The Columbus left as soon as Medart's ship, the Empress Lindner,
entered orbit. Battle cruisers were far too large to land in a gravity
field as strong as St. Thomas', so he came down in one of the bus-sized
landers along with a single pilot/bodyguard. There was none of the
pomp or ceremony Cortin would have expected when royalty from one realm
visited another, but Colonel Bradford had decided to leave the Strike
Force troops in place because of the Brotherhood, so she was able to
have a proper military formation, at least. The Ranger had asked for
informality, though, so she and Odeon were the only ones who approached
to greet him when he emerged from the lander, followed by his
bodyguard. They exchanged introductions, and Medart confirmed Cortin's
guess that the small, dark-skinned blond was indeed one of the
genetically engineered Sandeman warriors, Lieutenant Keith DarElwyn.
"I thought it might reassure you," Medart said, "if I brought along one
of the people we were able to make friends with thirty years ago. I've
got Traiti aboard as well, but I don't think you're quite ready for
them." Cortin, he thought, was more impressive in person than on
screen. She was medium height and build, with straight brown hair not
quite shoulder length, wearing a gray uniform with wide-brimmed
hat--but it was her eyes that struck him. They were a light brown,
with pupils that seemed blacker than space, making them seem to look
through you.
Even though he was familiar with Odeon from DeLayne's tapes, he found
the scar-faced man more impressive in person, as well. He was a good
twenty-five centis taller than his commander, strongly built without
looking like a weight-lifter--and the nasty-looking scar that cut
across his right cheek down across his mouth and into his chin seemed
more a distinction than a disfigurement. Both officers reminded Medart
irresistibly of predators, though he couldn't pinpoint the reason . . .
maybe that neither seemed to have any softness about @.
It had become almost a reflex for Medart to do a quick mental scan of
anyone he met, and under the circumstances, he would've scanned Cortin
and Odeon anyway. Mike Odeon was average, with no mind-screen or
perceptible Talent other than very minor telepathy, but Cortin was an
entirely different story. She had an incredible degree of Talent
latent, though it wasn't like any he'd felt before. Still, three and a
half years of experience didn't make him an expert in Talent
varieties--especially human ones, since that had been discovered only
the same three and a half years ago. Her mind-shield had a potential
strength even greater than a Sandeman warrior's, though she wasn't
using it. She also had a strong telepathic potential, of which she was
using a small, untrained portion--and there was another aspect, one he
hadn't encountered before, that it felt like she was using fully,
though unconsciously. It was a good thing, Medart thought, that he
seemed to be immune to that particular aspect. His focus had to remain
on the Empire as a whole; he couldn't afford--and had no desire--to
fall in love. He was less sure about Keith's immunity, though; even in
this brief a time, he could sense a sort of mellowing. He'd have to
keep an eye on that, he thought; if Cortin could affect a Sandeman,
even one of the rare unshielded warriors like Keith, it might be risky
letting her around too many Imperials. On the other hand . . . He
made a mental note to contact DeLayne when he was alone, and find out
what effect she'd had on the Columbus' captain and crew. Probably
none, since he hadn't said anything about it, but best to double-check.
Cortin nodded to the Sandeman. "It would be interesting to get his
reactions to the Empire first-hand."