Duty Bound by Steve Miller, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Page A

few days'
service that she rated moody, self-indulgent boys who skipped meals
just slightly lower than Port panhandlers too lazy to apply
themselves to a job.
    Er Thom swallowed and deliberately turned
his back on the hall that would eventually lead him to the
cafeteria. He could not possibly eat. He swallowed again, blinking
back tears.
    His license. He was a second class pilot!
The tests had not been in error! If only--
    If only he could speak to Daav! If only his
foster mother, Daav's true-mother and twin sister to Er Thom's
mother the Captain--if only Chi yos'Pheliurn were here. But, of
course, she wasn't. He had neither seen nor spoken with her since
the day he had won the license.
    He had always known that
his true-mother would one day claim him to serve on Dutiful Passage and learn
his life-roles of captain and trader, just as he had always known
that Daav would someday leave home to attend Scout Academy. He had
simply been caught ...unprepared... when "one day" became "this
day," and he was suddenly swept into his mother's orbit, away from
everything that was usual and comforting; his one cold joy the new
license in his pocket, which proved him a pilot of
Korval.
    It was no inconsiderable thing to be a pilot
of Korval. Indeed, he had learned that it was no small thing to be
cabin boy on the Clan's flagship, true-son and heir of Captain and
master Trader Yos'Galan. The child of generations of space-goers,
Er Thom had adjusted easily to his duties and to ship-life. He had
adjusted less easily to the absence of his foster-brother, who had
been within his arm's reach for the sum of both their lives. Er
Thom's earliest memory was of gazing into his brother's face,
watching the black eyes watch him in return.
    "Good shift to you, young sir."
    Er Thom gasped, jolted out of his misery by
the quiet greeting, and hastily bowed--junior to senior--to
Mechanic First Class Bor Gen pin'Ethil.
    "Sir, good shift."
    The mechanic considered him out of wide gray
eyes. "One remarks that it is the dinner hour," he said
delicately.
    Er Thom gritted his teeth and bowed again.
"One also marks the hour," he said, politely. "However, there is--a
book--in one's quarters..."
    "Ah, but of course." A smile showed briefly.
"A cabin boy must always be at study, eh?"
    "Just so," Er Thom said and bowed a third
time as the other passed by.
    Legs none too steady, Er Thom went on, and
very shortly thereafter laid his palm against the plate set into
the door of his cabin.
    He felt the scan crackle across his skin,
then the door slid open. He all but jumped through, the lights
coming up to show a stark little cubicle made smaller by the
built-in folding desk, which was extended to its fullest, and
overladen with books, readers, and clipboards. The slender bed was
tucked under the lockers in which the rest of his clothing and
possessions were stowed, the bed itself occupied by a long, thin
figure dressed in a dark long sleeved shirt, vest and leggings of
black space leather, booted feet crossed at the ankle, hands
crossed over his belt.
    Er Thom stared, not quite daring to believe
the rather solid evidence before him.
    "Daav?" he breathed.
    The black eyes opened, the dark head moved
on the pillow, and the familiar, beloved smile infused the
sharp-featured face with beauty.
    "Hullo, denubia," he said, swinging his long
legs over the edge of the bed and sitting up. "What's amiss?"
    Er Thom stared, the skin of his palm still
tickling with the after-effect of the scan.
    "How," he demanded, rather faintly, "did you
get here?"
    "Oh, there's nothing to that!" Daav told
him. "I can show you the trick, if you like." He tipped his dark
head, mischief glinting. "Own that you're glad to see me, beast, or
I shall be inconsolable."
    "Yes, very likely," Er Thom retorted
reflexively, then laughed and threw his arms wide. "In truth, I was
just wishing for you extremely,"
    "Well, there's a proper welcome!" Daav rose
and flung himself into the embrace with a will. For a moment,