tive use of what he put me through. My studies are
helping, too, but . . ." He shook his head. "I'm not back to normal,
no."

"Close enough for unity? I'm still convinced that's what you need."

Odeon thought for a moment, then shook his head again. "No, I don't
think so. I'd like it, but I'm still afraid of touching you. Give me
another day or two of Tangerine and studies, though, and I think I'll
be okay."

Cortin looked at him curiously. "Really? A kitten and studying the
place our ancestors fled from seem like odd therapy. On the other
hand, I'm not about to argue with anything that works."

"Truth to tell, I'm surprised how much the studies, especially, do
help." Odeon rubbed the scar across his lips, unsure of himself. "I'm
just scratching the surface, of course--can't do much else with nothing
but comm intercepts and what's left of the records the Founders
kept--but even this early, I'm starting to develop respect for the
Imperials. Maybe a little bit of liking, too."

Cortin's expression became quizzical. "That's pretty fast, isn't it?
Especially for you?"

"Faster than I'd expect, yeah." Odeon paused, frowning. "I'm not even
as upset as I was yesterday about the Protector maybe coming from
there."

Cortin grinned. "I'd be looking forward to contact instead of it
scaring me if I could believe that; at least then I'd know for sure it
couldn't possibly be me. And the Empire'd be less likely to attack us
if one of their own became our ruler. Did those ambiguous prophecies
Ivan mentioned say anything about the Protector's relationship to the
Great King?"

"Nothing I could make any sense out of, though Ivan might be able to.
Unfortunately--for me; fortunately for him--Shayan never touched his
mind, so I won't be able to check with him till he gets back from
Archangel. As for the Empire attacking us--" Odeon smiled briefly, "I
don't think I'd waste time worrying about it. They've got a whole new
Sector full of non-humans to cope with, as of three years ago; I can't
see them wasting resources on a mere dozen planets."

"If Ivan's right, we'll find out soon enough, and frankly, that's a
subject I'd rather avoid as long as possible. What's the verdict on
Miss Blackfeather?"

"About what he said," Odeon replied. "She's in shock right now, but I
got the feeling she's pretty resilient; she should be settled down in a
few hours. And she's basically a good person; outside his compulsions,