Free Sweet Starfire by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

elbows on his thighs, the mug of coffade loosely suspended between his knees. "Yes, there is the little matter of your duties on board.
    We'll come to that later. There are other things that have to be resolved first. You've never been in space?"
    "My parents took me on a commercial freighter once when I was younger. It was more of a sight-seeing trip than anything else. Other than that, I haven't spent any time on a ship."
    "Uh-huh." He paused, apparently trying to find the exact words. "You will note that, as I mentioned over dinner, mere is very little room in here."
    "Don't worry, I don't think I'm claustrophobic. Of course, I haven't spent several days in a confined area before. But I'm sure I'll be able to handle this."

    "Claustrophobia is not what I was worrying about." He took a long sip of the coffade. "Let's see if I can put this so that it sounds reasonably diplomatic. Harmonics, as I understand it, are accustomed to a great deal of privacy."
    "Yes."
    "They are also accustomed to a great deal of personal independence."
    "Of course." She waited expectantly, wondering where he was leading.
    "There Is very little of either on board ship," Severance concluded bluntly. "Small mail ships such as this one are not exactly bastions of democracy. The only way we're going to survive without resorting to violence over the next couple of weeks is if you understand that I'm in charge. I know Harmonics are brought up to question everything. But around here, when I give an order, I am not bringing the issue up for debate. Whenever there is a choice about the way something is done, we do it my way."
    Cidra told herself not to be offended, but she knew her voice sounded overly formal. "I assure you I understand the tradition of a captain being in charge of his own ship."
    He looked at her in mild astonishment. "You do?"
    "I read a great deal," she confided. "I'm a trained archivist. One of my areas of expertise is the fiction written about the First Families and the early explorations."
    "Wonderful." His mouth crooked dryly as he took another swallow of the coffade. "I'm sure all that reading will have prepared you to slip right into shipboard life. I've had trouble with the few previous passengers I've had on board, but I can see that won't be the case with you."
    Perhaps the residual pain in her head was making her more sensitive than usual. Whatever the reason, Cidra felt a touch of annoyance. "There's no reason to be flippant. If you've had trouble with previous passengers, my guess is it's because you were impolite or abrupt in your manner of giving orders."
    "Orders sometimes have a way of sounding rude and abrupt. I just want it clear that the tone of voice in which they are given does not alter the fact that they're still orders. Understood?"
    "I have the feeling I've just received the first command. Message clear and comprehended, Otan Severance."
    "I've told you to skip the Otan."
    "Would you prefer that I address you as Captain Severance?"
    "Now who's being flippant?" he drawled. "Use my name. Either name. I don't think the informality will do much damage to the sense of discipline in the remainder of the crew." He glanced at Fred.
    "Did Fred ever have any sense of discipline to begin with?" Cidra asked.
    "Not a lot." Severance was quiet for a while. "I don't suppose you know how to play Free Market?"
    "Harmonics do not gamble."
    "I was afraid of that. It's going to be a long two weeks, isn't it?"
    Cidra hesitated. But she did want to be as accommodating as possible. "I could learn to play the game," she offered tentatively. "It's not necessary to make wagers, is it? I expect that the game is played the same, with or without credit being exchanged."
    "The stakes are what make the game interesting."
    "Oh. Well, it's a moot point. I don't have anything to put forth as a wager except perhaps a few novels on data slips. I don't imagine that would interest you." She felt relieved. She had made the offer, and it was obvious