Kris Longknife - Emissary by Mike Shepherd

Author:Mike Shepherd [Shepherd, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: KL & MM Books
Published: 2017-04-30T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Much better drilled, Princess Kris Longknife’s so-called diplomatic fleet drifted up to the jump while their pursuit was still days away. Maneuvering jets took off the last bit of energy and the fleet came to a complete halt.

“I will order two ships through to scout the darkness,” Ron announced.

Kris waited as patiently as she could for several long seconds to go by before a messenger buoy popped back into the space where the jump sat and gave them an all clear.

Kris had spent most of the last two days practicing patience.

Nelly got exasperated with Kris asking over and over again, “Have you figured out the maskers yet?”

After the fourth time Nelly suggested patiently that Kris go play with the children. The fact that Nelly didn’t snap at Kris said way too much. Nelly understood Kris’s need to know what was happening but likely she was have a tough time of it and needed Kris to go away.

With a sigh, Kris took Nelly’s advice and hunted up the children in school and settled herself down in a kid-size chair to help them with their learning.

It didn’t take Ruth long to get tired of the help. “Moo-ther, I know how to do this. Don’t you have some admirally thing to do?”

The look from the young teacher was enough to send Kris on her way.

She wandered back into flag plot and spent a long moment staring at the situation that had developed in their pursuit. No extra ships had appeared from either jump point. Apparently, she could have tried to fight her way through to the jump that would take her to the Imperial Court.

Kris shrugged. Even if Admiral Darlan had attempted it, no doubt the Iteeche rebels would have taken advantage of the nearby planet to provide him with a long, running gun battle.

Would our crystal armor have made enough of a difference? Kris wondered.

She chose to ignore that question; it was a might-have-been. What she did look at were her prospects for fighting her way through her pursuers now. They were drawing together, but they were still well apart.

Could I turn this fleet around and hit the first fleet before the second fleet could haul itself into the fight?

Kris did not want to joggle Nelly’s elbow, so she fed the question into her battle board and let it do the math. Much of it was math. Could her ships jack up their deceleration to 3.5 gees, bring themselves to a halt in space and then hurl themselves back at the first group of rebel battlecruisers? It was, of course, possible, though the transports and merchant ships might not handle it so well. Still, she could give battle that way.

But could the second fleet of rebels come up quickly to turn it into that three-to-one fight that she doubted even her crystal armor could handle. Assuming they also went to 3.5 gees deceleration then turned it into acceleration toward the future battle, they’d arrive when?

The battle board gave Kris a very quick answer.

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