A Matter of Oaths by Helen S. Wright Read Free Book Online Page B

Noromi. Enough to cope with the heavy load of tactical
case studies that she had set him and to come back with unexpectedly perceptive
analyses of them. He had served in a patrolship before he was identity-wiped,
that was certain, and a patrolship with a Commander who had singled him out for
special training.
    “ You must
introduce me, ” Noromi decided.
    “ I ’ ll add you to the list. ”
    Noromi grunted and turned to watch the door again. “ Here ’ s
Maisa at last, ” he grumbled. “ You ’ d
think she ’ d be on time for her own
conference. ”
    Maisa looked understandably harried. She was the wrong
person to be Zone Commander in a zone where Outsider incursions were a serious
threat to shipping; she should be sitting out the last few years of her career
in a backwater. Rallya scowled. There were enough Commanders whose webs had
failed for whom the Guild could not find any job. She wondered whose favours
Maisa had called in. And whether she was regretting it now.
    It was a big convoy – four patrolships and eleven cargo –
and it took a while for Maisa to get the silence she was waiting for. Rallya
glanced back at Rafe, lounging against the back wall with his hands in his
pockets and every appearance of having seen it all before. He acknowledged her
glance with a tiny tilt of his head: still here, ma ’ am. It would be a waste of time to question him later, she decided
sourly; he was not missing a thing that was going on around him.
    Maisa shuffled her notes for the last time and plunged into
her prepared speech. Rallya leaned back in her seat. There was nothing new to
her in what Maisa was saying, only a rehash of the current situation. Outsiders
of unknown origin… historians making every effort at identification… diplomats
attempting peaceful contact… convoy system for your protection… Rallya yawned
ostentatiously. If there was one thing Maisa could do, it was take a blatant
hint. She skipped hurriedly to the end of her notes, introduced Noromi and
excused herself, duty done.
    Noromi took the cargoship reps through a rapid review of the
convoy rules and running order before allowing them the pretense of debating
the decisions already taken. No cargoship carried a trained Commander;
whichever member of a Three came closest to the necessary skills was deputized
to fill the role when needed. Rallya could see equal numbers of Webmasters,
Cargomasters and Captains, and every one of them convinced that they had
something useful to say. At least it was an opportunity to identify the
troublemakers and the steady few who would not panic in an Outsider attack.
    There was one Captain to whom it would be worth talking; she
had survived Outsider attacks on her last two runs along the convoy ’ s route. When the conference had
straggled to an end, Rallya rose with the intention of intercepting her but was
delayed by a Webmaster hoping for an apprentice ’ s berth with Bhattya for
a protégé of hers. By the time Rallya had extricated herself, she expected to
find her quarry gone and was surprised to see the woman lingering near Rafe,
waiting for an opportunity to talk to him when Noromi moved on.
    “ Captain Sajan, I ’ m Commander Rallya. Can we talk? I ’ d like more details about the Outsider
ships that attacked you. ”
    “ Gladly, if you ’ ll wait for me… ” She gestured at Rafe, who had disposed of Noromi and was waiting
for Rallya.
    “ Rafe is with me.
Is it a private matter, or will you join both of us for a drink? ”
    “ A drink will be
welcome, after this waste of time. ” Sajan waved a hand around the emptying room.
    “ Not a complete
waste, surely, ma ’ am, ” Rafe commented. “ Commander Maisa ’ s
summary of the situation here was very informative. ”
    Rallya looked at him suspiciously. Sajan gave a short laugh.
    “ With your looks,
and a sense of humour like that, you must be related to Yuellin, ” she snorted.
    “ I ’ m afraid