Liam stayed out of Sheila's business not only because of what he had told Sheila, though that was part of it. He had meant what he said. If Sheila was going to lead, then she needed to face the pressure directly, not have Liam remove every difficulty before it reached her.
But his absence was also because he had other things to handle, and because every visible step he took near Sheila's leadership would risk making people think he was the hidden authority behind her decisions. That would damage more than help.
So he stayed away from the commander talk.
He studied.
He trained.
He watched without appearing to watch.
