details?'
Consherra laughed. 'The little details do seem to be the most interesting these days. Then listen well, and forget who told you. Valthyrra took matters into her own hands. In fact, she rather blatantly avoided telling Mayelna what she was doing until it was done.'
Velmeran nodded thoughtfully. 'Valthyrra Methryn is ready for a fight, but the Commander is hesitant. That is obvious enough. But why?'
'Simple enough,' Consherra said, just a little pleased with herself. 'I know how those two operate, but I also know that Valthyrra is the smarter of the two. Mayelna feels that it is her duty to protect the crew of this ship, even above fulfilling the purpose of our existence. Valthyrra is less cautious because she has a better understanding of how things stand. She knows the real worth of this crew. She knows that she and Mayelna will quickly work out a compromise of aggression and restraint.'
Velmeran shrugged. 'I knew that.'
Consherra looked at him in astonishment and opened her mouth to demand an explanation, but the lift door opened at that moment. She started to step out, then deciding that she did not want to give Velmeran a chance to escape, took him by the arm and brought him with her. Not releasing her hold on him, she led the way quickly to her cabin and pulled him inside.
'What do you mean, you knew that?' she demanded almost before he was inside.
Velmeran shrugged again. 'When you have been an object of special interest and contention between those two for as long as I have, you get to know their tactics. Mayelna is bright, more so than you might think, but she is not very subde. Valthyrra is the mistress of subdety, with the lessons of eighteen thousand years of sneakiness behind her. If you will consider, then you would know that Valthyrra almost always gets her way.'
'If you know so much, then what were you trying to discover by going up to the bridge?'
'Just confirming my suspicions,' he replied. 'What does it matter to you anyway?'
'Do I have to have a reason?' Consherra asked in return.
'I was wondering,' Velmeran said. 'You are no gossip, and yet you seem to make a point of informing me of how matters stand on the bridge. I have to endure quite enough motherly ministrations from Fidgit and Fanny without you joining in.'
'Motherly ministrations?' Consherra demanded, and drew herself up proudly. 'One of the biggest questions on the upper bridge of late has been the matter of the appointment of the Commander-designate. That person has to be one of the pack leaders. You are in very high standing just now, and very likely to get it. And as second in command, this is of considerable importance to me.'
She paused and stood glaring at him, as if awaiting some anticipated reaction. But Velmeran did not seem to be particularly impressed. He stood calmly, arms crossed, staring back at her. A long, tense moment of silence followed, broken suddenly by the sound of Consherra's suit cycling on.
Velmeran smiled. 'Now look, you have yourself all heated up. Your thermostat must be wired to your temper. But you worry needlessly. We might be on the bridge together in a hundred years or so, but just now I am neither old enough nor respected enough to be accepted as Commander-designate.'
'It is entirely Valthyrra's choice…'
'And Valthyrra is old enough to know better. A Commander must be respected to be effective, and I do not have the respect of the pilots and officers of this ship. If Valthyrra has indicated any favor toward me, then it is only a game she is playing to get what she really wants.'
'She is waiting for something,' Consherra insisted.
'She is trying hard to encourage me to be a good pack leader, and that is all,' Velmeran said. 'And just now I am finding it hard enough to be that. Please do not complicate my life any more than it already is.'
'Keth and I had been working on the same ship, so I was lucky enough to be near when it happened,' Tregloran explained to an appreciative audience of younger pack members, nearly a score in all, gathered close about the table where he sat with members of his own pack.
Velmeran, sitting alone several tables over, did his best not to listen. But Kelvessan have ears like sonic dragons, one of the many gifts of their genetic perfection. And just now his ears had a will of their own, tracing that particular conversation to its source like scanners. At least he was pleased with the younger pilot's honesty; Treg made it clear that he was much more an observer to these events than a participant. Unfortunately, Velmeran also noticed that his own role was more prominent than he remembered.
Then he noticed, to his dismay, that he was not the only one eavesdropping on this tale. The dining hall was about as full as he had ever seen it, and everyone, perhaps three hundred people in all, was listening attentively to Tregloran as he unwittingly recited his story for the entire group. Velmeran felt a moment of panic. His real desire was to silence his young pack member on some pretext, but that would be too blatant. Instead he thought it time for a hasty retreat.
'But there was no way that they were going to fool the Captain,' Tregloran continued blissfully. 'He was on her tail the moment that carrier broke from the rest. And Baressa was right behind him.'
Velmeran rose quietly and began to slip away, unobserved. He edged out the door, thinking that he had made his escape, only to find a small delegation of his fellow pack leaders. Then he knew he was in trouble. Barthan, young and cynical — for a Kelvessa — was the obvious leader of this group, with the older Train a close second. He was surprised to see Shayrn rounding out this group of malcontents; she had always been supportive of him in the past.
'Off to save a world, Captain?' Barthan inquired, radiating sarcastic displeasure. 'We want to have a word with you. We would like to know what you thought you were doing out there.'
'My duty,' Velmeran replied evenly. 'And I would like to know what you thought you were doing while I was out there.'
'That is beside the point…'
'Is it?' Velmeran demanded. 'My pack and I did your duty as well as our own. If you believe that you are better than I am, then you tell me why you were not there when you were needed.'
'So we made a mistake,' Barthan snapped impatiently. 'Well, you made a bigger one when you decided that you could give us orders.'
'You are not a senior pack leader,' Train added. 'In fact, you are the most junior pack leader on this ship. Baressa was senior, and she was out there with you. Why was she not giving the orders?'
'Perhaps because Baressa is smart enough to recognize a superior leader when it counts,' Baressa answered for herself, seeming to appear out of the very air behind the three disgruntled pack leaders. She walked around them to stand beside Velmeran, obviously casting her support with him. 'All this talk about junior and senior pack leaders is foolish. A few extra years of sitting in a fighter or wearing a rank does not make you better than anyone else. A good leader comes that way, ready-made, and you know it because you listen when he or she gives an order. And from now on I listen to him.'
Shayrn was so moved by that endorsement that she abandoned her previous group, edging around to stand close to Baressa. Even Train looked doubtful. Only Barthan remained unconvinced.
'You could be Commander-designate if we pushed it,' he reminded her.
'I know that,' she agreed. 'But if Valthyrra says that he is the one, then I believe her. You will see. Or else you will find yourself another ship.'
'I will not take orders from him,' Barthan insisted.
'Yes, you will,' she said with icy firmness. 'If Valthyrra or the Commander indicates that he can, then you are going to listen. Refusing his orders under those circumstances is the same as refusing their own. You know that. You would lose your rank, and you might find yourself without a ship, if Valthyrra turns you out, because no one else will take you in. If you do not like the way things are, then get out while it is your idea.'
'But things do not have to be that way,' Barthan argued with equal force. 'If we stand together on this…'
'You still do not understand,' Baressa interrupted him, her tone cold enough to be intimidating. 'Management wants it this way, and I agree. Too many of the senior pack leaders — which you are not — stand with him in this matter. You cannot gather enough support to have your own way, so you had better shut up before you get yourself in trouble.'
'I believe that I have had enough of your game,' Shayrn agreed.
