The Massood do not resign without good reason. ”I had so considered.” ”You could not resign. ”I understand that you have contemplated resigning.” Here is an opportunity that can be as unique as we make it, even if there is no bloodletting involved.” She hissed slightly. If we fail, there will be none to witness it, and if we succeed in any aspect, the glory will be entirely ours.” ”We both seek challenge. ”First because in combat the chances for failure are magnified, and second because in large-scale engagements the actions of a single vessel rarely count for much. ”How can that be, if no fighting is involved?” This offers a better opportunity than assigned combat.” I know that you have been trained to fight, as have ”Simply returning with ship and crew intact will be sufficient to advance both Who is to say what peculiarities may be encountered out where the spaces between the stars are so vast?” ”What you say is truth.” Slowly, expectation was beginning to replace his initial angry disappointment. ”Do you believe there will be hostilities?” ”One may believe anything of such a region. You must approach it as such while keeping your teeth clean and sharp.” Who is to say we may not see some combat there? This mission is not a punishment or expression of no confidence in your abilities. We are to recon-noiter a large, remote, unexplored section of sky. ”I have had the same expedition briefing. You will be too busy settling disputes among your crew to have time to worry about why you are doing what you are doing and whether or not you should be doing something else.” The front half of her upper lip curled. ”Because I have observed how individuals react in such situations. What makes you so confident of me?” In Massood society it was impolite to offer unsolicited evaluations of another’s personality, much less to make behavioral predictions. The abruptness of the movement was normal for a Massood, in whose vocabulary the word tentative did not exist. He jerked around to stare at her, ignoring the murmur of alien tongues, the strange sights and smells that filled the embarkation lounge. I have seen your records and studied your lineage. You are uncomfortable with the task that has been assigned to you, unable to decline and afraid you may fail. Myself, I do not feel very much in control.” ”It will pass. Tooth-picking and mouth-cleaning were elaborate social arts among the Weave’s best soldiers. It appeared to other races that the Massood never seemed to know what to do with their hands and long, triple-jointed fingers. They like the way I make decisions.” He picked comfortingly at his teeth, employing several ritual motions. His foreshortened ear flicked nervously.”They say that I possess self-control.
”I have been told you possess an unusual temperament.” She displayed none of the jealousy that might have been expected from one assigned to serve a junior male pro-moted beyond her, nor was she averse to discussing the situation with him. Listening to her, talking with her there in the embarkation lounge helped to calm him in a way the suave Brun could never have managed largely because she was, like him, Massood. Her name was Soliwik and she was a giver of good advice and reassurance. Variations in size among the Massood were insignificant among mature adults. Only the slight alterations and cuts necessitated by her gender differentiated her uniform from his. Despite the difference in their ages, it was impossible not to regard her as a mating partner.
Her attractiveness was firmly set in the mortar of experience. While nothing more might be added there was little that age could take away. Still, he had half determined to go through with it when he encountered his assigned Second-in-Command in the embarkation lounge. The Massood appreciated the bold, but not the foolishly wasteful.
It might return him to combat, yes: frozen in rank and with reduced respect among his peers. Nor would it go down well with his family elders. The only consequence would be an invidious notation on his record. He also knew with great certainty that it would not be accepted. It would be a dramatic gesture, a statement of confidence and independence. Caldaq considered resigning as he waited to board the shuttle which would convey him to his command, five planetary diameters out.
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