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."

She turned to Medart. "We had best start now. Our time is limited."

IX

In the shuttle heading for Sherwood Forest, Medart said, "I agree that
speed's important, so why not split up? We could cover the ship faster
that way."

"I do not think that would be wise, Jim." Corina was a little
uncomfortable with such familiarity, even in private and with the
knowledge from his memory that it was now proper for her, but she felt
she ought to accustom herself to it. "You cannot test a shield's
strength without using darlas, and you do not yet have the control to
do that safely." Getting brave, she chided herself. Making
suggestions to the Emperor, giving orders to a battle cruiser's
captain, and now telling a Ranger--a fellow Ranger, she reminded
herself--there was a thing he could not do.

Medart sensed her feelings and smiled to himself. Yeah, she had the
adaptability, all right. She'd definitely gained confidence since the
pattern rapport, which was good, and she was already showing the
self-possession it had taken him over a month to achieve, maybe from his
memories. That, he thought, was even better; she'd need every edge she
could get. "I can't argue," he said. "I certainly don't want a repeat
of the accident with you."

"Nor do I. If you were to overestimate a shield's strength, or
visualize too clearly, you could easily injure or kill its possessor.
You will test them, yes, but only when I am standing by to protect
them."

"That sounds reasonable."

They reached the ship's park a couple of minutes later, and encountered
several crewmembers as they walked through it. None, unf