near where the Mantis hit us, too,” Killeen said.
Ledroff eyed the navvy as it approached on crawler treads. It had crosshatched side panels and, though it veered aside to
a factory entrance, its fore-eyes peered at the brassglass pyramid until it vanished. “So?” he said.
“I think it’s a scout,” Killeen said.
Ledroff squinted down from his perch. “Could be different navvy each place.”
Jocelyn said flatly, “Could be not, too.”
“New kind navvy,” Cermo said. “Maybe there’re lots.”
“Scout for what?” Ledroff asked.
Killeen said, “Marauders.”
“Marauders not use scouts, I know of,” Cermo said.
“So what?” Jocelyn asked sarcastically. “Just ’cause you dunno, don’ mean
isn’t.”
Cermo bristled.
“Fanny
knew.”
“Yousay. We got no Fanny Aspect to ask,” Jocelyn said sourly.
“Gotta go by ’perience!” Cermo spat back.
“Gotta use heads!” Jocelyn said.
Ledroff said, “I believe we have to use both.”
Killeen frowned and said, “Listen to Jocelyn, Isay.”
Jocelyn acknowledged this with a curt nod, its energy revealing a contained tension. She had learned Fanny’s ways, too, but
had not missed the old woman’s central and hardwon lesson:
Anticipate.
Savvy the mechthink before it savvys you.
Killeen saw in her slow-smoldering eyes a resentment of Ledroff. Surprised, he saw that Jocelyn had wanted to be Cap’n. He
had been too meshed in himself to see that.
“Navvys
could
be backpackers for a Marauder,” Jocelyn insisted. She had started finger-curling her hair again. Then she smoothed it back
carefully, getting the curls set in the right overlapping waves behind her ears.
Cermo shrugged. “That navvy wasn’t carryin’ anything.”
“Not now, no. Could’ve dumped it,” Jocelyn said.
“For what?” Ledroff asked.
“See what we’re doing,” Killeen said.
“Fanny naysay anything about such,” Ledroff said. Then, hearing how lame the words sounded, he added, “Marauders too fast
for navvy. They’d clean leave ’em ’way behind.”
“Mantis might be slow,” Killeen said. “We never saw it move much.”
Ledroff frowned. Killeen had seen Ledroff on long marches and in battle and knew him to be a cautious, savvy man. Now suddenly
Cap’n, Ledroff was trying to balance the views of the others and find a communal consensus. Maybe that was the right thing
to do. But Killeen felt in Jocelyn and even Cermo a slowbuilding irritation. Ledroff would have to defuse that fast. A Family
should not march or rest while it brewed an anger.
Ledroff was now beset by the inevitable legacy of any Cap’n: the whines of the Family, swirling about him as a natural vortex.
They were a small, steady drain. The pressure of this rain of complaint was always to rest, to allow the older and less hardy
a respite. And any Cap’n, seeing the incremental damage that the Family’s constant forced marching exacted, was prone to listen
to these well-meaning and in fact almost pitiful voices. It was a kindness to let the Family knit up its soreness and strains.
But it was often not smart.
Ledroff said slowly, “I was hoping you’d all be of one mind.”
“Jocelyn and me, we saw that navvy with the Mantis.
We’re
sure,” Killeen said sharply, half to let out steam and half to signal to Ledroff that he, as Cap’n, had to do something.
“Your memory’s alky-fogged,” Ledroff said cuttingly.
“That’s past.” Killeen felt himself redden.
Cermo teased, “Killeen, you should be on our side. We stay here, you slurp some more tonight.”
“I don’t have your honeyroll fat, sop up the alky with, is all,” Killeen said sarcastically. Cermo carried a slight roll at
his belt, visible through the silver tightweave. No matter how hard times were for the Family, Cermo’smeager bulge stayed, and was in fact a source of some pride for him.
“Marchin’, this honeyroll’ll leave you eatin’ dust,” Cermo said with a harsh
Ledroff eyed the navvy as it approached on crawler treads. It had crosshatched side panels and, though it veered aside to
a factory entrance, its fore-eyes peered at the brassglass pyramid until it vanished. “So?” he said.
“I think it’s a scout,” Killeen said.
Ledroff squinted down from his perch. “Could be different navvy each place.”
Jocelyn said flatly, “Could be not, too.”
“New kind navvy,” Cermo said. “Maybe there’re lots.”
“Scout for what?” Ledroff asked.
Killeen said, “Marauders.”
“Marauders not use scouts, I know of,” Cermo said.
“So what?” Jocelyn asked sarcastically. “Just ’cause you dunno, don’ mean
isn’t.”
Cermo bristled.
“Fanny
knew.”
“Yousay. We got no Fanny Aspect to ask,” Jocelyn said sourly.
“Gotta go by ’perience!” Cermo spat back.
“Gotta use heads!” Jocelyn said.
Ledroff said, “I believe we have to use both.”
Killeen frowned and said, “Listen to Jocelyn, Isay.”
Jocelyn acknowledged this with a curt nod, its energy revealing a contained tension. She had learned Fanny’s ways, too, but
had not missed the old woman’s central and hardwon lesson:
Anticipate.
Savvy the mechthink before it savvys you.
Killeen saw in her slow-smoldering eyes a resentment of Ledroff. Surprised, he saw that Jocelyn had wanted to be Cap’n. He
had been too meshed in himself to see that.
“Navvys
could
be backpackers for a Marauder,” Jocelyn insisted. She had started finger-curling her hair again. Then she smoothed it back
carefully, getting the curls set in the right overlapping waves behind her ears.
Cermo shrugged. “That navvy wasn’t carryin’ anything.”
“Not now, no. Could’ve dumped it,” Jocelyn said.
“For what?” Ledroff asked.
“See what we’re doing,” Killeen said.
“Fanny naysay anything about such,” Ledroff said. Then, hearing how lame the words sounded, he added, “Marauders too fast
for navvy. They’d clean leave ’em ’way behind.”
“Mantis might be slow,” Killeen said. “We never saw it move much.”
Ledroff frowned. Killeen had seen Ledroff on long marches and in battle and knew him to be a cautious, savvy man. Now suddenly
Cap’n, Ledroff was trying to balance the views of the others and find a communal consensus. Maybe that was the right thing
to do. But Killeen felt in Jocelyn and even Cermo a slowbuilding irritation. Ledroff would have to defuse that fast. A Family
should not march or rest while it brewed an anger.
Ledroff was now beset by the inevitable legacy of any Cap’n: the whines of the Family, swirling about him as a natural vortex.
They were a small, steady drain. The pressure of this rain of complaint was always to rest, to allow the older and less hardy
a respite. And any Cap’n, seeing the incremental damage that the Family’s constant forced marching exacted, was prone to listen
to these well-meaning and in fact almost pitiful voices. It was a kindness to let the Family knit up its soreness and strains.
But it was often not smart.
Ledroff said slowly, “I was hoping you’d all be of one mind.”
“Jocelyn and me, we saw that navvy with the Mantis.
We’re
sure,” Killeen said sharply, half to let out steam and half to signal to Ledroff that he, as Cap’n, had to do something.
“Your memory’s alky-fogged,” Ledroff said cuttingly.
“That’s past.” Killeen felt himself redden.
Cermo teased, “Killeen, you should be on our side. We stay here, you slurp some more tonight.”
“I don’t have your honeyroll fat, sop up the alky with, is all,” Killeen said sarcastically. Cermo carried a slight roll at
his belt, visible through the silver tightweave. No matter how hard times were for the Family, Cermo’smeager bulge stayed, and was in fact a source of some pride for him.
“Marchin’, this honeyroll’ll leave you eatin’ dust,” Cermo said with a harsh
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