Deserter Read Online Free Page A

during three tries to kill her. He’d only been at risk for two of them. Still, she couldn’t really blame him for distancing himself from the Longknifes in general, and her in particular.
    “I am sorry that Tommy feels that way,” Nelly offered. Her latest upgrade was supposed to make her a better companion. All Kris had noticed was that the computer seemed prone to arguing.
    Kris shrugged. I DIDN’T EXACTLY TELL TOMMY I WANTED TO SPEND MY LIFE WITH HIM, she told Nelly. What could she expect?
    A toddler, defying gravity with each improbable step, hurtled by Kris, the string to a yellow toy duck clutched in his pudgy fingers. It followed him in fits and starts, quacking in his wake. The child rewarded its noise with happy laughs.
    “Hold on tight,” Kris whispered. “That’s the only way you can hope to keep ’em close.” At home in her closet somewhere must be a speckled giraffe that had once been her inseparable pal. Would people talk too much if a Navy Lieutenant/Princess suddenly started showing up with a clicking giraffe in tow?
    Kris was drawn from further reveries by the elevator station. A ferry was in the final stages of loading. As usual, Kris headed for the observation deck, while most people settled into chairs that let them ignore the fact they were dropping 20,000 kilometers in less than a half hour. Kris loved the view.
    As she settled into a seat, a man in a Vice Admiral’s uniform sat down across from her. She started to rise, but he waved her down. Kris concentrated on staying out of his face by looking out the window. No view yet. The window reflected Kris’s face . . . and the Admiral’s. He was watching her. He looked familiar. Where?
    Right . Scowling, Kris turned to the Admiral. “I know with the crisis, promotions are coming fast, but three months ago you were a Commander. Rapid promotion”—she took in his ribbons and the rest of his uniform, no real information there—“even for the Intelligence Service.”
    The man shrugged. “A Vice Admiral interrogating a mutinous Ensign, even an Ensign whose dad is the Prime Minister, might get people talking. I figured a Commander was about the right rank. What did you think?”
    Kris thought she’d had enough of this man’s games and let the angry Prime Minister’s daughter and billionaire speak. “I didn’t much like the topic of conversation, no matter who was pushing it at me. I didn’t plan a mutiny. It just happened.”
    “I know that now,” the Admiral said, leaning back into his seat as the car began to move. “We’ve finished debriefing those who took your side against your Captain, and its clear you did nothing illegal beforehand. Some damn good leadership in some tough situations, yes. Few men or women could have earned the trust and respect you did. And that fast.”
    “Flattery from Naval Intelligence?”
    “I like to think that truth is my business. Care to make it yours?”
    Kris let her eyes rove out the window. The station with its piers and ships spun above her, then quickly receded as they fell away at one g acceleration. She spotted Firebolt, still in its diminished form. Ship duty! Right!
    “This a job offer?”
    “Mac still doesn’t know where to assign you. You’re one of his many hot potatoes. He offered me the chance to solve one of his problems and one of mine. I can use someone with your skills and unique opportunities. Unlike Hayworth, I don’t mind you using your own pet computer.”
    “For what? Does the Chief of Staff expect me to spy on my father?”
    The admiral rubbed his eyes with one hand. “Tact is not one of your strong points.”
    “I’m not a spy,” Kris said. “Certainly not on my own father.”
    “I don’t want you to be. Mac doesn’t want it either.”
    Kris took that with a grain of salt. “So, what kind of job are you offering me?”
    The Admiral swept a hand out to the black of space and its unblinking stars. “The galaxy is a challenging place. It’s got the most