Tag Archives: Jankalim

Saltation – Chapter 17

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Ops
Anlingdin Piloting Academy

In which Theo’s advisors advise her.

It’s clear from the conversation Theo’s advisors have with her when they get back to the Academy that their hand-talk discussion on the trip back covered a lot of ground on the topic of What Are We Going To Do About Theo? — not just in general, and for the future, but also in quite a bit of detail regarding how they would approach Theo with their conclusions. The moment when yos’Senchul surprises Theo to make the point about how she reacts to the unexpected — right when Veradantha is drawing her attention by talking about how she reacts to the unexpected — has the feel of having been choreographed in advance.

I wonder if there was any particular reason for Veradantha to pick Jankalim and Theopholis for her list to demonstrate that aspects of culture are universal. (It happens that Jankalim and Theopholis are respectively the first and last planets visited by the protagonists in Conflict of Honors. Theopholis has some striking cultural details, including a peculiarly unpleasant penalty for pre-meditated murder; Jankalim we didn’t really get to see much of, culture-wise.)

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 19

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Shipyear 65
Tripday 143
Third Shift
16.00 hours

In which Shan has some explanations.

This is a significant turning point for Shan and Priscilla, with Shan finally explaining what’s going on and the two of them agreeing on a future course of action.

We get another mention of that elusive person, Anne’s brother Richard, and perhaps the most extensive account of him, in Shan’s description of his conflation of Liadens with elves. Shan doesn’t say why Richard picked on Val Con for the role of “king of Elfland”, but presumably it’s because he had heard some account of the Contract which once prompted Anne to accuse Val Con’s father of being King of Liad. In which case, I’m pretty sure this is the first intimation, in published order, of the existence of the Contract.

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 18

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Shipyear 65
Tripday 143
Second Shift
10.30 hours

In which Priscilla reviews her contract, and finds it to be not what she expected.

Priscilla reviews her contract, and learns that it contains an extremely broad clause obliging her to “undertake any additional training or duty considered reasonable or just by [the captain]”. Which, to be fair, Shan did mention when he was giving her a verbal summary of the contract, though he might perhaps have laid more emphasis on it. Either way, Priscilla could have got herself into a lot of trouble by not picking up on it then: Shan might, as she decides, be trusted not to abuse a clause like that, but imagine the uses it might be put to in the hands of, say, the Trader or the second mate of Daxflan.

Priscilla learns that her official service record has mysteriously changed, and now contains no hint of blame to her regarding the circumstances under which she parted ways with Daxflan. Another thing for her to ask the Captain about, when he gives her the opportunity.

The central registry office for the service record is said to be on VanDyk, which was also mentioned in Local Custom as the location of the central registry of Master Traders.

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 17

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Arsdred Offworld Bazaar
Local Year 728
Dawn Bazaar

In which Shan helps put up a pavilion and is nearly run down by a jitney.

I like how this chapter fleshes out the details of Shan’s work as a Trader and his interactions with Ken Rik.

This is the chapter in which Shan gives Priscilla an account of how Clan Korval came to be which differs in a number of respects from the more detailed account we eventually got in the prequels. I’m not sure what to make of that; Shan has no reason to tell Priscilla anything other than the truth as he knows it, and I can think of no reason for him not to know the actual date of the clan’s foundation, since the foundational paperwork is presumably among the things a ranking member of the clan would be expected to have read.

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 8

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Shipyear 65
Tripday 131
Second Shift
6.55 hours

In which Dutiful Passage gains a pet librarian.

Details continue to emerge about what kind of ship Shan yos’Galan runs. Last chapter there was the policy of giving the crew a stake in the ship’s trading; this chapter it’s Shan’s approach to crewmembers who wish to pursue a skill that will increase their value to the ship.

All is not rosy, however; not everyone is as welcoming to Priscilla as Rusty and Lina were. The first mate is downright frosty, though it turns out she has some basis: Dutiful Passage has encountered Daxflan before, in circumstances which, though they are not detailed here, did not leave her with a trusting disposition toward Trader Olanek and his crew.

This chapter contains one of those details that might go past without notice on a first reading but attracts more attention from a re-reader: an off-hand mention, this early in the story, that this is Kayzin Ne’Zame’s last trip with the Passage. (Fortunately for her, this is not the kind of story where “one last job before I retire” means she has a metafictional target painted on her back.)

The chapter heading is again consistent with a 24/4 shift system but not a 28/4 system.

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 7

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Shipyear 65
Tripday 131
First Shift
1.30 hours

In which Priscilla meets more of the crew.

Priscilla meets two of her crewmates-to-be, radio tech Rusty and librarian Lina, and begins to get from them the idea that Dutiful Passage is not much like Daxflan.

Which may go some way toward explaining the tests she’d been puzzling over. There’s a particular community spirit on Dutiful Passage, so a prospective crewmember needs to be a temperamental match as well as being good at her job.

I do wonder how quickly Shan is going through cabin boys, if he’s had four since he took over as captain — according to the timeline, that was less than a year ago.

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 6

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Shipyear 65
Tripday 130
Fourth Shift
18.00 hours

In which Priscilla meets Shan yos’Galan.

Contrary to what I said last week, this must be where I first learned about Liadens and faces. It must be. Conflict of Honors was the first Liaden story I ever read, and certainly Gordy’s recital is the most detailed and explicit statement of the case to be found anywhere in the series. I don’t remember it, though. There is a difference, perhaps, between being told about a thing in the abstract and coming to comprehend it through being shown examples of it in action.

The dateline on this chapter is not consistent with a 28-hour day divided into four 7-hour shifts, in which 18.00 hours would be deep in Third Shift. It would, on the other hand, fit a 24-hour day divided into four shifts.

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 5

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Jankalim Spaceport
Local Year 209

In which Priscilla discovers the depth of her predicament.

Again, I’m having trouble coming up with anything to say about the present chapter without getting tangled up in anticipation of chapters to come.

Since I have in the past called out the authors for what I felt was a particularly blatant use of the old heroine-looks-in-a-mirror routine, it’s only fair that I credit this chapter with a much smoother implementation. If you must do it at all, this is the way to do it, with the plot seamlessly giving rise to a reason for the heroine to be looking in the mirror and paying close attention to her appearance.

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 4

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Shipyear 32
Tripday 152
Third Shift
19.45 hours

In which there is an unexpected change of schedule.

This is one of those chapters that I’d probably have things to say if I were reading it for the first time, but since I’m re-reading my reaction is mainly “Yep, that’s pretty much how I remember it going”.

It’s a day later and Priscilla still has the odd-numbered off-shift, which is a point against there being an odd number of shifts in the day. Allowing for rounding to the nearest hour, her statement that there’s an hour to the shift change is consistent with a day comprising four seven-hour shifts, the same as Elthoria had. Nice to have that settled, even if it is just in time for it not to matter any more.