Free The Starwolves by Thorarinn Gunnarsson Page A

he
believes in, and what must be done. You said something to that effect
yourself."
    "While you were eavesdropping through a vacuum cleaner," Mayelna
said accusingly, and sat back in silence. She rubbed her nose and pulled her
ear at regular intervals, thinking furiously. But, try as she could, she could
come up with no good excuse. "It is not just Velmeran. I feel responsible
for every pilot on board this ship. I would not send them out to something they
are not ready for."
    "Of course," Valthyrra was quick to assure her. "Every person
on this ship is like a child to me. I am, after all, a mother ship."
    "But this is what we were made for. And we will be as ready for it as
we possibly can be." Mayelna paused and glanced up at the camera pod.
"That means you as well. We are going to have to give serious thought to
an overhaul."
    "Ah, me... well, yes," Valthyrra agreed weakly, although her
lenses appeared unfocused.
     
    The lift door snapped open and Consherra, head down, stepped forward. She
immediately struck something large and black and bounced off with a sound like
a Class D freighter slamming into dock about three times faster than was good
for it. A head-on impact between two armored Kelvessan can be the closest
approximation of the meeting of the immovable object and the irresistible
force. Consherra was the smaller of the two and thereby lost the contest, the
weight of her armor, nearly equal to her own, got the better of her balance and
threatened to send her over backward. Four strong arms caught her, preventing a
certain fall.
    "Are you all right?" Velmeran asked.
    "Fine. Fine," she answered as she swatted his hands away and
pushed him back inside the lift. "Can we get out of here before anyone
comes to look?"
    "I was hoping to find out what happened," Velmeran said, confused
by this hasty retreat.
    "I know that," she replied irritably as she typed in the
coordinates for the area of her own cabin.
    "So explain," Velmeran said. "I already know the general
history. What about the interesting little details?"
    Consherra laughed. "The little details do seem to be the most
interesting these days. Then listen well, and forget who told you. Valthyrra
took matters into her own hands. In fact, she rather blatantly avoided telling
Mayelna what she was doing until it was done."
    Velmeran nodded thoughtfully. "Valthyrra Methryn is ready for a fight,
but the Commander is hesitant. That is obvious enough. But why?"
    "Simple enough," Consherra said, just a little pleased with
herself. "I know how those two operate, but I also know that Valthyrra is
the smarter of the two. Mayelna feels that it is her duty to protect the crew
of this ship, even above fulfilling the purpose of our existence. Valthyrra is
less cautious because she has a better understanding of how things stand. She
knows the real worth of this crew. She knows that she and Mayelna will quickly
work out a compromise of aggression and restraint."
    Velmeran shrugged. "I knew that."
    Consherra looked at him in astonishment and opened her mouth to demand an
explanation, but the lift door opened at that moment. She started to step out,
then deciding that she did not want to give Velmeran a chance to escape,
took him by the arm and brought him with her. Not releasing her hold on him,
she led the way quickly to her cabin and pulled him inside.
    "What do you mean, you knew that?" she demanded almost before he
was inside.
    Velmeran shrugged again. "When you have been an object of special
interest and contention between those two for as long as I have, you get to
know their tactics. Mayelna is bright, more so than you might think, but she is
not very subde. Valthyrra is the mistress of subdety, with the lessons of
eighteen thousand years of sneakiness behind her. If you will consider, then
you would know that Valthyrra almost always gets her way."
    "If you know so much, then what were you trying to discover by going up
to the bridge?"
    "Just confirming my suspicions," he