She was joined by three others from the transport, one male and one female in black armor, and another male in regular clothes who carried both of his left arms in a sling. That, at least, was some indication that this group did fight. The pilot was clearly the leader, for the others waited for her, and she went first as they approached the waiting group from the Methryn. She stopped before Valthyrra's remote and bowed her head in respect.
"Valthyrra Methryn, I am pack leader Dveyella of special tactics. This is my second, Baress." She indicated the injured member first, then the armored male and female. "Threl and Marlena."
Valthyrra dipped the probe's camera pod in response. "I welcome you. This is Commander Mayelna, First Officer Consherra and pack leader Velmeran. We are grateful for your assistance…"
Dveyella held up a hand to interrupt. "Please, before we go any farther, I must tell you that my pack is temporarily shorthanded. Baress, the only other fighter pilot I have, is recovering from a recent accident and will not be able to fly for at least another week. His fighter was hit and damaged, so that his field drive controls failed on approach…"
"I bounced twice," Baress admitted guilttly. "Once off the Delvon's lower hull and again off the side of her landing bay. Thenderra was so mad she almost begrudged sending out a capture ship to get me."
"I can imagine," Valthyrra remarked softly.
"Then you cannot fight?" Mayelna asked impatiently.
"I thought I made this plain when you contacted us," Dveyella said with some surprise. "I said that we could fight if you could loan us a good pilot to take the place of Baress. Valthyrra indicated that we could have Velmeran, that he is the best you have."
Velmeran's surprise was nearly as great as Mayelna's. Both were greatiy astonished that Valthyrra would go so far to have her own way, surprised that she had managed to trick them both, and surprised at themselves for not expecting it. Velmeran at least was spared Mayelna's indignation, since he obviously had no prior knowledge of this. But he quickly decided that if fate, or a conniving computer, was going to give him the opportunity, then he was going to seize it. For herself, Valthyrra was glad that probes were practicatly indestructible.
"The best pilot you have is good enough for me… assuming that he has the endurance," Dveyella continued after a moment of profound silence. "Most people cannot maintain hypermetabolism long enough to work in special tactics."
"I can recommend no one else," Valthyrra declared.
Dveyella crossed her arms as she looked Velmeran up and down very closely. "What about strength? I am strong enough myself, but I do like to have a second who can assist in matters of… lifting and removing obstacles."
Valthyrra turned her pod to look at Velmeran. "Do not fail me now."
"Do you have something in mind?" Velmeran asked.
He was not worried, for he was sure that Valthyrra knew his strength.
Indeed she did. The fighter was quickly unracked and Velmeran approached it quickly and confidently. It was, of course, no secret that he proposed to lift the nose of the little ship. That was no small task, for a Starwolf fighter was twenty meters of heavy machinery, dense plastics and spun carbon filaments. A great deal of its weight was in the very back; in order to tilt it back on its rear struts, all he had to lift was about six tons. But he did that easily with only his upper arms.
"He is stronger than I am," Baress admitted quietiy to his captain.
That was saying a lot, and Dveyella did not answer. Among their own kind, size and sex were not good indications of strength. Baress was about the strongest person she had ever met, and she was herself just a little stronger still. But Velmeran was even stronger. There was no longer any question about whether she would allow him to go. Indeed, Valthyrra Methryn might have a hard time getting him back.
"Suits me," she admitted casually. "Commander?"
"It seems to have already been decided," Mayelna answered slowly, still loath to agree. "If you are going to run our errands for us, then we should at least offer you any help we have to give. I had meant to have Velmeran's pack standing ready to help you get clear…"
"Velmeran's pack is shorthanded," Valthyrra pointed out, as if some automatic relay had failed to note that the argument was over. She turned her camera pod to Dveyella. "My drone reports that the Union carrier is approaching its predicted port. I should have all the information I can get for you coming within the next few hours."
"If you would care to shed that armor, my first officer wid show you to your rooms," Mayelna said, her behavior improving quickly as her good humor returned. "If Valthyrra has your luggage ready."
"Coming!" Valthyrra announced. A remote, a small flat-topped freight carrier, emerged from the other side of the transport, piled with boxes and bags as it rolled off toward the lift. Mayelna quickly took Velmeran by the arm and led him on ahead of the others. Consherra flinched when she saw that; Mayelna might not be able to stop this — indeed she had not really even tried — but she would certainly lecture him long and hard until it was done, and then start over by pointing out his mistakes. She did not notice Dveyella until the pilot fell in beside her.
"I seem to have walked into the middle of something."
"Oh, do not let those two bother you," Consherra assured her. "Unfortunately, this is an old argument. Can you keep a secret?"
"Better than you."
Consherra smiled. "I am hoping that the end justifies the means. To put it simply, Valthyrra wants Velmeran for Commander-designate, and Mayelna refuses to name him. Velmeran gained quite a beginning of a reputation as a capable leader during our last battle. Now Valthyrra is obviously contriving to help him win as much favor as she can, so that Mayelna will have no reason not to approve the appointment."
"Ah, I see. Well, I have no objection to my part in this game, so long as Velmeran delivers as promised."
"Do you doubt?"
"If I doubted, he would not be going," Dveyella replied casually, although she obviously meant it. "But why should your Commander question his abilities?"
"It has nothing to do with his abilities," Consherra replied. "Commander Mayelna is his mother."
"Oh!" Dveyella exclaimed with a look of both comprehension and horrified dismay.
As soon as she was settied into her cabin, Dveyeda asked Velmeran to meet her as soon as he could, in full armor, on a high observation platform in the left holding bay. She did not tell him what she had in mind, but he could guess easily enough; she meant to teach him what she could of the special tricks he would need to know for this mission. Velmeran found her already waiting on the platform, leaning with her upper set of arms on the rail, her lower arms braced wide as she stared down into the depths of the vast bay.
"You know, we Kelvessan are truly amazing fighting machines in our own right," she began almost absentiy. "I have been told that we can be over a hundred times stronger than an ordinary human of the same size, and our reflexes are thousands of times faster. And yet most of us know little of just how much we can do. For the purposes of today's exercise, Valthyrra Methryn has consented to turn off the buffer fields in this bay. Let me begin with a simple demonstration."
With that she casually leaped over the rading. Velmeran was not caught by surprise; he had figured out what she intended to do, and watched with interest. The static field that took the place of gravity was only a fair substitute for the real thing. It seemed like one standard gravity only to stationary objects, but decreased as objects moved faster relative to the motion of the ship. An ordinary human could have easily taken a fall of five meters. But Dveyella was jumping nearly the entire height of the bay, almost one hundred and fifty meters. As easily as she landed, it might have been only two.