Tactical Error

“No, we dare not,” Theralda agreed. “The presence of a Starwolf carrier, or Starwolves in general, would call undue attention to this planet. I would not care to have to fight the Union for possession of this world, once they learn of its importance. And above all else, I would not have them discover the location of Terra before us.”

“Yes, that is what I have to do!” Keflyn declared suddenly.

When everyone turned to stare at her in mystification, she made a vague shrugging gesture and sat down self-consciously.

Velmeran thought he understood what she was talking about. “Yes, your premonition that you have some important task to perform. You assume that I should send you to this colony, to find out what you can.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, that does sound like a good idea.”

Velmeran turned to Venn Keflyn, sitting back on her tail to one side of the table. “Have you had anything to do with this?”

“We had discussed the nature of premonitions earlier,” she agreed. “Since my people are not subject to such admonitions, it is not my problem.”

That left Velmeran to contemplate what he had’accomplished by having this Valtrytian on his ship for the past twenty years. They were full of advice, but they never seemed to give any of it.

He glanced at his daughter. “Could you give me one good reason why I should agree to such a thing?”

“I can give you five,” Keflyn answered. “First, you have a ship to care for and cannot go yourself. The same is true for Consherra, and for Commander Tregloran. And Lenna Makayen is previously occupied. And it was my idea in the first place.”

“And give me one good reason why I should send you instead of one of the experienced members of my special tactics team like Baress?”

“Because I want to go?”

Velmeran considered that for a moment, watching her closely. “I suppose you can go, if you are smart enough to figure out a way to get yourself on that planet undetected.”

Keflyn thought about that for a long moment. “Well, there is a colony on that planet, and that means a supply ship of some type. The Feldenneh have always been supportive of the Starwolves. A colony that small might not be served by a regular freight line or a company ship, and that would mean a small, independent freighter. The independents have always been on our side as well, since we protect their shipping from Union monopolies. I suppose that we could work something out.”

“Now that is an interesting suggestion,” Tregloran remarked. “Theralda, would you happen to know anything about that?”

“Oh, I just might,” the ship replied, as pleased with herself as her Commander was that they had anticipated this. “The ship that services the colony is the Thermopylae, a small, very old, and slightly impoverished Free Trader under the command of a Jon Addesin. She makes this run every six weeks, since the Feldenneh colony is presently exporting a fair amount of specialty wood products back to their own worlds. If arrangements can be made quickly, you can be on that next run.”

“Are you still interested in going?” Velmeran asked.

“Oh, certainly,” Keflyn insisted. “I mean, it could hardly be dangerous, compared to Lenna’s expeditions. And it would be nice to see other worlds outside the Methryn for once.”

3

Kanis was a neutral world, at least in theory. A cold, mountainous planet of dark forests, it supported only a small population that thrived on the export of one luxury item, the immense, soft pelts and downy wool of the native langies, beasts of small wits and large tempers. Being independent of Union rule, there was no trade monopoly for that one product, and Free Traders shared the market with smaller Company ships. Since it was now late summer in the north and late winter in the south, the second of the biannual export of wool and pelts was still weeks away. There would be no Company ships down in the port of Kalennes or orbiting the planet itself, nor had there been in several months.

Kanis was a favorite world of the Starwolves, both because of its cool climate and its relative unimportance to the Union. It was one of the rare worlds where they could come for port leave and not have to wear their heavy armor, or fear attack from fanatics and assassins. Of course, the benefits were mutual. The constant presence of Starwolf carriers in the skies above this world helped to insure that the Union maintained an attitude of polite indifference. And with every ship in the Wolf fleet calling here for brief vacations, as well as the regular patrols of the Methryn, Kanis was the best protected independent world in Union space.

It seemed like a good place for Keflyn to find a Free Trader that would take her to Vannkarn for her meeting with the Thermopylae. It seemed unlikely that Union spies would observe her transfer from the Methryn, at least as long as they were discreet. Kanis was by no means immune to Union spies. Velmeran had once faced both a Union operative and an assassin in the port of Kalennes, on the same day.

In order to maintain the necessary discretion, the Methryn had settled quietly into orbit and immediately began putting packs and transports down to the surface as she would during any other port leave. Keflyn followed several hours later, after nearly half of the Methryn’s crew had already been down and spread out through the town for some time.

Keflyn had to wonder if she was doing the right thing. A large part of the strength of the Starwolves lay in their numbers and organization. A Starwolf was never alone, yet she would be completely alone for several weeks. If she got into trouble, she would be on her own. She would be without the defense of her armor, or the very important cooling it provided to protect her from the oppressive heat of human environments. Above all else, her safety would be completely dependent upon the trust she had to give to a great many people who would help her along the way, aliens all.

“Your contact on the surface will be Iyan Makayen, Lenna’s older half-brother,” Velmeran told her as he helped to carry her bags to the transport that would take her down. She was dressed in human manner, in clothes of dark, heavy cloth, and a cape to hide her Kelvessan form and lower set of arms; her hair was worn in two loose braids to hide her pointed ears.

“Is he anything like Lenna?” Keflyn asked as she began tossing her bags into the open hatch of the transport.

“I have not seen him in over twenty years,” Velmeran said. “He is not of Trader stock, as Lenna’s mother was. I remember that he was a quiet, practical man, more cautious than Lenna, but one to be trusted. He has made arrangements for you to travel on the Free Trader Karabyn, which will take you through two scheduled stops before she leaves you in Vannkarn. The Karabyn’s captain will put you in touch with the underground in Vannkarn, and they should be able to get you on the Thermopylae.”

On the way down, Keflyn had a few minutes to think hard about her own future. She looked upon the role of a pilot, even a pack leader, as dull and repetitive. She certainly did not want to give up her command status as a pilot to become an officer like her mother, but centuries could pass before she might have a ship of her own. The only answer for her seemed to be special tactics, and she was contemplating stepping into the role that Lenna Makayen would be forced to vacate in only a few years. Although Keflyn did not know it, she was cursed with her father’s leadership abilities. She possessed a quick wit and insatiable curiosity that could never be satisfied in any role short of the one making the rules, and if she could not be the leader then she was much better off working on her own. She did not know that Velmeran had himself nearly left the Methryn for special tactics, only that he had acquired such a team in addition to his own pack in some manner that she had never considered.

She knew only that things had apparently been handed to Velmeran to comfortably fill up the limits of his considerable abilities, not that he had sometimes paid a bitter price for his accomplishments.

The transport landed in the small port field outside the town of Kalennes. It was night, and they planned to use the darkness combined with the dark clothes that Keflyn wore to cover her departure from the transport. As soon as the hatch opened, she grabbed her things and made a rush for the concealment of the shadows at the edge