Future leadership (TagsL: N'kyr)

The klah in her mug was all but cold when she lifted the report off the table for what seemed the thousandth time. Her office was quiet mostly because she never really allowed anyone else to use it. She was reading the parchment intensely. There were problems in multitudes around Pern but her mission at the moment was preparing Igen Weyr to be occupied with a support staff within the next couple of Turns. Her Search Riders met with resistance despite her meeting with the Lord Holders at Conclave. A long sigh escaped her lips as Galadrieth informed her Lrue’s wing had finished drills for the day. Perfect, she needed to have a talk with an up and coming Bronzerider. Igen would need leaders after all and how better to create a new Weyr than to have leaders who were loyal to Fort. “Darling, inform Ramirath that his rider is to meet me here at his earliest convenience.”

Karene was not an ordinary Weyrwoman. Normally the Weyrleader would be having these conversations. However, Karene had yet to find a Weyrleader with the kind of forward thinking that she had, seldom did they think much about what the future of Fort Weyr should be or what they would do to help prepare Pern for the inevitable danger of Thread. The task had more often than not fallen to her to have the dream and the drive to carry things out, to the point where she quite simply ignored the position of Weyrleader as anything more than a title. Although every so often there were Bronzeriders who wanted to change things, she no longer trusted them to that position.

And now, she had to do just that, she had to mold a Bronzerider into a future Weyrleader. Mostly because she had less faith in Belisse than perhaps she should but she thought of th egirl and saw a more frail emotional structure. The woman would not be able to set up Igen Weyr as her own without the support of a Weyrleader and someone she could trust implicitly. Right now it was not secret after the Gather that Belisse was completely besotted with Sh’nar, a less than ideal Weyrleader. So now she was going to take matters into her own hands in a way. Sh’nar could not be trusted with something as big as Igen Weyr and N’kyr was something of a prodigy when it came to dragonriding.

Having been raised in a Hold she would have expected a little more diplomatic and social grace but that could be worked on. For now she wanted to discuss the entire premise with him and how he felt about what she was saying to him. She fully expected some resentment at first until he saw how the entire thing would only benefit him and not hurt him. She sat there consumed with her own thoughts as she awaited the arrival of the Bronzerider.

'At his earliest convenience?' If N'kyr had been the type, he'd have rolled his eyes at that. The Weyrwoman knew there weren't any drills going on at the moment, and that he wasn't likely to be in the Dining Cavern, given the time of day.

Which meant that 'at his earliest convenience' was really 'as soon as possible.' She wouldn't like being kept waiting.

Setting down his stylus and shuffling the hides on his desk, the young bronzerider still took the extra moment to reorganize and stack his notes. This wasn't an emergency, so there was no need to leave them scattered about. Ramirath would likely find some way to swing his tail around in the inner weyr and fling them all over, or his former classmates would come visiting and just shove things aside. He wasn't going to take any more chances than necessary-- he'd learned to be cautious turns ago.

What could the Weyrwoman want of him? he wondered as he rolled down his sleeves and donned the vest he had draped over the back of his chair. From what Ramirath had said, it was just him that she'd asked for-- which probably meant some other 'duty' he'd be required to take on, just as she'd told him he had to go to the Gather to represent the Weyr a while back, because he was a bronzerider, a potential Weyrleader, and thus all social gatherings were a requirement.

Much as he'd prefer to avoid such instructions in the future, it wasn't as if he could refuse the Weyrwoman the audience she'd requested. So here he was, retying the thong that held his pale hair away from his face, smoothing his vest and shirt, and heading for the passageway that would lead him away from his weyr.

Not many minutes later, he was knocking on the Weyrwoman's door and awaiting her signal to enter.

Hearing the footsteps of the man as he approached the door to the office, her voice called for him to enter. “Please make yourself comfortable Bronzerider.” She said without the hint of her usual disdain for the title. Karene made no move to get up and indicated he sit wherever it pleased him at the long table with the sweep of her arm.

The parchments in front of her were mostly new though beneath them were older, musty records which pertained to Igen Weyr. Things she was not ready to share with anyone who she wanted to keep in the dark.

“I’m sorry to have called you here so unexpectedly, N’kyr. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve spoken with Wingleader L’rue about your Leadership capabilities.” Her eyes looked up finally at the young man. In any other Weyr, the Weyrleader would be having this conversation with him. This was her project though and as Weyrleaders tended to come and go frequently at Fort Weyr there was no reason she shouldn’t be looking out for the future herself.

“It has come to my attention that you are quite skilled with wing patterns and have a natural skill set that would be useful to have in a Wingleader and one day a Weyrleader.” Perhaps that would make things awkward if he thought she was referring to him becoming Weyrleader here. She had the idea in her head that she would be here much longer than he was probably willing to wait.

“I’m not sure if you are fully aware of the plans for Igen Weyr as of yet. Today I aim to fill you in on the plans and exactly where you might fit into them if you are willing to change Weyrs.” Karene knew either she had his interest now or she wasn’t going to interest him with the proposition at all.

N'kyr nodded respectfully enough-- it's possible someone who wanted to nitpick would say it wasn't deep enough, even if the length of time was fairly appropriate-- and murmured, "Weyrwoman," in greeting when Karene waved him to a seat. He wasn't too concerned that she might not have seen him-- he'd made the gesture at an appropriate time, and if she missed it because she was too busy with the records in front of her, that wasn't his fault.

Whatever she had to say to him couldn't be too important, if she couldn't give up perusing said records on his arrival, could it? The thought irritated him, but he betrayed no outward sign of it as he chose a chair a couple away from hers. Close enough to not be considered rude for forcing her to shout across the table, yet far enough away so as to not appear to be presuming he was deserving of such a ranking space near to her position, even though there was no one else present. Such formalities had been drilled into him from a young age and weren't easily forgotten. Or ignored, despite his best efforts at times.

As would probably be expected, N'kyr did start to bristle at her first words, mentioning that she'd spoken to L'rue. He knew she had nothing to blame him for, nor had he done anything wrong, so why would she need to speak with his Wingleader? His leadership capabilities? Surely there was nothing wrong with-- Of course he was skilled with wing patterns. It had taken her this long to notice?-- Wingleader?

At that, his back straightened just the slightest. Wingleader? He pushed away the faint twinge at the words 'one day' being attached to the possibility of his being Weyrleader, because he fully intended it to be as soon as possible (of course, without considering just what the process of gaining the title would entail.) Instead, he focused on the previously mentioned rank-- was it possible he was being promoted without first gaining the role of Wingsecond? Was he finally being recognized for--

Wait, Igen?

Keeping his features composed so as to not reveal his confusion, he asked, "Change Weyrs, ma'am?" He wasn't even considering what that would mean just yet. He needed to get some clarification first. Was she saying his chance at being a wingleader would be at Igen? Was she saying it would only come at Igen? His usual distrustful nature was telling him that could be the case-- but he knew of no reason why he couldn't wait a little longer here at Fort. Eventually a spot would open up-- perhaps longer than he preferred, but still, it would come, and he would make sure he was in the best position to be offered the rank.

Nodding her head, she made no apology for being completely blunt on this subject. “This is an opportunity and all I ask is that you keep an open mind for what I’m about to tell you. Not everyone is being given this opportunity.” In other words, changing Weyrs was part of the plan and if he wasn’t willing to hear out the rest then he may as well leave now. She wasn’t going to be that blunt, young men were prone to being impatient and impulsive.

Karene was well aware of how N’kyr felt about women in general so she did her best to keep a calm and even tone with him. She had heard he was intelligent and if that were the case he too would be able to remain civil no matter what the topic of conversation was. “As you may have or you may not have heard, Igen Weyr is my pet project. I believe Thread will return, sooner than later. I also believe we need all six Weyrs at full fighting strength to defeat it with minimal casualties. Igen will need leaders who have the ability to work with Holders and deal with resistance from them. They are not ready to accept a change in tithing or an increase in Searching their people but the Weyr will need them and the Weyr is our second priority.” First priority being the safety and welfare of the people of Pern as a whole but she figured he knew what the first priority was or was at least smart enough to follow her line of thought.

“Like myself, you were brought up as the child of a Lord Holder and as such you understand better than anyone the grievances they might have against the reinstating of Igen Weyr. I also suspect you understand diplomacy well and can manage yourself in situations in a way befitting a Wing or Weyrleader.” She knew he was capable she just wasn’t sure if he understood how serious everything was now. Did he realize she was trying to help him get what he wanted? Probably not and even if he did he would not trust her just yet. When he realized she could be an ally and when he realized what an opportunity this would be for him, then he might trust her a little.

“N’kyr, I need people whom I can rely on to spearhead the mission to establish Igen Weyr. I don’t want just anyone there. I want people who are intelligent and loyal. I want people who can be relied upon to do the right thing for Pern. I want people there who have ambition and drive to become the best of the best. I don’t want to send people who are average. Establishing a new Weyr takes a lot of courage and I expect the people who are up for this challenge to be people who can lead not only a Wing but a Weyr through their actions and their words. Obviously I cannot send myself.” And why would she leave a Weyr where she had complete control?

It would not be easy to do. It would also not be easy to convince him of the value of growing a Weyr from the ground up to be loyal to your authority. He would have to think for himself and come to his own conclusion on the matter.

“I would like you to consider the possibility of being set up as a Wingleader at Igen Weyr.”

Not everyone was being given the opportunity? Well, the thought that he was one of a select few, being recognized for his abilities, was certainly appealing to N'kyr. However, it didn't necessarily mean that 'not everyone' was the same as 'a few.' Still, it wouldn't hurt for him to listen to what she had to say, and then decide how he felt about the idea of changing Weyrs.

I do not want to change Weyrs, came a sleepy pout from the bronze sprawled out on his ledge.

Hush, Rath. It was just an idea-- rider and dragon could discuss it later. Once this conversation with the Weyrwoman was over.

Focusing his attention back on Karene, N'kyr leaned into the back of his chair slightly, settling himself a little more comfortably, to indicate she should proceed-- in case she needed a sign. He remained silent, though, processing her words and finding his interest... piqued despite himself.

In all honesty, the young bronzerider wasn't sure where he stood on Thread returning. Ramirath didn't question it when the topic was seriously considered, but then again, his dragon hardly ever pensively contemplated anything. He tended to focus on the here and now, always searching for the next fun thing he and his best clutchmate could get into. Unless they were drilling, and N'kyr forced him to focus. Or food or a flight were close at hand. In either of those cases, the bronze tended to zone with single-minded intensity on whatever it was that he desired.

Still, even if he himself didn't know what side of the Thread issue he was on, and just how much stock he'd put into needing all six of the Weyrs, Karene had a point-- a new one would need support from the surrounding Holds. Convincing the Holders to contribute goods and personnel would take some doing, and would best be done by someone who knew them better. Or at least had a better understanding of how they thought, having grown up in such a place himself.

Of course, others probably thought N'kyr was a bit lacking in the diplomatic department-- in terms of human relations, anyway-- but the Weyrwoman spoke the truth when she said he understood well how to handle various situations. Social graces had been drilled into him from a young age, and he'd lived for pleasing his mother when she'd expected the perfect little holder. ('Lived for' wasn't exactly the phrase he applied to it-- he'd simply behaved much better than his brothers, and had been rewarded by his mother's praise. And various degrees of ridicule from the other children the woman had born.) As it was, save for maybe the goldriders, N'kyr was probably the most experienced rider at Fort in terms of dealing with Holders. (Or so his own arrogance led him to believe.)

It almost sounded as if Karene was wanting him, N'kyr, to be an ambassador of sorts, to deal with the Holds that would be supporting Igen, if not Fort as well. If he let himself believe it, he could almost interpret her words as wanting him to be Weyrleader at Igen (again, with his own arrogance providing that leap of logic.) If he was in the best position to be so-- not having a wing here at Fort meant there would be no shift in roles if he left, and he had no permanent ties that would be harmed at the disruption-- and he was the best candidate for the position (completely ignoring how the role of Weyrleader was usually determined), then why wouldn't she be asking him to lead the new Weyr she wanted to reopen? She was saying she'd seen his potential, that he had the right qualifications, that she was choosing him to be--

Wingleader.

Not Weyrleader.

It had sounded too good to be true, after all, hadn't it? Not that Wingleader was a position to scoff at, but she'd built him up, led him to believe she meant to leave him completely in charge. And here she was saying he was instead to be one of many. ('Many' being a relative term.)

Then again, hadn't she told him that at the beginning? 'Not everyone' didn't necessarily mean 'a few.' And it certainly didn't mean 'you alone.'

More fool he for believing she could have been referring to him alone. It wasn't a feeling he liked, wondering if she'd been trying to play him and he'd fallen for it, or if she simply didn't think he was good enough. (Again: completely ignoring how the position he desired was normally determined.) In either case, she had asked if he would consider the possibility of being Wingleader at Igen.

What would happen... if he chose not to go?

Unconsciously raising his chin slightly, gray eyes almost imperceptibly betraying the irritation he felt with himself and with her, N'kyr kept his own tone even and asked, "And if I would choose to stay, ma'am? What then?"

Karene was no fool. She understood what was going on in that ambitious mind of his. He wasn’t that much different from herself in some respects which only made it that much easier to read his expressions. Her lips drew into an amused smile. He was thinking Wingleader was a step down from Weyrleader and he wanted to be Weyrleader. All the ambitious ones wanted that rank. Not all of them were capable of holding it. Her eyes left his face briefly so that he would not feel like she was staring him down.

At his question, she said, “If you refuse to change Weyrs…” She wanted to say you are a narrow minded fool but she took a much nicer and much more diplomatic tone, “I suppose you would continue as you are until you’d spent more time convincing whoever is Weyrleader that you are worthy of the rank Wingsecond and then Wingleader and maybe someday you’d be able to have the chance at the Weyrleadership, when I am no longer Senior through retirement or death.”

Death sounded so final, she didn’t much care for the word. She had plenty of living left to do. Dragonriders lived longer than the average Pernese did. “If you are asking if there will be repercussions to your refusal. I will not treat you any differently than before.” They said he was intelligent but it seemed he was not connecting the dots that were laid out for him. Maybe he was being stubborn or maybe the thought had not occurred to him. He couldn’t be given the position he sought, because it was not hers to give.

“I was hoping that you might see the great potential that being a Wingleader at a new Weyr would mean.” She paused, her eyes lifting from her hands to his face, “I cannot give you Leadership of Igen Weyr directly, that is something which is determined by a Senior Queen’s mating flight.” Bronzeriders could be so thick sometimes, she had thought perhaps his upbringing would help him see the politics behind it all. L’rue had said he had potential and perhaps he did. His unwillingness to take this at face value was admirable but she got the feeling he wasn’t accepting because he wanted to be here to be Weyrleader at Fort. She didn’t like ambitious Bronzeriders and the most ambitious of them never flew Galadrieth. It was something the pair avoided at all cost.

“The plan right now is, once two Golds are transferred, one from Fort and one from Telgar, the first Gold to fly at Igen Weyr becomes Senior Queen and whoever catches her is Weyrleader. As Wingleader you would garner support from the other riders and have more opportunity to spend time with the Queenriders, which in turn would give you a higher chance at becoming Weyrleader. I very much mean for you to be Weyrleader of Igen Weyr.” Bellisse was a sweet girl but she needed someone with more ambition and stubborn will to guide her and even if Bellisse didn’t fly first, it left him with the task of winning whichever one flew first, unless she could convince Telgar to drop their claim to one of the Goldrider positions which seemed highly unlikely at this point in time. Telgar had committed to sending about one third of the needed support staff, trained at Telgar Weyr and prepared to move in to Igen Weyr within the next Turn or so.

Letting him think it over, she looked back down at the records in front of her. She was not doing so to ignore him but rather to allow him some privacy to collect his thoughts, talk things through with his dragon.

N'kyr's gray gaze narrowed faintly as the Weyrwoman seemed to be telling him he'd never be Weyrleader so long as she were the Senior at Fort. Just what did she mean by that? Was she contradicting what she'd already been hinting at, and saying that he wasn't good enough? Why start this conversation in the first place, then? She'd invited him here, after all-- he'd not been the one to seek her out.

Did she think he wasn't good enough for Fort? He was fine for Igen, but Fort, being the oldest and most well-known of the Weyrs, was completely out of his reach?

Was she wanting to send him away to be rid of him?

Of course, he knew Karene didn't much care for bronzeriders, and had somehow managed to take much of the power from the position of Weyrleader for herself. Something that never would have happened had she had a stronger Weyrleader when she'd become Senior. Or so N'kyr thought-- how else would she have managed to take control from the man who had held the position? And clearly none of the Weyrleaders since had been worthy of the title, either, otherwise she wouldn't have needed to try to run as much of the Weyr's inner workings as she did. The bronzerider in charge would have taken the duties back for themselves, and left her with the things she was supposed to take care of, like the inventories and running the lower caverns and the creche.

Still, N'kyr didn't envy anyone the task of trying to take the position back from a woman as stubborn as the Weyrwoman-- she clearly thought she could do it all, no matter who was in the position of Weyrleader. He supposed he could agree that she was capable of dealing with most things, but then again, Threadfall was nonexistant, and as she'd mentioned earlier, those with experience in the Holds were better equipped to handle diplomatic relations with them. Plus, it seemed like the current Weyrleader was only interested in using his position to keep a steady stream of women coming to his bed-- he doubted anyone would argue that the man was a competent Weyrleader. How he'd managed to gain the position was beyond N'kyr's understanding.

Really, though, it shouldn't have been. He shouldn't have needed the reminder. Because as Karene was saying, Weyrleadership was determined by the mating flight of the Senior Queen at a Weyr. It wasn't something that could be handed out to the most deserving candidate, like other ranking positions. At least not in an established Weyr, at any rate, which meant he had to rely on Ramirath's stamina and maneuverability to gain him the chance to be Fort's Weyrleader (the flip side of that being that the Weyrwoman really could not completely guarantee he'd never hold the position while she was in charge.)

However, a newly established Weyr would have no Senior, and thus no Weyrleader. If they were to wait for whichever gold rose first, what were the riders who transferred supposed to do in the meantime? Strong leadership would be needed to get the Weyr up and running smoothly. With no clear chain of command, no one to make executive decisions, things would far too easily fall apart. And then it would be left to the newly-made Weyrleader to clean up the mess-- and for those who'd lost the chance to hope he was capable enough of doing so.

So, why did it not make more sense to start things off on the right foot, and appoint someone as Weyrleader from the start? Surely that would be better than no such leader at all, wouldn't it?

Or perhaps... if there was no such precedent, or there were too many layers of politics to wade through to decide who would make the choice... then one of the potentials would just have to take charge, even without the official title.

But I do not _want_ to go to Igen.

Was that it, then? Was that to be his chance to prove he was capable? Was that what Karene was alluding to in telling him he would be able to garner support from other riders? He wasn't quite sure how it would give him more time with the goldriders when there would be so much to do, but he supposed there would be a little more interaction there. Just because they would need to be included in making some of the decisions...

The wheels, as the Weyrwoman had probably intended, were already turning in N'kyr's mind. If she meant for him to be Weyrleader of Igen, then she at least hadn't been lying when she'd told him she believed he was capable. Then again, there was still the tiny bit of doubt that said why Igen, and not here at Fort? Did she still think him weak in some way? But he pushed it back. Because even if she did, it was still an opportunity to be Weyrleader. An opportunity to be a Wingleader quicker than most bronzeriders achieved the rank, and as such not something to be easily dismissed.

No, he needed to think about this a bit more, to figure out if a move to Igen was really what he wanted. Fort wasn't necessarily sentimentally 'home,' but he had... established relationships here with his classmates. As did Ramirath. And there was always that background fear of the unknown, the fear that most people were like his siblings and would take the opportunity to mock first and pretend to play nice later.

No, this wasn't a decision to be taken lightly.

"I will... seriously consider this opportunity, ma'am," the young bronzerider finally said into the quiet. "A transfer would be a big move, and requires more than a few moments' deliberation."

Karene continued to read the record in front of her. She had no intention of breaking his thoughts with more words, he had plenty to ponder and the Weyrwoman had plenty to keep her occupied. Igen Weyr was a side project which took up a lot more time than even running Fort Weyr efficiently. When the Bronzerider finally spoke up, she had anticipated his answer.

The young man had every right to take time to think over the decision. “Take some time to think about it. If you think of any questions do not hesitate to ask me.” She stood up and smiled kindly, “Do not take too long coming to a decision. The Weyr has a real need for your talents N’kyr.”

The weyrwoman hoped it wouldn’t be too long. She did need him to reach a decision so she could have him check on Igen Weyr as the Lower Caverns staff was being set up. They had a lot of tithes coming in from local holds to make sure that the rooms and weyrs could be set up satisfactorily after everything had a thorough cleaning. In the meantime she was going to need to start working with Belisse more to help ensure she felt confident enough to take on a position at the new weyr.

“Now if you want to go, you may." She assumed he would be quite ready to leave her presence and go out and think about things not around someone expecting an answer on his decision. She did not blame him at all for thinking things through as the choices one made in life often defined one later on. "Give my regards to your Ramirath.”

N'kyr nodded once in recognition of Karene's request that he not take too long to consider a transfer to Igen. He would take what time he needed, perhaps discuss it with his mother. Not that Naryssa would have much of an opinion other than to tell him she knew he would be Weyrleader some day, and encourage him to take what had been offered. It wasn't every day that riders as young as he was were given the opportunity to be a wingleader, after all.

His mother wouldn't have the argument of distance, considering Igen nearly as far from Crom as Fort-- the only Weyr closer was Telgar, and he had no reason to transfer there. Save for relative distance to his home Hold. He hadn't been Searched for Telgar, though. And he hadn't Impressed there. And with a dragon, distance was easily surmountable, were he to want to return to Crom for any reason. Which he usually didn't.

As of right now, he really just needed to think about the idea of transferring. To consider the pros and cons, weigh the options. And see what it would take to convince Ramirath if he decided changing Weyrs was the best option for them both.

Standing and stepping back from the table, N'kyr bowed at her dismissal. "Thank you, ma'am. Good day." A moment later, the young bronzerider was gone, leaving the Weyrwoman's office behind, but not the goldrider's words. He had much to think on, and wondered just what the future could hold if he decided Igen was to be his new home.