what they'd need,'' the captain said, shaking his head.

''Why bring what you can steal?'' Kris answered. ''I think this whole thing was worked out on a very tight budget.''

''A tight budget that didn't include a contingency for a Longknife showing up,'' Drago said dryly.

''Let's not put too much into that,'' Kris said. ''If they were planning on folding the hand they got dealt, they'd have run for the jump point while we were incoming. They've stayed this long. They aren't going anywhere without a fight.''

''Don't you just hate it when things are like that.''

''Thorpe doing any orbit changes?'' Kris asked.

''We've slipped sats into orbit ahead and trailing us. Not so much that he'd see them, but enough so we'd know if he tried anything. So far he's just doing the merry-go-round thing.''

Kris thought for a moment. ''Keeping them in the dark about Jack is one thing. I don't like it cutting both ways.''

''What do you have in mind?''