Undaunted by Mike Shepherd

Author:Mike Shepherd [Shepherd, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science fiction; American, Interstellar travel, Navies - Officers, Space Opera, Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure, Navies, General, Longknife; Kris (Fictitious character)
ISBN: 9780441017867
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
Published: 2009-10-27T00:00:00+00:00

The professor turned to go, then turned back. “Oh, some of us want to know if we"ll be allowed access to the Iteeche. There is so little known about them. There are dozens of papers just waiting to be researched and written there.”

“The king wants them kept under wraps. He told the Marines to consider them top secret and no talking.”

“I thought as much, but remember, Kris, just because a paper is researched and written doesn"t mean it has to be published immediately. But you can"t publish anything you haven"t done the research on.”

“I"ll think about that,” Kris said.

Kris"s next stop was Iteeche country. The hatch there was dogged and locked from the inside, so she had to knock.

The herald answered quickly, took one look at Kris, and said, “The Imperial Representative was hoping you would come. Please come in.

He ushered her into Ron"s room, then left. Ron was resting astride a rug-covered seat that looked like a chair in reverse, since it rose in front of him to allow him room to rest his four arms. His eyes were closed as if in sleep or meditation.

Kris stood quietly, taking in the room.

The floor was covered with mats of woven reeds that gave off a pungent smell. The far wall was a painting of a beach scene, bluffs covered with a purple grass leading down to sand and surf. Offshore, two whalelike creatures leapt from the waves into a blue sky dotted with fluffy clouds.

Kris could almost smell the salt air.

“Do you like it?” Ron asked softly.

“Yes, it reminds me of a summer day at the beach. My family had a sailboat. Nobody ever used it, but my brother and I loved to take it out. The wind. The water. The sun. They were good times, and it"s nice to remember them.”

Kris turned to Ron. “Did you paint the picture?”

“Yes,” he said, seeming a bit bashful to claim the art. “I was thinking of putting in our own sailboat. I"m glad I didn"t. It would probably look so alien to you.”

“What could be alien about a sailboat? The hull has to be long and sleek to slip gracefully through the water. The sails have to be large and billowing. Were yours white?”

“The color of death! No, they were a pleasant, relaxing purple,” he said, looking past Kris into some other time when the weight of his people didn"t rest on his shoulders.

“I"m sorry the meeting with my grandfather didn"t go better,” Kris risked.

“How could it have gone any differently? My chooser warned me that the first meeting would only be an opening gambit. He taught me to play your game of chess to understand you better.

Do you play chess?”

“Only a little,” Kris said, then brought them back to the present situation. “You know a lot about our present state of affairs. I know nothing about yours,” Kris pointed out.

“No, not really. Would you like to sit down? I can have Fin bring you a chair.”

“Fin?”

“My herald.”

“Can a girl just sit on the floor? I"m a floor sitter when I get a chance.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.