A Matter of Honor Part 22

"I realize that, Captain, but in this case I would prefer to. Defsat Five has orders to blast the Palace and its immediate surroundings unless I can defeat Thark within an hour of our landing. As I told Ranger Medart, the a.s.sault team will have at best a twenty percent chance of survival."

Hobison nodded. "Right. Am I shielded?"

"Yes."

"Then you have one volunteer. Anyone else in the Command Crew eligible?"

"There is Colonel Greggson. Only one of the others I have scanned so far has a usable shield, and I plan to speak to him shortly. That is why the whole crew must be informed of those facts. Ranger Medart and I will have to check everyone. Be sure to emphasize, please, that we will be checking only for shields; their private lives will remain their own."

"Jim?" Hobison looked startled. "What's this all about? You mean you've got Talent like hers?"

"Uh-huh." Medart was purposely informal, trying to ease Hobison's obvious shock. "You'd already left when I told His Majesty. There's no sense in trying to keep it a secret; she's trained me to be as good a telepath as she is, and she's teaching me darlas. I'll need volunteers, too, to practice on. They'll be in no danger, since she'll be monitoring everything I do until she's satisfied with my control."

"I'll make the announcement," Hobison said after a few moments'

silence. "But I was definitely right--captaining a Ranger's ship is anything but boring."

"The same goes for being a Ranger," Medart said, smiling.

"I've noticed. I'll get on it right away. Where do you want to start?"

"Sherwood Forest," Corina decided, "then work our way south. I can sense the presence of shields with a shipwide scan, but not the precise strength, location, or most important, who is shielded." Then she corrected herself. "No, that is not precisely correct. If I already know the person, I can tell ident.i.ty from the shield pattern, but even then, not the location. The 'finding' aspect of my Talent, unfortunately, is limited to inanimate objects."

She turned to Medart. "We had best start now. Our time is limited."

IX

In the shuttle heading for Sherwood Forest, Medart said, "I agree that speed's important, so why not split up? We could cover the ship faster that way."

"I do not think that would be wise, Jim." Corina was a little uncomfortable with such familiarity, even in private and with the knowledge from his memory that it was now proper for her, but she felt she ought to accustom herself to it. "You cannot test a shield's strength without using darlas, and you do not yet have the control to do that safely." Getting brave, she chided herself. Making suggestions to the Emperor, giving orders to a battle cruiser's captain, and now telling a Ranger--a fellow Ranger, she reminded herself--there was a thing he could not do.

Medart sensed her feelings and smiled to himself. Yeah, she had the adaptability, all right. She'd definitely gained confidence since the pattern rapport, which was good, and she was already showing the self-possession it had taken him over a month to achieve, maybe from his memories. That, he thought, was even better; she'd need every edge she could get. "I can't argue," he said. "I certainly don't want a repeat of the accident with you."

"Nor do I. If you were to overestimate a shield's strength, or visualize too clearly, you could easily injure or kill its possessor.

You will test them, yes, but only when I am standing by to protect them."

"That sounds reasonable."

They reached the ship's park a couple of minutes later, and encountered several crewmembers as they walked through it. None, unfortunately, had any trace of shield, which disappointed both Rangers. But Corina, despite her misgivings about the mission she'd a.s.sumed, found the forest eased her tension. She breathed deeply, savoring the smell of growing things--and startled herself with a sneeze. That was odd, she thought; she knew of no allergies. Perhaps it was the change of environment.

The forest's calming effect didn't last. Much as she liked such surroundings, she couldn't avoid the knowledge that it might be her last time to enjoy them. She kept that thought carefully shielded from the other Ranger; it wouldn't help for him to know just how much she dreaded the coming encounter with Thark, or her certainty that it would mean both their deaths.

Medart felt the shield and wondered at it, but decided to remain silent. She must have a reason for concealing whatever it was, he was certain, and although that pattern rapport had made them in some ways closer than any married couple, she did deserve her privacy. If she felt like sharing this later, she would.

He thought of a safe subject. "It almost slipped my mind, Rina.

You're ent.i.tled to an aide if you want one; what about it?"

Corina turned to him in surprise. "What would I need an aide for?"

"To run errands for you, make appointments, take care of anything you don't want to or can't do yourself."

"I do not think I wish one. You seem to have no such need, and it appears to be a waste of a person who could accomplish more useful things elsewhere."

Medart nodded. "I've never used one for just those reasons. When we run into Sunbeam, then, I'll tell her she can go back to her regular duties."

"That will disappoint her, but she is much too able to be what I gather is no more than a personal servant."

"Right. Well, we don't seem to be finding too much here; let's go on."

The two worked their way through the next several decks with equal lack of result. There were a few screens here and there, but they found nothing approaching the strength of a true shield, and Medart was scowling.

Corina sensed beginning discouragement, and hastened to rea.s.sure him.

"Jim, we already know that Talent is even rarer among humans than it is among Irschchans. We have encouraged and developed it for millennia, and even to a certain extent bred for it. Humans have not, so I am surprised to have found so many with even as limited a Talent as shields. This ship has a crew of approximately two thousand, does it not?"

"Just about. And no pa.s.sengers this trip."

"Then a.s.suming even half as many humans--in this picked group; the true number, from Thark's experience, is far less--as Irschchans are at all Talented, an a.s.sumption he would not credit, we can expect to find at most ten, in addition to the ones we already have. Fewer would not surprise me."

"And there are how many in the Prime Chapter?"

"Nine. The most dangerous are Thark, who is my problem, then Senior Adepts Valla and Kainor, who I am afraid will be yours and perhaps Colonel Greggson's, if his shield is as strong as I first thought."

"We should have some element of surprise with shields, shouldn't we?

From what you said, they won't be expecting even that much."

"True, but even shields will give only a temporary advantage. They will adapt quickly, and they are powerful. You will have to use the few seconds the shields give you to stun or kill them. I will be no help there; Thark will be keeping me fully occupied. And I am sure there will be Sanctioners to deal with, as well as the Seniors."

"Yeah. Well, if we're going to have any chance at all, we'd better find ourselves that a.s.sault group. And it could take days, at this rate; this is a d.a.m.n big ship." He thought for a moment. "You did say you can sense the presence of a shield. Isn't there any way you can use that to speed this up, find them all today?"

"There is one way," Corina admitted, "but I dislike using it. I could find shielded minds, then direct you to a nearby unscreened one to determine location. That, however, involves probing many who lack Talent."

"And I know how you feel about that. But you can't be absolutely sure you've guessed Thark's timing right, can you?"

Corina shook her head. "No, I cannot. You are correct, the necessity for speed is more important than my reluctance. Very well, but go no deeper than you must to determine location."

"Right."

No longer interested in a physical search, the two Rangers found an unoccupied pa.s.senger lounge and began the mental one. With Corina's Talent and Medart's knowledge of the ship, it went quickly; they found eleven, besides the known three, with enough shield to be worth further testing. Hobison's, they already knew, was adequate, and Corina was less than enthusiastic about meeting Greggson again, so they decided to check with the young Sandeman first. His shield was strong, she knew from the demonstration, and she knew his pattern from the combat demonstration, which made it a simple matter to touch him, find someone nearby, and let Medart identify his location. "Zero-gee gym," the human Ranger said. "I think you're going to like what you see."

When they reached the mid-level observation platform gla.s.sed off from the gym itself, Corina had to agree. Nevan was practicing flight-shooting, clad only in exercise trunks that set off his dark skin.

Small and slender he might be, but there was no denying his strength or his grace as he pushed himself off one gym wall, drew his bow in a single smooth motion, and fired as he tumbled through the air.

"Beautiful," Corina said. "I have never seen a human move with such economy or precision. That is a combat bow, is it not?"

"Instead of a practice one? Right--no target sights, and it's a lot heavier. That one pulls close to seventy kilos. I can't even get the string back ten centis, and he makes it look like nothing."