Lars arrived before she got past a stiff greeting to the others.He jogged down the pier, grinning broadly at the success of his surprise.
"She's great, isn't she?" he said, his face boyish and more like the Lars she had known than the Guild Master he had become."This'll be her maiden voyage.You're the shake-down crew."
Not even Killashandra had the effrontery to blight his pleasure as he shepherded them on board, pointing out the technological improvements and amenities, the spaciousness, the luxury of the several cabins and wardroom, still smelling of varnish, paint and that indefinable odor of "unused".There was even space for a body-sleeve-sized radiant bath.Killa lost the edge of her vexation when Lars guided her to the captain's cabin, genially waving the other three to pick out their own bunks.There would be much more privacy on Angel II-unless, of course, Lars insisted on standing a different watch.Maybe they would have to, for she had no idea of how much seamanship the two medics and the Sorter had.
"Like it, Sunny?"Lars said, tossing his duffel to the wide bunk and gesturing around the beautifully appointed cabin."The rewards of cutting black!"
"Must have cost you every bit you made," she murmured, looking about her appreciatively."State-of-the-art?"
"She was when she left the boatyard on Optheria."Lars slipped his arms about her waist, enfolding her to him and burying his face in her short crisp curls."Probably still is, though I waited to sail her until I could have my Sunny aboard.No fun for me to sail without you, you know."He kissed her, then let her go to swing his arms about expansively."She's a beaut, isn't she?Saw her sister ships on Flag Three and I've lusted after one like her ever since."
"Do the others know how to sail?" she asked, curious and still somewhat resentful.
"They sailed on the old ship a couple of times," he admitted casually."They don't get seasick, if that's your worry, and, while this baby should run herself, they know their way about a deck."
"Who cooks?"Killa said, half teasing.
"Whoever's off-duty," he replied gaily, and then hugged her to him."It's good to have you back on board, lovey.Real good.Now-" and his manner turned brisk-"let's get this cruise underway."
It turned out to be a very good cruise, especially when Killashandra realized that she was a much more capable sailor than any of the others.And, as usual, she responded automatically, and correctly, to any of Lars's orders.
The important things to remember she remembered, she told herself.The rest was chaff, which time would have winnowed out of active memory anyway.
And, as they anchored every evening in a cove and the ship could be rigged to rouse the crew if its monitors received any critical readings, Lars and she spent their nights together in the captain's double bunk.
They fished and ate the panfried catch, sweet and delicate in flavor and flesh.They sailed, or rather Lars did-he would let no one take the helm for very long, even Killa.By the afternoon of the third day out, they encountered some stormy weather.She reveled in it, for it brought back to mind flashes of other storms she had experienced on ships with Lars.It was four days before the pressures of the Guild had to be considered.Lars tried to settle one set of problems that were patched through to him, but since he had no assistant to handle matters during an absence, they regretfully had to turn back.
"I thought you were going to find yourself an aide," Killa said, unhappy at having the halcyon trip truncated.
"I've been trying to find the right personality for the past seven years, Sunny. Isn't easy to find anyone suitable.Oh, there've been a couple of recruits who had some potential, passable as temporaries, but none who had the breadth of experience to be effective executives.I need someone who knows and understands Guild tenets, has or could cut crystal, has managerial skills without being a power freak.Most especially someone I can trust…"
"Not to usurp your prerogatives?"Killa asked facetiously.
"That, too," he agreed, grinning at her."It's not an easy position to fill.I've learned to do as much as I can myself without delegating it to others because, bluntly, singers forget too much."
Killa heard that on several levels and winced.His arm came about her, lovingly tucking her against him, and she felt his kiss on the nape of her neck.
"Worse, they sublimate-Donalla's word-crystal singing into the most important aspect of their lives which, in many senses, it has to be.The disadvantage to that is the balance: they end up with such narrow parameters in which they can function that they're bloody useless for any broader view.They're either singing or they flee from singing until they can no longer ignore the need for crystal.That sort of myopia compromises a lot of otherwise good people.Life holds more-hey, Sunny, what's the matter with you?"Killa had stiffened in his arms, and tried to push him away."Hey, no need to take offense!"He laughed at her and pulled her back into his arms, caressing her until she began to relax."Silly chunk!"
She made herself soften in his arms because they were nearly back at the Guild harbor, but whether or not he denied it, she felt that his comments had not been as casual as he pretended.And yet… nothing in the past few days suggested to her that there had been any other, subtle alteration to their long relationship.Donalla was patently interested in Presnol, and Clodine apparently had a like-for-like preference.
Then Lars issued the necessary orders to ready the ship for docking, and there was no time for any further conversation.On the one hand, Killa resented that Lars had left her so unsettled with his remarks unclarified, but, on the other, she wanted time to mull over what he had said.If the suit fits, wear it, she thought.
With utter honesty, she recognized that she was guilty of compressing her personal parameters into just such a narrow track.Had Lars seen that?Was he hoping that his remarks would jolt her out of that myopia?Only how?Something teased at the edge of her mind.Something important.She couldn't catch so much as a hint.
She sighed and finished cleaning up the galley and removing the last of the perishable foods.Well, maybe she wasn't as myopic as some.She sailed, didn't she?And she could remember seeing more water worlds than any galaxy had the right to offer.
Sailing had given Lars Dahl some respite from the pressures of his responsibility, but the main one had doubled on him-more black crystal was ordered.
"I left instructions that no further orders were to be taken," Lars said, angrily furrowing his brows as he glared at the comscreen.It had been buzzing for his attention the moment he opened the hatch on his private ground vehicle.
"Guild Master, we never refuse orders for black," he was told.
"We can't fill the orders we've got."Lars leaned out of the open door."Donalla, you're going to have to lean on Borella and Rimbol."
The names were vaguely familiar to Killashandra.
"I'll do what I can, Lars," Donalla called back to him, but she shrugged as if she was none too sanguine about success.
"Rimbol?I knew him-I think," Killashandra said as a hazy image of an ingenuous smile on a boyish face flickered in recall."And Borella…" The woman's face was not clear; memory centered on a tall strong body and a badly lacerated leg."I haven't seen them in a long time," she added.