(eng) Mike Shepherd - Kris Longknife 10 by Furious

Author:Furious [Furious]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

38

“Nelly, we really could use the last two codes,” Kris said as softly and as patiently as she could manage. Sitting on top of a half-operational shuttle was bad enough. Stuck like a sitting duck in a location where everybody and his brother, sister, cat, and dog knew where she was was the last place she needed to be.

“Keep your shirt on,” Nelly snapped. “I’ve got you three of the lockout codes. I’ll have the other two in plenty of time.”

“Time we don’t have,” Penny said, beating Kris to it.

“The gangplank is clear,” Penny announced from where she sat, toward the back of the shuttle, her automatic out and covering said plank, as well as the loading area. “Nobody in sight.”

“Nobody is dumb enough to storm a shuttle that’s about to take off?” Nelly said.

“Concentrate on the codes,” Kris said. “Let me worry about how courageous or smart these rent-a-cops are.” Kris truly hoped courage was not in their job description. It hadn’t been apparent in her hiring brief.

“Fourth code. Only one more left,” Nelly announced. “How’s your preflight checklist coming?”

With that jab, Kris turned back to Jack. “What’s next?”

The shuttle was kept at five minutes in its countdown. When Grampa Al chose to get out of Dodge, he didn’t want to have to wait. From the flight-deck log, a log that verified Kris’s worst nightmare . . . this shuttle was seven years old and had never flown an inch . . . it was apparent that a qualified pilot checked out the shuttle every week. Its last prelaunch check had been the day before yesterday.

Kris truly hoped that Grampa Al spent more on his “Get the hell out of here,” option than he did on the security of his outer perimeter.

Kris and Jack reached the end of their checklist. The matter/antimatter reactor was heating water. The controls were unlocked and moving. The electronics were awake and ready to fly. The hatch was sealed. Only the actual launch sequencer button was still refusing to let them in. Kris could push the button all day and get nothing for her effort.

“Nelly, we won. You’re the holdup.”

“Don’t joggle my elbow. This is an unbelievably long code. I’m getting there. I’m getting there. Yes! Push that button. We’re going places,” Nelly crowed.

“Nelly, slight adjustment to the launch. I don’t want to wreck this place more than I have to. Can you give it the minimum burn that will get us a thousand meters up before you really kick us in the butt?”

“Good Lord, Kris, you want everything,” Penny growled.

“I warned you that I didn’t want to do any more damage to Grampa Al’s haunt than I had to.”

“Launch profile adjusted, Kris. Now can we get out of here? I don’t know what they have in store for me if you’re caught, but I strongly suspect it doesn’t involve hanging around your neck.”

Kris pushed the launch button.

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