Read Online Battle of the Ring by Thorarinn Gunnarsson - Free Book Online Page B

she would have to run to match. Maeken watched with mild interest. She was
sure that, when they had first met, he had still been moving cautiously, even
painfully, favoring his reconstructed back. Now he moved with such quickness
and grace that he might have never sustained such injuries. Thoughts of revenge
were proving to be a strong cure.
    Maeken had no sooner situated herself in the oversized seat than she saw
Skerri returning quietly to the central bridge. She knew his type well enough,
ambitious but not quite smart enough to make his own opportunities, and she
knew just how to use him to best advantage. Just now there were two Captains on
the bridge, and Skerri wanted to be sure that he was good friends with both. He
was kept so busy that he was in danger of falling off his fence.
    “Two thousand Kalfethki?” she muttered, as if to herself. That
was bait to get the game rolling, and Skerri leaped at it.
    “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” he asked jokingly.
“I take it that you do not care for the idea?”
    “No, but Commander Trace is already aware of that,” she
answered, always careful that she never said anything that could be quoted
against her. “Perhaps I should have asked to go for a ride before I
agreed to accept command of this ship. It seems I find something I should have
already known every time I look.”
    “True,” Skerri agreed. “But at least you have a
choice.”
    Maeken glanced at him inquiringly. “You did not?”
    “Me?” Skerri asked incredulously, “I’m not Union
High Command. Like everyone else, I was assigned.”
    “I see,” Maeken commented politely. Then she leaned closer and
continued in a soft voice. “What happened to him, anyway? Did Velmeran
really shoot him in the back?”
    “You had better believe it!” the first mate declared.
“That was during the raid on Vannkarn, of course. Trace knew what they
were after and went running to stop it, then ran in the other direction when he
realized his mistake. You do know of Velnieran?”
    “Who doesn’t? He led a two-carrier raid in our sector not six
months ago and didn’t leave a ship in the sky. So he expects to fight
Velmeran again?”
    Skerri frowned. “We are going outside the Rane Sector and
Velmeran’s usual hunting grounds, so we are not likely to meet up with
him first time. But you can bet that he is going to come running when he learns
of this ship. Trace is counting on it.”
    “Can we beat him?”
    “Well, we have a good chance. A Fortress and a Starwolf carrier are
supposed to be evenly matched, so it depends upon whether you and Trace can
outmaneuver him,” Skerri said, and looked at her. “They say that
you have fought Starwolves before and won. Can you do it again?”
    “That depends, I suppose,” Maeken said with exaggerated
casualness. “I have never fought Velmeran before, so I cannot say.”
    “How did you do it before?”
    “Trade secret,” Maeken said with irritating finality. “I
will tell you one secret, however. If you want to advance, you have to collect
as many command secrets as you can and hoard them jealously. Have you heard the
saying that there must be a secret to doing that?”
    “Yes.”
    “Well, there is. A fair number of secrets, and you need to collect as
many as you possibly can.”
    “I see,” Skerri replied seriously, believing every word of it.
“But how do I go about getting these secrets?”
    “Oh, you get secrets from those who have them,” she explained officiously.
“Your superior officers have the secrets you want, of course. Be loyal
and helpful, and you will be rewarded with a secret or two. Also, secrets can
be bought with other secrets. But you have to know the difference between real
secrets and gossip. Gossip is fool’s gold; it sounds good to other fools,
but it has no value to those who know better.”
    “I see,” Skerri said thoughtfully. “How do I learn any
secrets?”
    “You already have,” Maeken assured him. “I just told