Part 7 (1/2)

One began showing a sunlit disk, and she realized that had to be Ranger Medart's s.h.i.+p. Tiny-seeming at first, it grew rapidly, filling the lander's window and continuing to grow.

Corina's determination faltered. She had seen innumerable pictures of such vessels, knew their immensity--a Sovereign-cla.s.s battle cruiser was approximately spherical, a kilometer in diameter, and ma.s.sed on the close order of eight hundred million tons. But pictures and statistics couldn't convey the emotional impact of actually seeing one at close range for the first time. Corina swallowed an exclamation of awe, trying to remain calm, but she could feel Medart's gaze, and felt certain he knew how the s.h.i.+p affected her.

The lander surged slightly as it was gripped by a tractor beam from one of the Chang's equatorial hangars. Nevan released the controls, allowing the beam operator to settle the lander to the deck while hangar doors closed behind them. As soon as his gauges showed Terra-normal atmosphere, he opened the airlock and the group disembarked, with Medart in the lead and Corina trailing behind.

The hangar deck was large, much bigger than necessary for the lander it now held, yet Corina had a feeling of things closing in on her.

Precognition was no part of her Talent, though, so she attributed the sensation to her surroundings, familiar from pictures but strange in reality. She felt like a young, unbladed child again, everything around her seeming odd and alien in spite of her studies.

But this was her new reality, here aboard the Chang. She had no way to know how she would fit in yet, but she did know she would have to.

This s.h.i.+p was going to be home for however long the Ranger wanted her help; she would have to adapt.

When they left the hangar, they were met by a stocky officer in Navy working khaki; from the eagle on his collar, Corina knew he was the s.h.i.+p's captain. There were several others, with different rank insignia, but it was the first man who saluted Medart.

The Ranger returned the salute, then introduced them. ”Captain David Hobison, this is Ms. Corina Losinj. She will be accompanying us on this trip as my special a.s.sistant. She won't have any formal Navy rank, but I want her quartered in a senior officer's cabin, preferably near mine. Have someone see to that, bring the s.h.i.+p to Condition Yellow, then meet me in Briefing Room One. I have to call the Emperor, and I don't want to have to go through everything twice.”

He started to leave, then turned to Corina. ”Before I go, what's your ident code?”

”ISCCJ-1643-2048,” she replied.

”Got it.” Medart strode past the group and entered an intra-s.h.i.+p shuttle, one of several, partway down the pa.s.sage.

Hobison gave Corina a thoughtful look, then turned to one of the officers standing nearby. ”Ensign Yamata?”

A young female with a gold bar for collar insigne answered. ”Yes, sir?”

”You're a.s.signed to Ms. Losinj until further notice. Get her a cabin and anything else she needs. You're relieved of regular watch standing.”

”Yes, sir!” Yamata said with a wide smile. ”If you'll come with me, Ms. Losinj?”

Corina inclined her head. ”I appear to be in your hands, Ensign.”

”You might as well call me Sunbeam,” Yamata said as they left the group. ”Everyone else does, even Ranger Medart, except on watch. And you heard the Captain, I'm not standing watches any more, thanks to you. I really do mean thanks--I was supposed to go on rotating s.h.i.+fts tomorrow, instead of staying on first watch, and now I don't have to.”

She smiled again, even more widely.

Corina's ears twitched in surprise at the flood of words, but Sunbeam didn't seem to notice. ”All right, Sunbeam. What do we do first?”

That was something else she would have to get used to, Corina told herself. Humans were, by Irschchan standards, quite informal, sometimes to the point of appearing rude. But they did not intend offense, and she really ought to adapt to their ways, so she added, ”You may call me Corina.”

”Great! We find you a cabin, that's first, then we can eat, if you're as hungry as I am. C'mon, let's get a shuttle.”

That reminded Corina that she hadn't eaten since the previous night.

”I am hungry,” she agreed, as they entered one of the elevator-like cubicles that provided intra-s.h.i.+p transport. ”But what if Ranger Medart wants me for something?”

”That's right, he called you his special a.s.sistant. Don't worry about it, Chang handles the intra-s.h.i.+p communications.” The young Ensign spoke into thin air. ”Emperor Chang?”

A pleasant baritone voice replied. ”Yes, Ensign Yamata?”

”We have a VIP guest, Ms. Corina Losinj of Irschcha. Ranger Medart wants her a.s.signed a cabin near his. What's available?”