Free Battle of the Ring by Thorarinn Gunnarsson Page A

“You know me well! Of course it frightens me,
with my talent for worrying. I worry about the ones that are not even supposed
to be mine. Still, the one thing that does frighten me most...”
    “Yes?”
    “That I might turn out to be the type of nagging, overprotective
parent my mother is.”
    Consherra laughed, aware that she was being teased. Velmeran jested about
the things that were important to him. She thought that he was privately
delighted with the prospect of a child that he could call his own, much to her
relief. She pulled the heavy blanket tight about them. Shipboard temperatures
were low, uncomfortable by human standards. And the Kelvessan themselves found
it a bit chilly when their powerful metabolisms were running low.
    “Now?” she asked uncertainly. “I know that it might not be
the right time... “
    “No, there is no better time than now,” Velmeran insisted with
sudden urgency. She had reminded him of his own predictions, and especially the
part that he had not told her. He knew his duty, that he needed to sire as many
little ones as he could in case he did not return. And he wanted to have at
least one child by his chosen mate, the child he thought would be most like
himself.
     
    “You! Come with me!”
    Consherra glanced up from her console, startled, as Dyenlerra ascended
the steps to the upper bridge. Consherra knew trouble when she saw it, but she
could not imagine what this could be about. Dyenlerra was politically neutral
as far as the management of this ship was concerned, and Consherra was herself
the only serious troublemaker among the senior officers. Mystified, she
hastened to follow.
    “Well, what brings you into my domain?” Mayelna asked, equally
mystified, as she glanced up from her own console.
    “Business, of course,” the medic replied promptly. Then she
turned to Valthyrra, who had folded her boom to rotate her camera pod around
into the upper bridge. “I recall hearing some time ago that you were in
need of a visit to an airdock for overhaul. Is that true?”
    “Ah well. So it is,” the ship admitted regretfully. “I
have been planning to make the arrangements soon.”
    “Make them now, immediately,” Dyenlerra ‘ordered sharply.
“Consider that a medical order, if you prefer.”
    “Indeed?” Valthyrra said, at a complete loss. “Since when
has my health become a matter for your concern? It is usually Tresha’s
province as chief engineer to bore me with the details of my decline.”
    “I am not concerned with your health, you pretentious pile of scrap
metal!” Dyenlerra snapped. “I am thinking of Velmeran. He is about
to blow a gasket under the stress of his demands. Those months in airdock will
give him the freedom to rest.”
    “Is it that bad?” Mayelna asked.
    “Commander, Kelvessan are not easily knocked out of their orbits by
anything, but it can happen,” the medic explained. “Velmeran is
under tremendous pressure, dealing with the responsibilities of command as well
as trying to make some sense of his new talents. He is also his own worst
enemy, as seriously as he takes his responsibilities, both assumed and
real.”
    “Yes, of course,” Mayelna agreed. “I have always thought
that he takes too much upon himself, but we are fortunate that he does.”
    “Well, it is not at all fortunate for him,” Dyenlerra declared,
and frowned at her own thoughts. “This accident gave me a chance to run a
final series of tests on our good Commander-designate, and I was able to
confirm something that I have suspected. You see, our race has been in
existence for quite some time now, and it is about time for something to
happen. Our genes might be protected against deterioration and random mutation,
but we are still subject to the forces of evolution. And, while our strongest
do not often survive, the practice of taking duty mates has ensured that they
do reproduce....”
    “Of course!” Valthyrra exclaimed suddenly. “Of course!
That is what I have