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    The Job Interview: A Collection of Short Stories
    The Job Interview: A Collection of Short Stories
    The Job Interview: A Collection of Short Stories
    Ebook231 pages3 hours

    The Job Interview: A Collection of Short Stories

    By Mike Shepherd

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    About this ebook

    Nebula Nominated Science Fiction Short Stories. At age 80, Cassie needs a job. The interviewer is out of this world. The health benefits may include the Fountain of Youth, but is the price too high. The fate of nations may hang on the edge of a blade forged long ago for an assassin. Or not. If you had the chance to do it over, could you swallow your pride and ask for help?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMike Shepherd
    Release dateMay 27, 2020
    ISBN9781642110296
    The Job Interview: A Collection of Short Stories
    Author

    Mike Shepherd

    Mike Shepherd is the author of Like Another Lifetime In Another World an historic fiction based on his experiences as a reporter for Armed Forces Radio in Vietnam in 1967 and ‘68. It too is available through iUniverse.com. Shepherd is a free-lance writer who lives in the country near Springfield, Illinois.

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      Book preview

      The Job Interview - Mike Shepherd

      The Job Interview

      The Job Interview

      A Collection of Short Stories

      Mike Shepherd

      KL & MM Books

      Published by KL & MM Books

      June 2017

      Copyright © 2017 by Mike Moscoe

      Revision 2

      All right reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

      This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between any people, places or events would be spectacularly unlikely and is purely coincidental.

      This book is written and published by the author. Please don’t pirate it. I’m self-employed. The money I earn from these sales allow me to produce more stories to entertain you. I’d hate to have to get a day job again. If this book comes into your hands free, please consider going to your favorite e-book provider and investing in a copy so I can continue to earn a living at this wonderful art.

      Contents

      Praise for the Kris Longknife Novels

      Also by Mike Shepherd

      Acknowledgments

      Foreword

      Introduction to The Job Interview

      The Job Interview

      Introduction to A Sharp Twist to Destiny

      A Sharp Twist to Destiny

      Introduction to One Picture is Worth…

      One Picture is Worth…

      Afterward to One Picture is Worth…

      Introduction to Friday Night is Date Night

      Friday Night is Date Night

      Afterward to Friday Night is Date Night

      Introduction to To Lasso a Divine Wind

      To Lasso a Divine Wind

      Introduction to A Long Stay in the Trenches

      A Long Stay in the Trenches

      Introduction to Too Smart Weapons

      Too Smart Weapons

      Afterward to Too Smart Weapons

      Introduction to An End to Nightmares

      An End to Nightmares

      Afterward to An End to Nightmares

      Introduction to What Will You Give Me for a Used…

      What Will You Give Me for a Used…

      Afterword for What Will You Give Me for a Used…

      About the Author

      2018 Releases

      More Books by Mike Shepherd

      Praise for the Kris Longknife Novels

      A whopping good read . . . Fast-paced, exciting, nicely detailed, with some innovative touches. - Elisabeth Moon, Nebula Award-winning author of Crown Renewal

      Shepherd delivers no shortage of military action, in space and on the ground. It’s cinematic, dramatic, and dynamic . . . [He also] demonstrates a knack for characterization, balancing serious moments with dry humor . . . A thoroughly enjoyable adventure featuring one of science fiction’s most interesting recurring heroines. - TOR.com

      A tightly written, action-packed adventure from start to finish . . . Heart-thumping action will keep the reader engrossed and emotionally involved. It will be hard waiting for the next in the series. - Fresh Fiction

      [Daring] will elate fans of the series . . . The story line is faster than the speed of light. - Alternative Worlds

      [Kris Longknife] will remind readers of David Weber’s Honor Harrington with her strength and intelligence. Mike Shepherd provides an exciting military science fiction thriller. -Genre Go Round Reviews

      ‘I’m a woman of very few words, but lots of action’: so said Mae West, but it might just as well have been Lieutenant Kris Longknife, princess of the one hundred worlds of Wardhaven. Kris can kick, shoot, and punch her way out of any dangerous situation, and she can do it while wearing stilettos and a tight cocktail dress. She’s all business, with a Hell’s Angel handshake and a ‘get out of my face’ attitude. But her hair always looks good . . . Kris Longknife is funny and she entertains us. - SciFi Weekly

      [A] fast-paced, exciting military SF series . . . Mike Shepherd has a great ear for dialogue and talent for injecting dry humor into things at just the right moment . . . The characters are engaging, and the plot is full of twists and peppered liberally with sharply described action. I always look forward to installments in the Kris Longknife series because I know I’m guaranteed a good time with plenty of adventure. -SF Site

      In the New York Times bestselling Kris Longknife novels, Fans of the Honor Harrington escapades will welcome the adventures of another strong female in outer space starring in a thrill-a-page military space opera. - Alternative Worlds

      Military SF fans are bound to get a kick out of the series as a whole. - SF Site

      Also by Mike Shepherd

      Published by KL & MM Books

      Kris Longknife: Emissary

      Kris Longknife: Admiral

      Kris Longknife: Commanding

      Kris Longknife’s Relief

      Kris Longknife’s Replacement

      Kris Longknife’s Successor

      Rita Longknife: Enemy Unknown

      Rita Longknife: Enemy in Sight

      Vicky Peterwald: Dominator

      Short Stories from KL & MM Books

      Kris Longknife’s Maid Goes on Strike & Other Short Stories

      Kris Longknife’s Maid Goes On Strike

      Kris Longknife’s Bad Day

      Ruth Longknife’s First Christmas

      Kris Longknife: Among the Kicking Birds

      Ace Books by Mike Shepherd

      Kris Longknife: Mutineer

      Kris Longknife: Deserter

      Kris Longknife: Defiant

      Kris Longknife: Resolute

      Kris Longknife: Audacious

      Kris Longknife: Intrepid

      Kris Longknife: Undaunted

      Kris Longknife: Redoubtable

      Kris Longknife: Daring

      Kris Longknife: Furious

      Kris Longknife: Defender

      Kris Longknife: Tenacious

      Kris Longknife: Unrelenting

      Kris Longknife: Bold

      Vicky Peterwald: Target

      Vicky Peterwald: Survivor

      Vicky Peterwald: Rebel

      Mike Shepherd writing as Mike Moscoe in the Jump Point Universe

      First Casualty

      The Price of Peace

      They Also Serve

      Rita Longknife: To Do or Die

      Short Specials

      Kris Longknife: Training Daze

      Kris Longknife: Welcome Home, Go Away

      Kris Longknife’s Bloodhound

      Kris Longknife’s Assassin

      The Lost Millennium Trilogy published by KL & MM Books

      Lost Dawns: Prequel

      First Dawn

      Second Fire

      Lost Days

      Award-Nominated Short Story Collections by Mike Shepherd

      A Day’s Work on the Moon

      The Job Interview

      The Strange Redemption of Sister MaryAnn

      Acknowledgments

      Several of these stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies. Acknowledgments are due the following editors and publishers.

      The Job Interview, Analog Magazine of Science Fiction and Fact, May, 2002.

      One Picture is Worth . . ., Analog Magazine of Science Fiction and Fact, Mid December, 1993.

      Friday Night is Date Night, Aboriginal SF, Summer, 1992.

      Lasso the Divine Wind, Time after Time Anthology, Marty Greenberg, Ed., November 05.

      A Sharp Twist to Destiny, Swordplay Anthology, Denise Little, Ed., June 09.

      All other content is copyright 2011

      Foreword

      In my first collections of stories, I promised some good reads and the stories behind those reads for anyone interested or anyone thinking of becoming a writer and wondering what it’s about.

      In this collection, many are about those who wear the uniform.

      The Job Interview, and other stories cover several of my early stories as well as some of my most recent ones. For those of you familiar with my Kris Longknife stories, you will find a lot of hints at what was to come.

      Introduction to The Job Interview

      The Job Interview started out as just a study in place while I was taking a writing workshop. I was sent off to a casino and told to write a story placed in that setting.

      I nailed the setting, but as a story it wandered all over the place, with no real human focus.

      I set it aside for a year and reflected on it. Then, I sat down and wrote a completely different manuscript. It was still about Casi and her problems, but this version stayed tightly focused on her and her past. Boy, did her past come alive! I’m still thinking there’s a novel in there.

      This second attempt sold to Analog and made it to the initial Nebula ballot. I hope you’ll enjoy Cassie and her somewhat unusual approach to life, aging, and a job interview.

      The Job Interview

      In the deep shadows of the casino bar, Casi collapsed into the offered chair; it wasn’t her arthritis that made her knees go to jelly. Digging madly through the dust bin that was her brain of late, she struggled to find some of the courage that had gotten her through so much of her eighty-five years. She kept her eyes down and didn’t allow herself to stare at the stranger settling into the chair across from her. Either Casi was going crazy, or the guy was an alien . . . not as in south of the border, more like south of the Milky Way.

      The young barmaid immediately showed up to take their order; the hostess took in the stranger in the blue three-piece suit without even a blink. Didn’t she see the line where the nose had been glued on? How many four foot tall men walked in here with the fluid dexterity of something with no knees, probably no bones?

      A, ah, tonic water, Casi stuttered.

      Same for me, came from across the table. The stranger’s lips moved, but Casi swore the sound came from somewhere under the nose.

      Coming right up, the waitress said and left without a backward glance. Well, the casino bar was dimly lit and the light over the table was off. Its breaker must have been thrown as part of the construction work that wrapped the smell of dust and plywood around Casi and drove the other customers to cluster closer to the door. Still, in the minutes since the stranger had tugged politely at Casi’s sleeve, said Since you are wearing the red feather boa, you must be the woman I have come to talk with, and steered her toward the bar, there was no denying the obvious. This stranger did not belong to the Earth Casi had spent the last eight and a half decades on.

      But aliens only exist in movies or TV, the rational part of her brain insisted. Casi liked that reasonable part of her; it was always good for a laugh.

      Right, and never date a pilot, and the North Koreans will never come south, she reminded her smart self of only a few of the rules that had not worked in her life. Face it, gal, that makeup isn’t covering this guy’s skin all that well. Look at the play of colors sweeping over him.

      Maybe it’s just the reflection of the neon lights from the beer signs behind the bar, her rational self offered lamely.

      Give it a rest, Casi told her conservative voice. She’d always been one for second thoughts, just never one to pay them any mind. She’d come here to talk about a job; she should have known no one on Earth had any use for a worn-out relic like her.

      The stranger seemed satisfied with the silence so it stretched while they waited for their drinks. Casi had an hour until bed check at Stalag Elder Care as she called the assisted living center her daughter and granddaughter had sentenced her to after she broke her leg skiing. Mom, it could have been your hip, and then you’d be totally up the creek. You can’t keep acting like you’re Ellie. Honey, I wasn’t half as rational as Ellie when I was her age, got a giggle from her granddaughter and a scowl from her daughter . . . and didn’t get Casi back into her own home.

      Getting comfortable in her chair, Casi wondered how many other little old ladies, or spry young chicks for that matter, would have taken one look at this stranger and made a beeline for the door. Then again, Casi had never let first impressions scare her off. Casi centered herself for what would have to be the conversation of a very long life. Silently, she muttered a Christian prayer, a Buddhist mantra and a Don’t fuck this up, from Steve, and waited for this man . . . no creature . . . well, potential associate . . . to take the lead.

      The drinks arrived. As the hostess departed, the stranger lifted his glass. Casi leaned forward and did the same. As the two glasses touched in toast, the stranger spoke. You have lived a most interesting life.

      Casi could only smile at the memories. I wasn’t bored very often, she agreed.

      Cassandra Shepherd, we want you to teach our young, was accompanied by a bluish brown tinge to his skin that the make-up could not hide.

      Casi gulped and took a long pull on her tonic water. She wished she’d ordered a scotch, straight up. Strong. Ah, I thought you’d want to talk to me a little about my experience before we got down to business.

      As you must have concluded by now, the stranger said with a boneless wave at himself, I was not born on the same planet as you. My race is very old. Most of us have passed several hundreds of your centuries through our lives. Our young need to learn, to taste the experiences of other lives. All your messages on the Old Farts internet discussion group had such intriguing flairs and twists to them. Your memoirs that you sent me were very helpful. Not just all the things you did, but what you thought about them, both when they were happening to you and now that you have had time to reflect. You made my decision very easy.

      But what about my decision? Casi kept to herself. When I was swapping e-mails with you, I figured you for a kids’ daycare that needed a nice old lady to tell the preschoolers stories. What have I got myself into?

      I think you will find our work very rewarding, the stranger continued. In return for you sharing your experiences with our youth, we can offer you a long, healthy and comfortable life with us. I notice that you are using a cane.

      Casi snorted at that bit of redirection. So that was the coin the stranger offered – and wanted. For her memories, he would barter immortality among the stars. Casi made a face at the stick that had become her third leg now that an arthritic hip had robbed her of balance. My mom swore I learned to prance before I could walk, the old woman chuckled at another woman’s hyperbole. Casi reached for the cane, fingered its well worn wood . . . and remembered.

      Breathing heavily, Casi glanced back at the assisted living residence, huddled low and unassuming beside the beach. No one had followed her; she’d slipped out while all the other staff was busy with another one of Mrs. Breckenridge’s tantrums. Casi shook her head ruefully. The gal who’d shimmied under the air base fence in England back in ‘44 and raced to get to the unauthorized dance at the Victoria Inn was now reduced to using diversions to cover her hobbling.

      At the beach stairs, the wind and salty air whipped at her coat, ruffled the red boa at her throat . . . and stole her warmth. Any other day, she would have limped back to her room. Today, she took the steps one at a time, first set the cane solidly in place on the next step down, then got a firm grip on the handrail, finally move the good knee down, then the bad one. Damn, what a way to live.

      But the sun caught her eye. On the Oregon coast, most days the sun just vanished into a cloud bank an hour or two before sunset. Not today. You could almost see the ocean sizzle as the sun touched it. Casi paused for a moment on the last step, leaning on the rail to catch her breath . . . and blinked back tears.

      The sun had been low outside the window while she clutched Steve’s hand, kept him company one last time as the darkness came for him. She watched each labored breath. The long illness had turned pasty the face once so tanned and handsome. Through the window, the setting sun rouged his brows to false health. It took her a few minutes to realize that there had not been a next breath for quite a while. She etched the gentle smile on his face into her memory.

      Here, at the home, she wondered who would hold her hand when the darkness came for her. So many of the women died alone in their rooms, forgotten by those they’d given life, a life that had become so full and hectic that it left little time for what couldn’t be scheduled several months ahead in their day planners.

      Casi shivered as the breeze again ruffled the feather boa at her neck and glanced up the beach to the casino. No use sitting around waiting for death, not while there were still plenty of good miles in her. A job was just what she needed to get her off her duff.

      We love our children very much, the stranger changed the topic, and drew Casi away from recent memories. I have often watched you among the children here at the casino.

      I never saw you before, Casi said, still off balance. Who is this guy? No, what is this guy? Since the stranger was barely four feet tall and walked with a catchy bowlegged roll, she would have noticed him in the

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