When I first read this book, ages ago when it first came out, those bits with Shallah and Tarvi bugged me, especially when you see their relationship later on in the book. Reading his character now, I lean toward him likely being demisexual though I doubt McCaffery thought of that when she wrote him. And if I remember correctly, yeah, that cave exploration was heavy handed foreshadowing for later too.

The shit with Kenjo is never really dealt with - as I recall it - until a short story that shows up in the "Chronicles of Pern: First Fall" story collection. I think the harping on him and the fuel in here was just to provide a distraction from Bitra, but *shrug* I honestly don't know.