Vicky Peterwald: Survivor (Vicky Peterwald Series Book 2) (32 page)

“I believe that we do,” the woman admitted.

“I’ve been told you might well be able to scale up your lasers to 6- or 8-inch.”

“I expect that we have people who would love to try.”

“I have an expert who can give you some advice on that. I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve got a lot of laid-up merchant ships trailing your station.”

“You don’t miss much, do you?”

“What I miss, some smart people tell me.”

“And you listen?” was dripping with skepticism.

“Not all Peterwalds have mud in their ears.”

“I think you would be the first,” the older woman answered.

“So I’ve been told by folks who were surprised by what I’m doing,” Vicky replied.

The woman’s eyes turned to the far horizon. “Our space yards on the station have had little business of late. They and their workers could be put to work arming those ships. And if we are asked, what would we call them, we nice, loyal, subjects who are not revolting.”

“We have a long tradition of arming merchant ships against pirates. I’m told that the pirates are rather heavily armed these days. I don’t think a 6- or 8-inch gun would be too much for self-defense,” Vicky said with an air of innocence.

“I’m told by one of my designers that we could put a half dozen 15-inch lasers on an unused liner.”

Vicky raised an eyebrow. “That might be harder to explain.”

“We will need to keep very quiet about that,” the woman said, a tiny smile dancing around the edges of her mouth.

“Shall we very quietly go talk with those who can make all of this peaceful, civilian work happen?” Vicky said.

“Yes, let us.”

Vicky eyed the old woman. She was smiling now, and her eyes sparkled.

“Before you came into the room this afternoon,” the woman said, “I doubted there was any hope for us. When you left the first time, I feared all hope was gone. When you stormed back in, madder than a wet hen, I thought I saw possibilities. Now, I see hope. Hope for me and my family. Hope for all the men who work for us. Hope for their wives and children.”

Vicky tried to accept the words the woman spoke, but she could not. “Ma’am, I am just a survivor. If I hope for anything, it is to help others survive as well.”

“Oh, no, young lady, you are hope. Hope for a future that will not be as good as our past but so much
better.”

MIKE SHEPHERD
grew up Navy. It taught him early about change and the chain of command. He’s worked as a bartender and cabdriver, personnel advisor and labor negotiator. Now retired from building databases about the endangered critters of the Pacific Northwest, he’s enjoying some fun reading and writing.

Mike lives in Vancouver, Washington, with his wife, Ellen, and close to his daughter and grandchildren. He enjoys reading, writing, dreaming, watching grandchildren for story ideas, and upgrading his computer—all are never ending. He’s hard at work on Kris’s next story,
Kris Longknife: Unrelenting
, coming from Ace in November 2015, and
Vicky Peterwald: Rebel
, coming in June 2016, as well as other exciting tales in Kris’s universe.

You can learn more about Mike and all his books at his website mikeshepherd.org; you can e-mail him at [email protected] or follow Kris Longknife on
Facebook.

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