The Stars Entwined (The Aryshan War Book 1) by Jon Del Arroz

Author:Jon Del Arroz [Del Arroz, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Superversive Press
Published: 2018-03-20T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 38

Stars lit the display of the committee chambers with a view of outside space. It had been more than a day since Lieutenant Tol’s shuttle had departed for Cestus III. He hadn’t reported in yet, but then, Tamar hadn’t expected him to. She couldn’t help but have a sinking feeling about sending her crew into enemy territory. The potential of harming someone in the tribe grated on her, along with the potential of losing Aeveron, whom she found herself unable to keep out of her thoughts these last few days.

She didn’t have time to think about it. The rift with Maela and Neyral grew wider by the day. If one suggested something, the other almost always took the opposite opinion. Even on little things that didn’t matter at all. Why couldn’t they just get along?

Tendell hadn’t been much help. He was content to stay out of the friction between the other commanders. The nice thing about him was that he deferred to her judgment. In the way he avoided conflict, it was easy to see why he turned down the idea of being Speaker when she first came aboard.

But friction between commanders, especially within the tribe, would be a disaster for a ship long-term. She had to do something to put a stop to it before the crew fell into different camps. They couldn’t afford discord in the middle of a war like this.

That didn’t even begin to touch on her misgivings about the war, which she hadn’t felt comfortable vocalizing to anyone. Neyral was so blindly adamant about following the Ruling Committee in this, which was correct for an officer. Tamar couldn’t risk any political problems of her own with her fledgling speakership. She was too young and didn’t have enough of a track record to be perceived as questioning authority.

Neyral looked up from his display. His eyes sparkled with hope. He knew she was thinking about him.

Tamar cursed herself silently. She’d become sloppy in her agitation, projecting far too many emotions. She needed some space from Neyral’s prying mind. Tamar turned to Maela. “Commander Maela, I need to make my rounds of the ship. Would you care to walk with me?” she asked.

Maela raised a curious brow at her. Tendell frowned. Had she been projecting that loudly? The problem was that an inspection typically would involve Neyral. He handled more of the controls and systems of the ship in the separation of duties between commanders.

“Of course, Speaker,” Maela said. She finished work on her station, then stepped from behind her console. If she had any concern about the irregularity, she didn’t show it.

Tamar led the way, not making eye contact with the others before leaving the room. It shouldn’t have been as painfully awkward as this to exit, but with the bondsense, tension levels had a habit of escalating and spiraling. That’s why control of emotions was so important, especially to command.

The two women walked through the corridors of the ship, winding through different departments. Dozens of her people sat working at their stations, some rising in respect as they saw their commanders.

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