Medart shifted his position in bed, her memory-feelings enough to push
him out of that dream but not waken him. He soon slid into another
one, rather patchy at first. Her first meeting with Thark, High Adept
of the White Order, who was impressed and pleased by a Talent she
wasn't sure she was happy to have since it had cost her the future she
dreamed of. There were later memories of them together; after she had
forced her regret into the background, they had developed a profound
regard and respect for each other, though much of it was hidden by
their formal teacher-student relationship.
Then came their breakup, in full detail. Medart experienced it all,
from the friendly greeting and Thark's comments on her ability, through
her discovery of the Crusade and her rejection of it, to their
declaration of mutual enmity. Outwardly quiet though that had been, it
had enough of an emotional charge to awaken the Ranger.
A glance at his chrono showed 0405. Too late, the way he felt, to go
back to sleep, so he rose, showered, and dressed. Then he sent a
tentative inquiry. *You awake?*
*Yes.* Hopefully, *Would you care to join me?*
*You bet. I'll be right there.*
He was soon seated in one of the armchairs in her cabin, balancing a
steaming cup of coffee on its arm. Corina still sat at the desk,
sipping at her second glass of milk.
"That was quite an experience," Medart finally said. "Especially that
last meeting with Thark."
"And your feelings when His Majesty pinned your badge on. It is
strange, is it not, how a small piece of metal can mean so much?"
She was skirting the subject, and both knew it, but Medart went along.
Patience now, he felt, would pay off later.
"There's an ancient Terran proverb," he said, "that clothes make the
man. It isn't literally true, of course, and the badge certainly
doesn't have any intrinsic power, but humans are very strongly affected
by symbols. This one," he tapped the badge on his chest, "can trace
its history back to before the Empire, even back before atomic energy.
It's meant official authority in one form or another since at least the
second century pre-atomic, and for centuries before that--maybe
longer--it was believed to be a particularly powerful magical symbol."
Corina nodded, appreciating his intent as well as his explanation. "I
think I understand, though clothes are relatively new to us, and
symbols of that sort affect us far less strongly." She smoothed her
kilt. "What you wear affects the way others act toward you, but does
it not also affect your own feelings?"
Medart nodded, but remained silent as he sensed her growing
comprehension.
"That, then, is why you and the others wish me to face Thark as a
Ranger. The added psychological advantage."
"Yes, partly," Medart said. "You do have the ability--compare yourself
to me when I was tapped, if you still have doubts--and the uniform and
badge will give you the extra edge of confidence you need to use that
ability fully. The other part is the way seeing you as a Ranger will
affect Thark, since his main grievance--aside from our supposed lack of
Talent--is the real lack of high-ranking Irschschan Imperial officers."
"The second is certainly true. The first . . ." Corina fell silent,
retracing her borrowed memories to Medart's first meeting with Perry.
She ignored the surface this time through, digging for the deeper
memories, and those confirmed Medart's words. Their specific abilities
differed, but the general level was approximately the same. And
despite mistakes he thought of as idiotic--she winced at the recurring
thought of that Traiti deception--he had done well.
"None of us is perfect," he said mildly. "We're mortals, not gods, and
we've all made mistakes."
"Yes, I see that," she said at last. "Your memories are most
convincing." She paused, took a deep breath, then nodded. "Very well,
Ranger Medart. I accept the burden."
Medart seemed to relax all over, though he hadn't seemed particularly
tense. "As Arlene said, none of us asked for this job. Anyone who did
would be the sort we wouldn't want. And it does have compensations,
you know, both social and financial; you'll learn about those as you
go. And remember we're not the only ones with a lot of confidence in
your ability; Thark knew you could handle being a member of the Prime
Chapter, though he had his aims for you set too low. Okay, let's make
it official. Emperor Chang?"
"Yes, Ranger Medart?"
"Formal voiceprint confirmation for Empire Net ident and security
input. This is Ranger James Kieran Medart, ident code RJT-6743-5197."
There was a brief pause, then the ship-comp said, "Voiceprint
confirmed. Awaiting input."
"Change ident code ISCCJ-1643-2048 to RCJ-1643-2048. Delete all
security restrictions from the individual identified by that code, and
relay to any peripherals that Corina Losinj of Irschcha has been
selected as a Ranger."
"Acknowledged. Request formal voiceprint from Ranger Losinj."