"So, you actually mean to go through with this," Consherra said disapprovingly, staring straight ahead as she marched down the silent corridor at a brisk pace.
"It seems to me a little late to back out now," Velmeran said. "Even if I wanted to. The thought had not occurred to me."
"Velmeran, you have never done this before!" she exclaimed as she stopped before the lift door and hit the call button so hard she nearly broke it.
Velmeran only shrugged. "No one is born experienced."
"And is that any reason why you have to do it? What good does it do you?"
"None, perhaps," Velmeran replied. "Or perhaps a great deal. Dveyella has said that she might like to keep me."
Consherra stared in disbelief. "Would you really go, give up your pack to be a new student in another?"
"I would, if I like it well enough," he said. "Valthyrra made me a pack leader. You would have me command this ship. But my one and only talent is for flying, and Dveyella is willing to allow me to fly like I never will on this ship. She appreciates me for what I can do, not for what she would make of me. Can you understand that?"
"Unfortunately, that makes perfect sense," Consherra agreed meekly. "But is that what you want?"
Velmeran considered that for a moment before he replied. "I cannot yet say. I have two futures before me, and I will decide upon the one that will allow me to do the most good. But I will have to look at them both before I will know which one."
"I have the answer to that question," she said firmly.
"I am sure you do. And Dveyella has a completely different answer. So it remains for me to decide. And you are not helping matters."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. Dveyella is nicer than you."
The lift doors opened and Velmeran entered quickly. Consherra only stood and stared in disbelief, unable under the circumstances to indulge her temper. Before she could decide what to do, the door closed in her face.
"Dveyella indeed! What does she have that I do not?" she demanded of the closed door. In her fury she paced in a complete circle, returning to stand before the lift doors. "You will come back to me yet, Velmeran! You have no idea of where you are supposed to be going!"
Valthyrra Methryn pushed the best pace she could, cutting her jump from Boulder to Bineck to only thirty-six hours. She wanted to catch up with Keth before the Union had the opportunity to move him to some more secure location. But that also meant that she did not have time to service all her fighters as she would have liked, so that more than half of the packs had to go out again in the shape they were in, fresh from the last battle.
The pilots had their own way of preparing themselves for the coming battle, spending their last few hours enjoying a precelebration. A party, small, quiet and private, helped to distract them from worrying excessively about what lay ahead. And Kelvessan were, by natural inclination, excessive worriers. Velmeran, as the only member of the assault force who was also a permanent resident of the ship, acted as host. His pack, like all others, was housed together in a suite of nine apartments that opened upon a large common room that included all the comforts the pilots were given in return for their hazardous duty. The walls were paneled, with wooden beams to support a ceiling that did not look metal. The floor was carpeted, although showing some wear since the Methiyn's last overhaul, with comfortable loungers and a large sofa bolted into place. There was audio and video equipment for their entertainment, and shelves with a wealth of books secured behind locking glass doors.
Aside from the members of Velmeran's pack and Dveyella's team, there were only two other guests. Baressa had come looking for Velmeran in time to receive a special invitation. The other guest was Consherra, uninvited and unexpected, refusing to say how she even knew of this little celebration. That was not so hard to figure out, since she led a procession of three automated carts overflowing with food… and all automatons were under Valthyrra's command. But no one questioned her right to attend, once they saw that food.
"This is a nice place you have," Dveyella mentioned as she sat alone with Velmeran in one corner. Velmeran lifted his head to glance around the room, as if seeing it for the first time in his life. When not involved in business, he was about the most innocent, unassuming person she had ever met. Already she had seen that he seemed unable to take a compliment for what it was; he always weighed it and then himself in comparison, to see if it was deserved.
"You have a nice group of pilots in your pack," she said, deciding to try again.
"Do you think so?" Velmeran asked, somewhat concerned.
"Yes, of course," she insisted. "They are young and innocent. That is very refreshing to a pack of battle-weary veterans like ourselves."
"Young and innocent?" Velmeran asked, laughing to himself. "Does that include Baressa and Consherra? You see in them two of the sharpest tempers on this ship."
"Baressa?" she asked in disbelief. Baressa was busy in the opposite corner conferring with Baress, having discovered that they shared the same name. They appeared to have more in common than just names, to judge by the undue interest she had in his injuries and his tale of how they happened.
"Actually, I cannot imagine why Baressa is acting so silly," Velmeran said, mystified. In his years as a student, he had always looked upon her as what a pack leader should be. He was shocked and annoyed to see her acting like a… a person!
"I can understand," Dveyella said suggestively. "In fact, I feel like acting a little like that myself right now."
"Well, I hope I never do!" Velmeran declared. Dveyella sighed softly. If they stayed together, she was either going to have to grow him up or become very blunt.
"Eat!" Consherra ordered, seeming to appear from nowhere to force a large hot roll with cheese into Velmeran's hands. "Valthyrra says that we will be coming into system in about four hours."
Dveyella shrugged. "I guess that we did not get started in time to have any real fun. Some things might have to wait until later."
"I certainly hope so," Consherra muttered coldly.
Dveyella glanced up at her sharply, at first in surprise, but then with an appraising look that became shrewd.
"Yes, I do like to take my time," she responded in an insinuating voice. "But not too long. I — for one — believe in taking advantage of my opportunities."
"Well, you certainly impress me as the type," Consherra remarked cattily.
Velmeran chewed his roll, blissfully unaware of the battle that raged over his head.
"Well, Meran, I certainly envy you," Baressa said as she and Baress approached at that moment. "Not many pilots get a chance to do the things that you will. You should learn a few things that the regular pilots never know."
"You will have to share your secrets when you come back," Consherra agreed guardedly.
"If he comes back," Dveyella corrected her.
"What do you mean?" Baressa asked anxiously, misunderstanding her.
"I mean that if he works out as well as I expect, I might not be willing to let him go again," she explained. "I will still be shorthanded even when Baress comes back to work."
No one was more surprised to hear her say that than Velmeran himself. He had already known that he had two futures for the choosing, but he considered that choice a purely personal and private one. He certainly did not consider it to be a matter of contention between two and possibly three factions aboard this ship.
"Velmeran, is this what you want?" Baressa asked gently, startling him out of his own thoughts. He was surprised by her apparent concern for his desires.
"Yes, I want it," he admitted slowly. "But I also want… what we talked about. I do not know which."