Lyon's Pride (31 page)

The generators began to spin, recalling them to the day's duties.

“Damned sting-pzzt!” Kincaid muttered as he stretched out again on the couch.

“It really is the most appalling nuisance,” Laria idly agreed, aware of the new tranquillity in her partner and much relieved to know that he was finding balance.

*   *   *

One Constellation, two Galaxy-class ships and two speedy destroyers now comprised Squadron B for Backtrack. Captain Vestapia Soligen was Squadron Commander and captained the
Columbia;
Hyner Steverice, the
Valparaiso;
Li Hsiang, the destroyer
Valiant;
while Captain
Hptml had the
KMTM
and an unusual bronze-colored Mrdini, Klml, had the 'Dini destroyer-equivalent, the
KVS
.

Captain Soligen, her science officer and two more of the specialists welcomed the Talent contingent aboard with proper ceremony. The
Columbia's
captain was not what Flavia had half-expected, considering her request for female Primes. Flavia told herself to find out why at some convenient moment. Now she found herself instantly liking the woman: Soligen's face was unlined and pleasant though certainly not a pretty one. She had wide-spaced light eyes which seemed to alter between blue or green, under sharply arched dark brows. Her figure in the ubiquitous shipsuit was trim and athletic without losing essential femininity. Flavia recognized behind the “pleasant” expression a strong personality and a shrewd mind. She grinned, without showing her teeth, as she acknowledged the introductions to Asia and Zara, Rhodri Eagle, Mallen Bastianmajani and Jesper Ornigo.

“Glad to have you aboard, ladies, gentlemen, lieutenant. Let me introduce my science officer, Wayla Gegarian: she's also my official 'Dini interpreter. I've never been able to advance from garble to greeting…”

“Captain,” Zara said instantly, her hands on the sloping shoulders of Pal and Dis, “my 'Dinis are top-notch tutors. There's nothing they like better than a real challenge to their abilities.”

“We teach you…” Pal began.

“You understand all you need to hear…” Dis put in.

“More important, all you need to say,” Pal finished.

Her science officer smothered a cough and the captain raised her eyebrows, her light eyes sparkling bluely.

“I like…personages who accept challenges,” she replied. “And,” she pointed a finger at Dis and Pal who
wiggled with pleasure, “I warn you, I'll be a challenge. But I'm determined to try. There's…”

Flavia caught her almost say something else and veto it.

“…There's plenty of time, despite the almighty push we got out this far, for me to learn a few phrases and understand more.”

Then the tall lean man, who had been rocking impatiently from side to side, shoved a hand at Flavia which she gracefully ignored by dropping her carisak, which he graciously retrieved from the deck and handed to a yeoman, obviously on hand to manage impedimenta.

“I'm Dr. Tru Blairik, team biologist. This is my assistant who's the team archivist as well, Mialla Evshenk.”

I keep telling Tru that Talents don't make casual physical contacts
, Mialla said, as she smiled and bowed slightly from the waist to acknowledge the introduction. “There are more of us, but you'll have plenty of time to get to know which is who. We're delighted to have Talents to help.”
Not that I'm likely to be much but I thought I'd see if you can hear me. I'm not strong
.

Strong enough, and greetings, Mialla
, Flavia responded. “Nice to meet you, Evshenk.”

“There'll be drinks in my quarters this evening at 1930, Primes, gentlemen,” the captain was announcing. “Wayla'll take you to your quarters.”

“We could…” Blairik offered.

“Anyone but you, Tru,” Mialla said in a gentle tease.

“Be advised,” the captain said ruefully. “My electronics officer's designing a special locator for Dr. Blairik.”

“You won't need that,” Zara said, “with us aboard. I could find Dr. Blairik anywhere.”

He gave Zara such a blank stare that it bordered on the hostile.

“Absolutely discreet, I assure you.”

But Zara's assurances were no more welcome than her original suggestion.

Leave it, Zara
, Flavia said. “In any case, locators should be available for use on any planetary excursions.”

“Indeed they will, considering the number of experts and guards needed to do any significant exploration,” Captain Soligen said briskly, “the distances to be covered and the fact that your Talents,” and she smiled to show she was making a play on the word, “cannot be spread too thin.”

There was a brief silence while Zara coped with the embarrassment of her gaffe, which Asia broke.

“I'm a qualified engineer,” she said in such a timorous voice that Dr. Blairik regarded her with surprise, “and, if it wouldn't upset anything, I might be able to help with the fabrication.”

“Your help would be very welcome, Prime…”

“I'm not Prime, only a 4,” Asia corrected Wayla Gegarian in her apologetic way.

“Four, three, five or six, the chief will welcome a qualified engineer,” Gegarian replied heartily.

“So I'll leave you in Gegarian's capable hands then,” the captain said and departed in a brisk fashion.

“Sakers, Perley,” Wayla said, gesturing toward the luggage, which was quickly gathered up even as Wayla led the party from the hangar bay.

“We'll see you again at dinner,” Blairik said.

“We're all rather pleased,” Wayla said as they made their way to a lift, “with the way the
Columbia's
been refitted. Done up in jig time, I'll tell you. Almost didn't recognize the old tub,” she went on with the affectionate insults of a fond and long-term association.

“We heard there was trouble…” Flavia began tentatively.

It wouldn't have taken much Talent to “hear” the fury and indignation that came out as a blast from the science officer. The emotions were quickly controlled before Wayla Gegarian answered calmly enough.

“Whole thing was stupid and badly handled—by the Shore Police, too. Good thing we have marines. We'd only minor injuries and the families who had come to see us off got the worst of it. Despicable, useless sort of violence. Didn't change our leaving, though I devoutly hope they'll be gladder to see us return! Here we are. Just down this corridor.”

The odors of fresh paint and the dyes of new carpeting were unmistakable.

“Is blue the captain's favorite color?” Zara asked, her ebullience returned.

“Actually, green,” Wayla said with a grin, “but blue's traditional for officer territory. Here we are,” and she had all of them register their handprints on the door pad.

“We haven't taken someone else's place, have we?” asked Asia uneasily.

“Not at all,” Wayla said, so promptly that Asia's uncertainty was set to rest. “Like I said, the ship was refitted with this expedition in mind, so shielded quarters were arranged. Maybe not as roomy as those on the
Washington
but not shabby, and definitely suitable for Talents.”

Remembering her brief tour on the
Genesee
, Flavia was quite certain of that: a generous lounge with workstations that could be recessed into the walls or the tables, and six private sleeping rooms. One end of the room was paneled off into screens: a central large one with three smaller on either side. A semicircle of six reclinable chairs faced this.

“I think everything in here is self-explanatory, but you do have a meal dispenser behind this panel,” Wayla said, indicating the opaque dark brown panel. “Just settle in and
use the door call panel if you need any assistance.” She glanced at Rhodri, who grinned back.

“What they don't know, I'll teach 'em,” he said, and her smile lingered on him as she took one final backward look as the door panel closed behind her.

“Made a conquest already, have you, Rhodri?”

Rhodri shrugged and winked at Jes and Mallen. “Hell, we've just got aboard, coz. And there're two other Human ships we haven't even cased. If no one minds, I'll take this one,” he said and, grabbing his duffel from those the yeomen had stacked inside, mumbled a cheerful tune as he settled in.

*   *   *

Flavia realized quickly enough that her sojourn on the
Genesee
had been no prelude to this voyage. Not only did the Talents have messages and courier services to perform, they had to sit in on long briefings and lectures with the expedition teams, and satisfy the marine commander, Kwan Keiser-Tau, that they were physically fit and were knowledgeable about hand weapons. He'd been a trifle put out when all six Talents showed arms proficiency in the Master class.

“You guys using Talent?” he said, jutting out his head and jaw in a suspicious pose.

Zara laughed. “I come from Aurigae, Major. I've been hunting small game all my life. Easier to use reflexes than Talent to hit those stationary targets.”

He turned from Zara to Flavia, his mistrust still plain.

“I hail from Altair, also a pioneer planet, Major.”

“None of us are city bred, Major,” Mallen said, shifting his position so he was nearer Asia. He had already adroitly intercepted criticism of the shy girl on several occasions.

“And I come from Deneb,” Asia said, enough aware of
the discreet support to take advantage of it from time to time.

“Let me reassure you, Major, you need not concern yourselves with
our
safety,” Mallen continued with a slightly conciliatory smile. “The dedicated scientists aboard, however, are seldom aware of externals and can be quite focused on their enthusiasms. Feel free to call on our support to maintain their safety whenever necessary.”

“My orders are to guard the
lot
of you”—and Major Keiser-Tau did not much relish these orders.

“Well, then, now that you've checked us out,” Zara said, “work the others and let us get on…”

Watch your manners, Zara
, Flavia said.

“…with our duties,” she finished with no perceptible pause. “I must meet with my 'Dinis, who are tutoring Captain Soligen,” she added, and, making a careful show of snapping the safety on the weapon she was holding, stowed it in the correct rack.
Frankly, I think she's language-deaf!

*   *   *

When Squadron B was close enough to the beacon left by Squadron C, Flavia suggested to the captain that they could speed the voyage up by several weeks if they tried a merge.

“I'd remain on the
Columbia
, put Rhodri on the
KMTM
, Mallen on the
Valparaiso
, Asia on the
Valiant
and Zara and her 'Dinis on the
KVS
, and with a merge of all available Talents of lesser ratings, we can reach the Talavera beacon, cutting off two weeks.”

“That won't cause you undue strain?” Soligen asked, though she clearly liked the notion.

“Not with the generator gestalt available to us,” Flavia said, her expression confident and reassuring.

Vestapia Soligen fingered her lower lip for a long,
thoughtful moment. “Why put Zara on the KVS? Wouldn't she be needed on one of the larger vessels?”

“I think it is wiser to place Zara and her 'Dinis on a ship that is so ready and…eager…to meet opposition,” Flavia said. “Zara could stop Klml's ship cold. Asia's told her how.”

Soligen chuckled. “So Klml's…attitude hadn't escaped you?”

“Captain Klml's attitude was noted by Lieutenant Eagle on his first meeting. He's reasonably sure that the moment the system is in range, the
KVS
will detour. He thinks it's had private orders to that effect. There hasn't been a real Mrdini strike against a live Hiver in far too long to promote any color to prominence.”

“Run that last statement past me again, Flavia?”

“You will have noted that 'Dini hides are many different shades. The color denotes a clan relationship. All 'Dinis in a color, therefore, gain prestige if one of their color achieves merit.”

“In this instance, blowing up a Hiver sphere even if they go with it?”

“That's about it.”

“I guess we should be glad that the ethnic groups in Human history that considered suicide for whatever cause they espoused an honorable end have now been thoroughly integrated,” the captain said in a tart voice, “or isolated on worlds where that kind of prejudice is limited to that population.”

Flavia nodded agreement. “The 'Dinis do find our insistence on caution and safety as odd as we find their willingness to self-destruct.”

“I wonder how much of a chance the
KVS
'd have to take out that Sphere?”

“Captain?” Flavia was astonished at such speculation.

The captain chuckled. “The Fleet's been a passive force a long time, Flavia. I suppose you've also noticed the average mean age of my crew, rating and officer, is younger than on most ships of this class?”

“I had.” That accounted for the fact that Asia was suddenly developing poise and the self-confidence that comes from being popular with her peers.

“No matter how we conduct this Hiver campaign, Prime, we're going to have to learn new techniques and some will prove fatal. Maybe not as suicidal as what the
KVS
might have in mind, but certainly more daring than the usual tactics.”

“Maybe the
Columbia's
in the wrong squadron if that's your thinking, ma'am.”

The captain's eyes were ice-green as she gave the Talent a long look.

“Where do you—personally—stand on that ground?”

“I come from a planet that is barely settled. I'm used to hunting to feed my family. There are times when aggression is required, but certainly not courted. However, I would feel privileged to serve with you on one that might test my theories, too.”