"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 identity from the shield pattern, but even
then, not the location. The `finding' aspect of my Talent,
unfortunately, is limited to inanimate objects."