The meeting was, of course, about more than personnel appointments, though those were its most important business. It also laid out new directions and priorities for the Whip of Order's work and assigned specific tasks.
Number Three chaired the meeting, while the Whip Bearer kept his eyes closed throughout. As the meeting neared its end, he seemed to wake up and said to Kallen, who sat beside him:
"I'll leave first."
That meant Kallen had to stay.
Kallen nodded. "Yes, Whip Bearer."
When the meeting ended, the Whip Bearer rose and left as everyone saluted.
Watching his retreating back, Kallen suddenly recalled their conversation as they entered before the meeting.
His plan to promote Leon to district chief of York City District was, to a certain extent, much like the Whip Bearer's promotion of him now.
Although he had gained experience and a great deal of military merit at the front this time, those were actually only enough to support his leap across the ranks within their system and give him a seat on the dais.
But through the Whip Bearer's maneuvering, he had now become their system's Number Two, bypassing a whole series of seniors ahead of him. There was, in fact, a shortfall there.
That shortfall had to be made up with something else. Just as Leon's shortfall would be covered by Kallen's current status and influence, his own was covered by the Whip Bearer's authority within their system.
The Dharma Body at the victory banquet, the preparations before the meeting, the standing and sitting as it formally began, and the Whip Bearer's deliberate laughter had all been repeated stamps of confirmation.
The most direct way to delegate power was to tell everyone else in the system whose man this was.
Such powerful backing could save Kallen several