IX
In the shuttle heading for Sherwood Forest, Medart said, "I agree thatspeed's important, so why not split up? We could cover the ship fasterthat way."
"I do not think that would be wise, Jim." Corina was a littleuncomfortable with such familiarity, even in private and with theknowledge from his memory that it was now proper for her, but she feltshe ought to accustom herself to it. "You cannot test a shield'sstrength without using darlas, and you do not yet have the control todo that safely." Getting brave, she chided herself. Makingsuggestions to the Emperor, giving orders to a battle cruiser'scaptain, and now telling a Ranger--a fellow Ranger, she remindedherself--there was a thing he could not do.
Medart sensed her feelings and smiled to himself. Yeah, she had theadaptability, all right. She'd definitely gained confidence since thepattern rapport, which was good, and she was already showing theself-possession it had taken him over a month to achieve, maybe from hismemories. That, he thought, was even better; she'd need every edge shecould get. "I can't argue," he said. "I certainly don't want a repeatof the accident with you."
"Nor do I. If you were to overestimate a shield's strength, orvisualize too clearly, you could easily injure or kill its possessor.You will test them, yes, but only when I am standing by to protectthem."
"That sounds reasonable."
They reached the ship's park a couple of minutes later, and encounteredseveral 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 assumed, found theforest eased her tension. She breathed deeply, savoring the smell ofgrowing things--and startled herself with a sneeze. That was odd, shethought; she knew of no allergies. Perhaps it was the change ofenvironment.
The forest's calming effect didn't last. Much as she liked suchsurroundings, she couldn't avoid the knowledge that it might be herlast time to enjoy them. She kept that thought carefully shielded fromthe other Ranger; it wouldn't help for him to know just how much shedreaded the coming encounter with Thark, or her certainty that it wouldmean both their deaths.
Medart felt the shield and wondered at it, but decided to remainsilent. She must have a reason for concealing whatever it was, he wascertain, and although that pattern rapport had made them in some wayscloser than any married couple, she did deserve her privacy. If shefelt like sharing this later, she would.
He thought of a safe subject. "It almost slipped my mind, Rina.You're entitled 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 youdon't want to or can't do yourself."
"I do not think I wish one. You seem to have no such need, and itappears to be a waste of a person who could accomplish more usefulthings elsewhere."
Medart nodded. "I've never used one for just those reasons. When werun into Sunbeam, then, I'll tell her she can go back to her regularduties."
"That will disappoint her, but she is much too able to be what I gatheris 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 lackof result. There were a few screens here and there, but they foundnothing approaching the strength of a true shield, and Medart wasscowling.
Corina sensed beginning discouragement, and hastened to reassure him."Jim, we already know that Talent is even rarer among humans than it isamong Irschchans. We have encouraged and developed it for millennia,and even to a certain extent bred for it. Humans have not, so I amsurprised to have found so many with even as limited a Talent asshields. This ship has a crew of approximately two thousand, does itnot?"
"Just about. And no passengers this trip."
"Then assuming even half as many humans--in this picked group; the truenumber, from Thark's experience, is far less--as Irschchans are at allTalented, an assumption he would not credit, we can expect to find atmost ten, in addition to the ones we already have. Fewer would notsurprise me."
"And there are how many in the Prime Chapter?"
"Nine. The most dangerous are Thark, who is my problem, then SeniorAdepts Valla and Kainor, who I am afraid will be yours and perhapsColonel 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. Theywill adapt quickly, and they are powerful. You will have to use thefew seconds the shields give you to stun or kill them. I will be nohelp there; Thark will be keeping me fully occupied. And I am surethere 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 betterfind ourselves that assault group. And it could take days, at thisrate; this is a damn big ship." He thought for a moment. "You did sayyou can sense the presence of a shield. Isn't there any way you canuse that to speed this up, find them all today?"
"There is one way," Corina admitted, "but I dislike using it. I couldfind shielded minds, then direct you to a nearby unscreened one todetermine location. That, however, involves probing many who lackTalent."
"And I know how you feel about that. But you can't be absolutely sureyou've guessed Thark's timing right, can you?"
Corina shook her head. "No, I cannot. You are correct, the necessityfor speed is more important than my reluctance. Very well, but go nodeeper than you must to determine location."
"Right."
No longer interested in a physical search, the two Rangers found anunoccupied passenger lounge and began the mental one. With Corina'sTalent and Medart's knowledge of the ship, it went quickly; they foundeleven, besides the known three, with enough shield to be worth furthertesting. Hobison's, they already knew, was adequate, and Corina wasless than enthusiastic about meeting Greggson again, so they decided tocheck with the young Sandeman first. His shield was strong, she knewfrom the demonstration, and she knew his pattern from the combatdemonstration, which made it a simple matter to touch him, find someonenearby, and let Medart identify his location. "Zero-gee gym," thehuman Ranger said. "I think you're going to like what you see."
When they reached the mid-level observation platform glassed off fromthe gym itself, Corina had to agree. Nevan was practicingflight-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 orhis grace as he pushed himself off one gym wall, drew his bow in asingle smooth motion, and fired as he tumbled through the air.
"Beautiful," Corina said. "I have never seen a human move with sucheconomy or precision. That is a combat bow, is it not?"
"Instead of a practice one? Right--no target sights, and it's a lotheavier. That one pulls close to seventy kilos. I can't even get thestring back ten centis, and he makes it look like nothing."
Nevan hit the far wall feet-first. There was the solid sound of himkicking off again, the scream of a hollow pierced-shaft arrow, the thudof it hitting the small remote-controlled target less than a centimeterfrom the first. That was repeated half a decade times, with whatappeared to be effortless ease.
"Does he ever miss?" Corina asked as the Sandeman continued to shoot.
"I've never heard of it happening, and I'm sure it'd be all over theship in less than an hour if he did." Medart chuckled. "He spendshalf his free time in combat exercises of one sort or another, afterall, not just the minimums for on-duty training. It's not as good ascombat, to their way of thinking, but it's better than what we standardhumans class as normal entertainment."
The two were silent then, for the couple of minutes it took Nevan torun out of arrows and signal the target controller to end the session.Then he dove for the floor, used a handhold to pull himself erect, andswitch
ed off the gravity neutralizer that isolated the gym from theship's gravity field.
"Okay," Medart said. "That's it; let's get down to the dressing roomand wait for him to get into uniform."
"You stressed the need for speed," Corina said as they left theobservation platform. "Why do you not speak to him while he changes?I cannot, I know; having a female around would embarrass a human male."
"Or vice versa." Medart grinned. "And Sandemans are even worse thanmost that way. They don't even like to strip for a medical exam--whichthey hate in the first place. I'd embarrass him every bit as much asyou would. I was worried about wasting days; we can spare a fewminutes."
"I do not understand, but I would not wish to offend him. We do wanthis assistance."
Medart chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll get it. Just look at Gaelan'smemories if you think there's any chance of a Sandeman warrior passingup any kind of honorable combat."
Corina did, and found herself amused at her doubt. "I see. But heshould still have the opportunity to refuse, with the odds so greatlyagainst the assault team."
* * * * *
It wasn't long before the dressing room door opened and Nevan emerged,his blond hair still damp from the shower. He'd caught a glimpse ofthe two Rangers watching his practice, so he wasn't really toosurprised to find them waiting for him, but he was wondering what theywanted with a young First Lieutenant fresh out of the Academy. He cameto perfect Guidebook attention, waited.
"At ease, Lieutenant." Corina purred briefly. This one, she thought,would truly be an asset. "I must ask if you would be willing tovolunteer for a particularly hazardous mission, one from which it isentirely possible no survivors will emerge." She went on to explainabout his mental defenses and the opposition the assault team wouldface. She wished she could read his thoughts, but after the firstmention of fighting, she had no doubt of his answer; not even Marinediscipline could make him hold back a smile, and his eagerness wasevident in his steel-gray eyes. "I believe that is everything," shesaid at last. "The choice is yours, and you may refuse withoutprejudice."
For Nevan's opinion of this, see NEVAN
"No, sir. I'm volunteering."
"Excellent. I will call a briefing as soon as I have spoken to allthose who have shields of adequate strength, and so are eligible forthe assault team. In the meantime you are relieved of normal duty;relax, or do whatever you think best to prepare yourself."
"Yes, sir." Nevan came to attention again, waiting.
*You'll have to dismiss him,* Medart sent. *He's still Academy-stiff,hasn't relaxed to Fleet standards yet.*
*Thank you.* "Dismissed, Lieutenant." Corina watched him leave,purring softly in satisfaction that he, at least, was happy. Then herears went back slightly, and she turned to Medart. "I can no longerput it off. We must speak to Colonel Greggson."
"I'll talk to him if you'd like, since he makes you uncomfortable."
"No, though I thank you for the offer. I have accepted this job, Iwill do what it requires. I will speak to him."
"Right." Good for her, Medart thought. She'd apparently gotten morefrom his memories than he'd realized; that sounded like something he'dsaid once, back in the early days of his own career. Or maybe theywere just a lot alike.
* * * * *
Greggson, naturally, was in his office in the Security section. Hestood and came to attention as the two Rangers entered, strictly by thebook though his expression was cold. "Yes, sirs?"
Corina explained as she had to Nevan, seeing Greggson's expressionbecome thoughtful as he analyzed the problem. It seemed Jim was right,she thought. This man was a professional, would do his job in spite ofhis personal opinions. And his shield was fractionally tighter thanHobison's or Nevan's, though not up to Jim's partially-trained one. "Ibelieve, Colonel," she finished, "that you would be most useful on theteam going after Thark, Valla, and Kainor, although that will meanworking directly with me. Are you willing to do so?"
"Yes, sir." Emotion was seeping through, despite his shield, andCorina read two that conflicted strongly. One was a passionate dislikefor her as an individual, but the other was more important to theMarine: his duty to the Empire, which she as a Ranger had the right tocommand.
That fact overrode his personal feelings. He would accompany theassault team not because she asked it, but because of his ownconviction that it was part of his job as a Marine. In a flash ofinsight, Corina realized that Sunbeam had, perhaps without fullyrealizing it, given her a very accurate capsule description.Greggson's work was truly all he had: the Corps was his entire life,nothing outside had any meaning whatsoever. She found herself pityinghim as she and Medart left with his agreement, on the way to speak withthe rest of the shielded ones.
The group that finally came together in Briefing Room One shortly afternoon to form the assault team was an unlikely one, but the only onethat would have any chance at all. In addition to those they'd firstspoken to, the Rangers had found a nurse, an engineer's assistant, theship's junior navigator, and four other Marine officers.
There was noticeable tension in the room when Corina called thebriefing to order. They already knew the basic situation; she could godirectly to the assault itself. "I will be making assignments basedsolely on shield strength, as that is the only factor which will slowthe Seniors to any degree. Ranger Medart, Colonel Greggson, and I willattempt to trace and confront Thark and his two chief lieutenants. Iwould like the rest of you to spread throughout the Palace, to find andeliminate as many of the others as you can. We will remain in touch asnecessary by wrist communicators, which will be issued as soon as weare finished here.
"I have ordered a disruptor mounted on the lander we will be using.Lieutenant DarLeras, Ranger Medart tells me you are a pilot; since wedo not have such a specialist, I would like you to fill that positionas well as the combat one you agreed to earlier. Will that cause youany problem?"
"No, sir. It just means I prep before we leave, rather than during thetrip."
Medart sent Corina a mental wince. *Make sure your restraints aretight. He took it easy on the way up because it was your first trip;he wouldn't be concerned about comfort on a combat flight even if heweren't battleprepped. Since he will be, we're going to have a roughride.*
*He is still the only pilot we have, and it will be to our advantagefor him to be prepped. He will have to take our limitations intoconsideration, however.*
*He will, since that's good tactics, but that doesn't mean he'll begentle, especially if he has to do any dodging. Go on.*
"Unfortunately, Prowler will have to be destroyed to prevent itsweapons from being used against us. Since I expect the crew to remainaboard, that means they will be killed. The others, Seniors andSanctioners, will be in the Palace, and we must expect immediateopposition when we land."
"What kind of armament does Prowler have?" Greggson asked.
"When I was last aboard, approximately a week ago, it had medium-powerblasters. I believe its shields are standard for that class."
"Nothing a disruptor can't handle, then. It'd take more than a week tomount heavy weapons."
"He would depend more on speed and secrecy, even so," Corina said. "Hewishes to take over; he will cause no more destruction than he must."
"What about personal weapons?" Nevan asked.
"The Seniors will depend on Talent. Sanctioners, however, have onlylimited Talent, as a rule just telepathy and shields, so they use andare quite familiar with distance weapons. Some have considerableskill, and those are the ones likeliest to be in Thark's group."
Greggson frowned. "No unTalented at all? I'd hoped we couldsupplement our few shielded people with a trained Security team, atleast."
"I do not believe he would take that chance," Corina said. "This isfar too important to him; his attack force will include only his bestpeople. A Security team would have little chance against even aSanctioner's simple telepathy; no action can
be taken without at leasta fraction of a second's forethought."
"Damn." Greggson's voice was flat. "That's out, then."
"Hold on," Hobison said. "Emperor Chang?"
"Yes, Captain Hobison?"
"Identify Prowler, Irschchan registry, and give crew/passengercapacity."
"Prowler, Irschchan registry One-Alpha. Kanchatka-class courierrefitted as a yacht, crew of nine plus pilot. Maximum passengercapacity thirty humans. Further data?"
"Not required." Hobison turned his attention back to the others in theroom. "Thirty human passengers, so call it about forty-fiveIrschchans. And there are twelve of us . . . not very good odds atall." He paused, frowned. "Worse, if the crew's Talented."
"They are not," Corina said. "They are all Navy veterans; untilmyself, Talented went into the Order instead as a matter of course.However, since Prowler must be destroyed to prevent the use of itsweapons, I do not expect them to be a problem."
"Forty-five effectives, then," Hobison said. "I've faced better odds;looks like things could get interesting."
"We had best plan on forty-six," Corina corrected. "Thark seldom useshis assigned pilot; he prefers to do his own flying." She laid herears back. "There will be much death because of his Crusade; I wouldprefer that we cause as little of it as possible. Set your weapons fora two-hour stun. Under the circumstances, that should be quitesufficient; by the end of that time, either Thark will be defeated, thestunned ones still able to stand trial, or we will all be dead. Arethere any questions?"
"I have one," Greggson said. "You can sense shields at a distance, sothe Seniors can, too. What's to stop them from killing us with darlasas soon as they sense us?"
"Thark is the only one in the Prime Chapter, to the best of myknowledge, who is able to use darlas effectively without visualcontact."
"You did it!" Greggson's tone was accusing.
"I am aware of that," Corina said. "I am surprised I was able to; Imade the attempt only because I had more opponents than I had everfaced in training, and had nothing to lose by trying. The others willhave to be able to see you before they can attack. If we arefortunate, your shields will all be strong enough to deflect such anattack for the two or three seconds necessary to stun them. And thedanger from the Sanctioners, who cannot use darlas at all, is purelyphysical."
"That's encouraging," Nevan said.
Corina's ears twitched in appreciation of the attempt at humor. "I amglad you think so. Are there other questions?"
When there were none, she dismissed the meeting, and the two Rangersreturned to Sherwood Forest to continue Medart's training. Corinabegan to think she must have an allergy after all, because she sneezedseveral times as soon as they entered the park, but she refusedMedart's suggestion that they find a different location. "This area ismost conducive to the proper frame of mind, especially for you. Thatis worth some minor irritation, and I see our tree is available; shallwe take advantage of it?"
When they were seated, Medart came straight to the point. "The firstthing, I think, is to find out about what you called reverse darlas."
"As I said, that is not a precise description." Corina's ears wentback in frustration. "It is merely the best I can do in ImperialEnglish. Or in Irschchan, for that matter."
"It's all we have to work with, though, so let's try to define it a bitmore closely. I can't either practice or avoid something I can'tidentify."
"That is true enough. Very well, darlas is a form of attack. Itsreverse would logically be some form of defense, yet that is not thefeeling I get. And it would seem redundant, as well, since your shieldis a more than adequate defense, even now, against all but thestrongest conventional darlas."
"Let's go all the way to basics, then. An attack is hostility, intentto cause harm. The reverse of that is good will, intent to help. Thatsound any more promising?"
"Urrr . . . yes, somewhat, though I have never heard of such anapplication of Talent."
"Uh-huh, you said that." Medart leaned back against the treetrunk."What you call Talent we call esper abilities, and if I remember right,one of those was healing. Emperor Chang?"
"Yes, Ranger Medart?"
"Scan records for healing as an aspect of ESP, report on verifiedincidents."
"Insufficient data to verify any given incident," the ship-compreported after several seconds. "Most data are religious in origin,rather than scientific. Not subject to positive verification."
"Thank you. No further information required." Medart looked at thesmaller Ranger. "Like telepathy was, until day before yesterday.Stories, but none of what Greggson likes to call cast-iron facts."
Corina sneezed again, and Medart frowned. "Sounds to me like you'recoming down with something, Rina. Maybe you ought to go see Dr.Sherman--you need to be in top shape when you go against Thark."
"That is true, and it is more than the sneezing; I woke with a slightheadache this morning, and I feel as if I have been exercising harderthan I should. Your ship is warmer than I truly like, and I have beenunder some strain; I attributed those symptoms to that. It ispossible, however that I am becoming ill." She paused, thinking. "Ifthis aspect of your Talent is connected with health, perhaps you shouldsee what you can discover about my condition before I go to Dr.Sherman."
"That sounds reasonable." Medart closed his eyes to concentrate betteron sensing her.
Corina closed hers as well, dropping her shield completely to allow himunrestricted access to her feelings. His mental touch was gentle, evensoothing, and she felt aching start to ease. Then there was a touch onher forehead that felt like both his hands, warmer than normal humanbody temperature, and all her symptoms faded to nothing in perhaps halfa minute.
When she opened her eyes, it was to see Medart looking at her with anexpression of pleased surprise. "I feel considerably better, Jim, andI thank you. It appears your deduction was correct."
"You're welcome," Medart said, still grinning. "And they said there'dnever be a cure for the common cold! You were right too, Rina; thechange in environment when you came aboard gave some viruses the chancethey needed. You were in the early stages of a nasty respiratoryinfection."
"An unpleasantness that would have hampered me rather badly."
"That's the understatement of the year! Well, if you agree it won't betoo useful, maybe we'd better drop it and get on with the darlas andshield training. I can always go into medicine later, when we aren'tpushed for time."
"I must agree. Healing will probably be most valuable, but it ishardly something useful in combat. Fortunately, it is also not ahindrance."
* * * * *
"No, Jim, no! That was painful, too strong." Corina shook her head,half in reproof and half to clear her mind. It was getting late, thetraining session lasting well beyond what the Order consideredreasonable, but both wanted to keep going as long as possible. Still,Corina thought, his control was getting worse rather than better; theyshould finish up soon, then eat and rest. "That snake image is far toopowerful for a stun effect. You must visualize something else. Andyou must also visualize with more consistency, as the power you exertis directly proportional to the clarity of your image."
"I'm sorry, Rina," Medart apologized. "You were right, though. Thetechnique was easy, but the control damnsure isn't. Do you think I'llever get the hang of it?"
"Of course you will," she replied. "Remember, it took me four years toreach my present degree of control, but I was being trained by thetraditional methods. It took me a quarter of a year to achieve whatyou have managed in two days, with this compressed training. Youshould be as pleased with your progress as I am, not discouraged."
"Three months, hmm? Then I guess I don't feel so bad."
"That is good. I only hope we have the four to eight days I estimated,even as quickly as you are learning. By then you should be able toconsistently come close to the effect you intend, and can begin workingwith the volunteers."
&nbs
p; "Yeah, me too. I have a lot to learn."
"Do not let it worry you. Despite my studies under Thark himself, Istill do not have the control I should. Ideally I should be able tostun someone for a given length of time, plus or minus not more than aminute, regardless of the other's strength or mind pattern. I am noteven close to that; plus or minus three minutes is the best I have beenable to manage."
"That sounds good to me!"
"It is not bad," Corina agreed, "but it is not what I am supposed to becapable of. That is always the goal, working up to your ownpotential."
Medart nodded. "I can understand that. What next?"
"Next," Corina said, getting to her feet, "we eat and rest. Those areas important to your progress as the training itself."