Kris Longknife: Tenacious (Kris Longknife novellas Book 12) by Mike Shepherd Page A

Let’s see what new data we can find that supports either of those hypotheses or gives us another.”
    “I know that Your Highness likes to exercise,” the professor said, “but I do wish you would avoid jumping to conclusions for a while so we professional researchers can do our jobs.”
    “Yes, Professor. Jumping to conclusions is off my workout schedule for at least a week,” Kris said, and gave the professor a small grin.
    “All hands, this is the captain speaking. The
Wasp
is now in a steady mooring with the
Royal
. Resume all normal duties under one gee. Cookie, I expect a decent lunch now that I’ve given you and your cooks two hours to work on it. Captain out.”
    Kris released her seat belt. Jack did the same and stood. The belts vanished into the chairs, no doubt to reappear as hull armor.
    “My Marines are looking forward to some serious dirt-time scouting out that place. We’ve scheduled a ten-mile hike around the ship in thirty minutes. Admiral, my wife, would you care to join us?”
    “Are you suggesting I need the exercise, General, my husband?”
    “I’m suggesting that you think better when you’re on your feet, Admiral.”
    “I think you just like to see me in gym shorts.”
    “This isn’t a run, my dear. The uniform for the hike is battle rattle and fifty-pound rucksack.”
    “Well, then, I definitely have to join you. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe this meeting is adjourned.”
    As the others left, Kris and Jack headed for the drop bay. She might be an admiral now, but the
Wasp
still had full battle gear stored in her locker.

12
    Kris found herself doing a lot more than thinking during her ten-mile hike. Professor Labao dropped a hot potato in Kris’s lap before she’d gotten her first mile in.
    “I should have brought this up during our earlier meeting,” he said on Kris’s commlink as she lugged her armor and fifty-pound load up a ship ladder, “but how much noise are we willing to make for the natives to hear?”
    “Noise?” Kris asked.
    “To drop probes that hunt for plagues, viruses, and allergens, we need to send the shuttles down. Shuttles make sonic booms. Do you think the natives will notice loud noises coming from a clear sky and give us attention we don’t want?”
    Jack eyed Kris. Since Labao was using his computer to talk, all of this was going to Nelly’s kids. Jack was following the new question along with his own computer, Sal.
    “Do you think longboat pilots would mind doing their entry and shoving off back for space around a thunderstorm?” the scientist asked.
    “Not too close to one. How about we do it at night, when it’s harder to notice,” Kris said.
    “Of course,” he agreed.
    “Once we have a better idea of what biological hazards we’re up against, we can decide where to set up bases for our extended surveys.”
    Kris managed to finish the rest of her hike in peace. What she didn’t get was a better perspective on the puzzling planet below.
    It didn’t get easier.
    “Kris, we’ve identified an anomaly,” Nelly said over breakfast the second day. “We know that some sections of the great glass plain were lased enough to get the glazing effect.”
    “As well as the atomics,” Kris said.
    “And we have the impact craters, all apparently timed to the same event.”
    “Yes, Nelly.”
    “Well, we’ve found what looks like another site that was lased. However, it doesn’t match the other event, and there may be some structures outside the immediate attack zone still standing.”
    “A hundred thousand years later!” Kris said.
    “We’re not sure it dates from that attack, but we can’t be sure until we gather samples.”
    “And we are not gathering samples from the ground yet. Right, Nelly?”
    “Yes, Kris, the ground survey is waiting for the biological-hazard survey to finish.”
    “And you want me to ask Professor Labao to make a sample-retrieval mission to your anomaly a priority,” Kris said, starting to grin as she gained