"Let's go inside, then, and I'll introduce you to the rest of my
Family. Did Captain DeLayne brief you about the satyr plague?"
Medart chuckled. "And the Strike Force's . . . ah . . . 'enthusiastic
use of their dispensation' was how he phrased it. We've both been
immunized, just in case."
"Yes. Well, one of the social changes it triggered, and I helped bring
about, was an expanded family structure to allow for the variety it
makes you want, while still providing stability for the family itself,
particularly the children. Family Cortin began as Strike Force Team
Azrael, and most of it still is, though we've added a civilian wife. I
understand Sandemans have a strong privacy drive?"
"Very strong," Medart agreed. "Why?"
"Because Family behavior on the private floors can best be described as
uninhibited, particularly in the evening," Cortin said. "If open
sexuality disturbs him--either of you, for that matter--I'm not sure
what to do. You want to learn about us by living with us, and that's
part of our life. I certainly can't put one of your rank in a field
shelter!"
Medart chuckled. "It doesn't disturb me, but Keith would probably be
seriously embarrassed." He enjoyed it, in fact, any time he was on one
of the worlds where open sexuality was the norm--particularly where
outsiders were allowed or encouraged to participate. That was a
preference, though, that Sandemans definitely didn't share. He turned
to Keith. "Would you prefer staying in a shelter or the lander,
Lieutenant? With this many troops around us, I don't think I need a
full-time bodyguard."
"I would, thank you, sir. The lander, by preference."
"You will still eat with us, won't you?" Cortin asked. "We don't
generally relax to a degree that should make you uncomfortable until
after supper, and the ground floor is always formal."
"I intend no disrespect, Excellency. I will be honored to eat and
visit with you."
"Good. Let's go introduce you to my Family, then." As they entered
the Lodge and went upstairs to the common-room, she said, "To spare you
some confusion about our names: we're all Cortin, since Mike and
Sis--the senior spouses--wanted me as head of the Family and named it
after me. So Mike's full name is Michael Patrick Cortin-Odeon, but
around the Lodge or people who know us well, he's Mike or Captain
Odeon, depending on circumstances. Since he's also a priest, you'll
sometimes hear adults calling him Father, too."
They were in the living room by then, where the rest of Family Cortin
was waiting; she introduced them to the visitors. "Medic-Lieutenant
Eleanor Chang, otherwise known as Piety or Sis, the Family's senior
wife; Elizabeth Bain, our only non-military adult;
Communications-Lieutenant Joseph Pritchett, generally called Tiny;
Armorer-Lieutenant Anthony Degas; Demolitions-Lieutenant David Bain,
who's also a priest like Mike and myself, and my backup Inquisitor;
Lieutenant Charles Powell, who doesn't have a rated specialty but acts
as my secretary; and our children--legally my grandchildren, though I
can't have children of my own--Luke, Kateri, and George."
The two Imperials bowed slightly, and Medart did the honors on that
side. "I appreciate your hospitality," he said then. "Before Colonel
Cortin and I can do any productive negotiating, we have to get to know
each other and each other's cultures. You got a bit of a head start
with Columbus' crew, but I'm deliberately starting from scratch, except
for the little Captain Odeon gave Captain DeLayne."
"With first names," Cortin said, "since you're guests in our home;
formality's for the ground floor and below. Unless that's considered
rude in the Empire, which I doubt from the time Gwen spent with us."
"In the Empire it'd be undue familiarity from anyone except my parents,
other Rangers and the Sovereign, or the captain of my ship. But this
isn't the Empire, so we go by your customs, not ours; I'm Jim."
Cortin smiled. "Joan--maybe Joanie, if you feel like joining our
Family pleasures some evening." She sobered. "Now--I agreed to let
you observe me, and I won't go back on that. But I do have to warn you
that, based on people's reactions here, you'll probably find my work
extremely unpleasant. I know Mike didn't go into detail about it with
Captain DeLayne, because I told him not to." She paused, using the
brief silence for emphasis. "I'm an Inquisitor, Jim. Normally, that
would mean I question prisoners, and turn them over to a judge for
sentencing if the evidence warrants it. But I'm the High King's
Inquisitor, which means I deal only with capital crimes of the worst
type; by the time a criminal gets to me, he's either proven too
stubborn for other Inquisitors, or he's under sentence of prolonged
death. So far, only one of the prisoners remanded to me has left
Harmony Lodge alive, though with your help there may be a second."
"That," Medart said with considerable aversion, "sounds like you
torture people to death."
Cortin nodded. "If you restrict 'people' to 'heinous criminals',
you're absolutely right. I have never gone beyond first stage
interrogation--simple questioning--with an innocent, and truthsense
lets me be sure the ones I kill are guilty of the crimes they're sent
to me for." She smiled, grimly. "I don't even have to ask, since they
all protest their innocence."
"You said that if I help, a second prisoner may leave here alive. What
help do you need?"
"Your mind-probe, if it doesn't require the subject to answer
verbally." Cortin explained about her anomalous prisoner, then said,
"It's probably nothing significant, but I don't like it. I can't find
the Inquisitor who conducted the interrogation, and there are rumors
the judge who sent him here has ties to the Brotherhood. If he was
sent here under false pretenses, my prisoner should be freed and given
compensation, and the judge should take his place."
"The probe doesn't require verbal answers, no," Medart said. "And
since it may mean saving a life, I'll have a probe unit and operator
come down." He paused, considering. He could use telepathy to get the
answers she wanted, and her own--the small part she was calling
truthsense--would let her be sure he was reporting accurately. That
would be quicker than waiting for the probe; the question was whether
it would be wiser to reveal his Talent or not mention it at all.
Use it, he decided. Odeon had read about the White Order rebellion and
Corina's discovery of human Talent in Medart, then others; he might not
know the details, but he did know the basics, and it would be logical
to assume he'd passed the information along. "That'll take several
hours, though, and there's a faster way, if you want. I'm a fairly
powerful telepath; I can read his mind as well as a probe could, and
I'm already here."
It was Cortin's turn to hesitate. Mike had mentioned Talent, yes, and
had some telepathy himself, with anyone Shayan had mind-touched; the
idea wasn't that odd, really, and Medart's offer would save time.
Still--"Are you reading my mind?"
"No. I touched you briefly when we met, enough to learn you're not a
threat, though I did pick up a little other information. Otherwise I
seldom use it unless I'm invited or there's an emergency."
Her truthsense agreed, so Cortin nodded. "If an injustice is being
done, it should be corrected as soon as possible; I accept." She
turned to her people. "Mike, Dave--would you take that prisoner to my
first-stage room, please, while I give our guests a brief tour of the
dungeon?"
"Of course," Odeon replied. The two left, and Cortin turned back to
the Imperials.
"I was making an assumption perhaps I shouldn't," she said. "It's your
choice to accompany us or not, Lieutenant DarElwyn."