by Sharon Lee
"Right," Vina said, and turned to the rest of the crew.
"Well?" she demanded, "I don't guess you lot have stations to man, do you?"
There was a general bustle at that, and Can Ith leaned over to speak into Kishara's ear.
"And when will you tell me – only me – the rest of the truth, Kishara?"
"Soon," she told him, and smiled. "We'll have some amount of time together."
Mobile eyebrows rose.
"Will we?" he said, his head went up at the sound of his name. "A moment," he told the first mate, and looked again to Kishara.
"I look forward to our continued association," he said, politely. "Until soon."
Kishara closed her eyes in relief, feeling only tired, her gifts quiescent or dead, it mattered not one whit to her.
"Yes," she murmured. "Until soon."
* * *
They were both due leave on Fussbudget, and had agreed to share a meal at a town-side tavern not much frequented by their shipmates.
It was there that she finally told him the tale entire, stinting her part not at all.
" ... so they were right – the Council," Kishara concluded, putting down her glass. "We are an unpredictable menace, and a danger to the innocent."
Can Ith did not immediately answer, but she was used to his ways by now, and did not suppose his silence signaled either condemnation or approval. He was thinking, that was all. In a moment – or a day – he would come forth with what thought had produced.
The product of thought came just after he set his own glass on the table.
"The Council was wrong," he stated, his voice allowing no room for doubt. "No one of the small talents, saving those who had already set themselves up to be a danger and a menace, were a threat to society or to the homeworld. Some few may have been dangers to themselves, and might have harmed an innocent through inexperience, or error."
He glanced at her. She motioned him to go on.
"The Council would have done better for all and everyone had they allowed the Healers to amend their charter, and enlarge their House. They would have done no particular harm, had they granted the small talents their own Guild. From there, the Guilds might have assisted each other, to the betterment of both, and to have a Talent in the clan would have been a matter of pride."
He met her eyes.
"Ambient conditions came into play when the game was removed from Liad, and untrained persons were left to fend for themselves. Then and only then did some few of the small talents become dangerous, and that not from their own desires." He moved his shoulders and raised a hand to call for more wine.
"Well. We must allow the account to show that one was not so well-intentioned as he might have been."
"Two," Kishara said. "I abetted murder and mind control, stole your life –"
Can Ith blinked.
"Is this pride?" he interrupted, black eyes well-opened.
"It is not, and you well know it!"
"Will you strip Mor Gan's honors from him? I do assure you, he meant to rob, and to kill, and to control. Do not imagine, my friend, that he was a good man made bad by your meddling with futures."
"No, of course he was not – " Kishara began, and paused as the server came to refresh their glasses.
"As for having stolen my life – " Can Ith said, as soon as the server had left them – "that attempt had been made, and I decided upon my answer before ever you stopped at my table." He raised his glass, black eyes quizzing her over the rim.
"Now, answer me this. Can you be certain that your luck was ascendant?"
She blinked.
"What do you mean?"
He grinned.
"Korval is lucky – that is well-known. Does it not make sense to suppose that ambient conditions acted upon my own gift, as well as yours? Who, in fact, meddled with whom, and for what gain?"
He sipped, and put the glass down. Kishara continued to stare.
"But your shields – "
He snorted. "My shields have never protected me from the action of Korval's luck before. I see no reason why it should have been otherwise under ambient conditions."
He leaned forward, catching her gaze with his.
"Do you not see how neat it all is? That a ship should discover an urgent need for a Jump pilot just as I had decided to walk away from my clan and make my own future? That is how my luck works, Kishara. I think that your luck operated to preserve you by placing you into the shadow of mine, which was already engaged. There was risk; your life might have been forfeit, but we chanced upon a best case for both."
He leaned back, picked up his glass, and waited.
She took a hard breath.
"That's – eerie," she said at last.
"Yes," he agreed, smiling. He raised his glass. "A toast."
She lifted her her glass.
"To ambient conditions," Can Ith said, "and to our very good fortunes."
About the Authors
Maine-based writers Sharon Lee and Steve Miller teamed up in the late 1980s to bring the world the story of Kinzel, an inept wizard with a love of cats, a thirst for justice, and a staff of true power.
Since then, the husband-and-wife team have written dozens of short stories and twenty-plus novels, most set in their star-spanning, nationally-bestselling Liaden Universe®.
Before settling down to the serene and stable life of a science fiction and fantasy writer, Steve was a traveling poet, a rock-band reviewer, reporter, and editor of a string of community newspapers.
Sharon, less adventurous, has been an advertising copywriter, copy editor on night-side news at a small city newspaper, reporter, photographer, and book reviewer.
Both credit their newspaper experiences with teaching them the finer points of collaboration.
Steve and Sharon are jointly the recipients of the E. E. "Doc" Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction (the Skylark), one of the oldest awards in science fiction. In addition, their work has won the much-coveted Prism Award (Mouse and Dragon and Local Custom), as well as the Hal Clement Award for Best Young Adult Science Fiction (Balance of Trade), and the Year's Best Military and Adventure SF Readers' Choice Award ("Wise Child").
Sharon and Steve passionately believe that reading fiction ought to be fun, and that stories are entertainment.
Steve and Sharon maintain a web presence at korval.com
Novels by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
The Liaden Universe®
Fledgling
Saltation
Mouse and Dragon
Ghost Ship
Dragon Ship
Necessity’s Child
Trade Secret
Dragon in Exile
Alliance of Equals
The Gathering Edge
Neogenesis
Accepting the Lance
Trader's Leap
Omnibus Editions
The Dragon Variation
The Agent Gambit
Korval’s Game
The Crystal Variation
Story Collections
A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 1
A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 2
A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 3
A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 4
The Fey Duology
Duainfey
Longeye
Gem ser'Edreth
The Tomorrow Log
Novels by Sharon Lee
The Carousel Trilogy
Carousel Tides
Carousel Sun
Carousel Seas
Jennifer Pierce Maine Mysteries
Barnburner
Gunshy
THANK YOU
Thank you for your support of our work.
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
with friends