Battle of the Ring Read Online Free PDF Page B

system as if she had
made the entire run herself, rather than suspended in the belly of a Starwolf
carrier. The Methryn held back; she had business elsewhere.
    “I was beginning to wish that you had blasted them when you had the
chance,” Valthyrra told him quietly, turning her camera; pod away from
the main viewscreen.
    “Have they really caused that much trouble?” Velmeran asked.
“They never even came out of their ship.”
    “All the same, that is the last that I want to see of
Traders,”‘ Valthyrra insisted. “I have never before had a
murder on my decks.”
    “Attempted murder,” he corrected her. “A very near
miss.”
    “Well, Kella Mersans is their Captain now, just as I expected she
would be, and she will keep them under firm control.”
    “You expected?” Mayelna asked, looking up from her monitor for
the first time. “Was that a premonition?”
    “No, just an intelligent guess,” he insisted. “I refuse to
believe in foretelling. The future is a variable. It can be predicted, in the
honest sense of the word, but I cannot believe that anyone can actually see
visions of what will come to pass.”
    “Still, I wish that you would keep an open mind on this and any
subject,” Mayelna said. “That is the only way to find out what you
can do.”
    “I cannot help wondering what we will do if these talents turn out to
be fairly widespread,” Valthyrra added. “I suppose that we could
carve up old drives to make crystal balls.”
    “I hope that the two of you enjoy your fun at my expense,”
Velmeran said coldly, and turned to Valthyrra. “And yes, I have had
others come to me about developing their own talents. In fact, I already have
two promising students.”
    Valthyrra’s lenses nearly popped out of her pod. “How did you
know what I was thinking?”
    Velmeran looked at her in mock surprise. “I thought that we had
already established that.”
    “Yes, but I have chips for brains... as the Commander phrases it. How
can you possibly read a mechanical mind?”
    “How should I know? I am a simple telepath, not the Oracle of
Delphi.”
    “Wait a minute!” Mayelna said, calling him back. “Who are
these promising students of yours?”
    “Well, Consherra is becoming fairly good at her own card game. In
fact, she is nearly as good as Tregloran.”
    “Tregloran?” Valthyrra asked. “Of course. He is in many
ways not unlike a lesser copy of yourself.”
    “I cannot comment on that,” Velmeran said, obviously reluctant
to make the same comparison. “But he is a cunning little sneak; even I am
not aware of all of his schemes. And on his good days he can already outfly
Baress.”
    Just then the Methryn threw herself into starflight. Valthyrra’s
camera pod glanced around cautiously, as if checking to see if she had made the
jump intact.
    “Ah, it feels good to run at normal speed again,” she remarked,
and turned back to Velmeran. “I know that we should not tease you for
your special talents. We have already learned that we must trust you, so please
keep your ears open.”
    “And what happens when I am wrong?” he asked.
    “There is no need to worry about that,” she assured him.
“As you pointed out, you are not the Oracle of Delphi.”
    Unfortunately, Velmeran did not see it that way. As he took the lift back to
his own cabin, he reflected that this was why he had kept his talents secret
for the past two years. Now, if he gave warning and nothing went wrong, he
would seem the fool and his reputation as a leader would suffer. And if
something happened when he failed to give warning, he would be held accountable
for his failure... or so it seemed to him.
    He was surprised to find someone waiting for him in his cabin, and even more
surprised to discover that it was Baressa. He could not imagine why she would
seek him out now, unless something was wrong or she needed his help.
    “Hello. Have you been waiting long?” he asked hesitantly as he
paused just within the door, still