A Matter of Honor: A Terran Empire novel

  SELECT

  It was the end of Test Week at the Academy, almost time for the resultsto be posted outside the cadet-candidates' dining hall, and all of themwere there waiting. The results determined the incoming cadets'initial standings, so James Medart was as eager--and asapprehensive--about them as any of the others.

  Promptly at 1300, the display board lit, and Medart skimmed the listfor the M's. He was confident he'd made it through the gruelingtests--though even at this point, about a quarter didn't--and he washoping for a good ranking. In the planet-wide testing, he'd rated #1.That was good enough to get him to the main Academy at the Palace Complexbut everyone here had scored high on their home worlds; he wouldn't betoo disappointed, he told himself, as long as he made the top quarter.

  When he found his name, though, it was all he could to to hold back awhoop of delight. He'd made #1 again, even in this picked group! Itwas Cadet Medart now, no longer Cadet-Candidate, #1 of the Class of2516! At least, he cautioned himself, until regular academic rankingsstarted coming out. Then he'd be working hard to keep his rating, withthe rest working equally hard to take it over--but for today, comingthrough Test Week on top was plenty of grounds for satisfaction.

  The new cadets spent some time congratulating each other andcommiserating with those who'd be going to branch Academies instead,then the group broke up to pack. This afternoon was theoretically freetime, but the new cadets were anxious to move to the Academy proper,the others to leave the scene of their disappointment, so within halfan hour Medart was back in his room.

  He packed automatically, his mind busy. He was relieved to have TestWeek behind him, still excited by his ranking, and trying for what feltlike the millionth time to decide on his third major when there was aknock on the door. He called, "Come in," expecting to see one of hisclassmates or an upperclasswen, when he finished closing his carryalland turned around.

  The woman standing in front of the again-closed door was neither, andMedart couldn't help staring at her in shock. Outside the PalaceComplex no ordinary Imperial citizen, and very few nobles or officers,could reasonably expect to see one of these people in the flesh. Hetried to regain control, but when the woman said, "Cadet Medart?" allhe could manage was a nod.

  The woman smiled. "I'm sorry for the shock, Cadet. I'm Ranger ArlenePerry. Do you have a few minutes to spare?"

  This time Medart managed to find his voice, though it was a littleshaky. "Yes, sir, of course." Dear gods, he thought numbly, anImperial Ranger. There were only ten in the entire Terran Empire, andone had come looking for him. That was astonishing in itself--and ifcadet rumor was right about the reason for such a visit, it was alsointimidating.

  To his surprise, Perry chuckled. That wasn't the sort of thing he'dexpected from one of His Majesty's personal representatives--it was tooordinary. So was her grin when she said, "I gather from your reactionthat you've heard the rumors about a post-Test Week visit from one ofus."

  Medart nodded. From Perry's tone and expression, she was trying togive him time to adjust, but he wasn't sure that would help.

  "The rumor's absolutely true," Perry said. "What do you think?"

  His first impulse was to say she must be either joking or crazy, but heknew better, and that kept him from answering right away. Of coursehe'd had the usual daydreams of himself in the forest green uniform andplatinum badge, but he'd never seriously thought of himself as one ofthis premier elite. He didn't feel qualified, and the idea of takingon a Ranger's tremendous responsibilities terrified him. The authorityand prerogatives were tempting--dear gods, who wouldn't want to beImperial royalty, with unlimited money and power?--but it was theresponsibilities that were his primary concern. A military officer'smistake could endanger a ship, maybe a fleet at the worst; a Ranger'smistake could endanger anything from a world or system all the way tothe Empire itself. That was easily intimidating enough for him to wantto turn Perry down flat. It wasn't at all the sort of thing he caredto have on his conscience.

  After several minutes, he shook his head. "That's very flattering,sir, but you have the wrong person. I don't think I have what it takesto handle that kind of power."

  Perry chuckled. "The classic answer. Jim, all your test results werefed into the Empire Net and analyzed. The comps saw you had the kindof profile we're interested in, so the Net kicked your records up tothe closest Ranger, who happened to be me. I agreed, so I brought themto His Majesty's attention. He agreed, so I'm here. Care to arguethat combination?"

  Medart took a deep breath. "With all due respect, sir, I don't haveany choice, since I can't agree. I think I know myself pretty well;I'd make a good Navy officer, maybe even captain of a battle cruiser--but not a Ranger."

  Perry sat down on Medart's bed, next to the carryall. "Good. Believeit or not, Jim, that's exactly the response we were hoping for. If youdid want the job, thought right away you could handle it, you'd be anarrogant fool--and you'd have disqualified yourself, even this late. Iknow it's hard to understand that feeling unqualified is part of whatmakes you qualified, but history proves that in most cases, people whowant power are the last ones who should have it. There are a fewexceptions, of course, but we're talking about the vast majority.

  "What we want are people who have the necessary ability and areasonable amount of ambition, but who aren't interested in power forthe sake of power itself. It's a delicate balance, and we may misssome who qualify because we prefer to take no chances on power-hunger--but you can be positive that if you are tapped, you do qualify."

  Medart hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. He knew as well as anyonethat the Empire was chronically short of Rangers. There were neverenough, even when there were more than the average of ten. It was alsocommon knowledge that however few there were, the selection criteria--whatever those were--were never lowered. They might be, and had been,raised; the opposite, never. So however unqualified he felt, he couldbe positive, as she said, that he was in fact fully qualified.

  And he'd applied for the Academy because, as far back as he couldremember, his goal in life had been to serve the Empire to the best ofhis ability. Until Perry had entered his life, he'd thought that meantthe military, like the rest of his family. Now he was told there was afar more essential service the Empire wanted of him. That, he thought,had to take precedence over his fear of the responsibility--and theymust have known he'd feel that way.

  "In that case, sir--it scares me more than I want to admit, but if youand His Majesty want me for the job, I have to try." He hesitated,then said, "Which you probably knew, from my psych tests, before Idid."

  Perry's smile was relieved. "We hoped, and we thought the odds weregood--but we didn't know. Good as the indicators are, we do have somerefusals. Welcome to Imperial service, Ranger Medart."

  Ranger Medart. The idea still scared him, but he had to admit he didlike the way it sounded. "Thank you . . . uh, what do I call you now?"

  "Arlene in private, Ranger Perry in public. And His Majesty is `sir'to you now, not `sire'." She grinned. "I think civvies would be moreappropriate than probationary-cadet clothing, and I have a sidearm foryou outside the door. His Majesty will give you your badge when we getto the Palace. Okay?"

  "Uh, yes, of course. Isn't there some sort of oath or something?"

  "You don't need it. There'll be a confirmation ceremony after yourinitial leave, emergencies permitting--but the fealty oath you'll takethere is for the public, not for yourself."

  * * * * *

  Medart was a little disappointed that Perry's uniform was hidden by acloak when he got changed and left his room, and that the trip to thePalace was in an unmarked car, but she explained that was simply togive him enough private time to notify his family of his selectionpersonally before His Majesty made the official announcement. "Takeadvantage of privacy whenever you get the chance," she advised. "Youwon't get it often, especially at first--and you'll want to makearrangements for SecuDiv to protect your
family from the morepersistent newsies, at least until the novelty of your selection wearsoff."

  "I hadn't thought about newsies," Medart admitted. "In fact, there'sprobably a lot I'm not thinking of right now."

  "Very probably--and that's another reason for initial leave. Adaptableas we have to be, it's quite a shock going from cadet-candidate toRanger; it'll take you a couple of days to get back to normal. So theroutine is to meet the Sovereign, then go home until you're satisfiedyour family is taken care of and you're ready to face the media. Thenyou spend a year or two in OJT with another Ranger--me, in this case--and then you pick your ship and start your solo missions."

  A year or two didn't sound like much, considering the variety ofsituations a Ranger got involved in, but Medart nodded. "I understand.And I'll have to do things like get a comm implant--take care of allthat sort of detail before I go on duty officially."

  "That's best," Perry agreed, "though if we were rushed, or you thoughtit best to go public right away, those could be handled later. If youwant a comm implant, though, I can arrange for that as soon as youraudience is over."

  "I don't exactly want one, but I thought they were required."

  Perry chuckled. "His Majesty leaves that up to us. The only surgerywe're required to undergo is what's medically necessary. I think animplant is a good idea, and I'd strongly recommend it, but no, it's notrequired. There are a couple of us who chose not to have them."

  "I think I'll take your recommendation," Medart said. "Though it maynot be too much use outside the System, since I can't carry anultrawave unit around with me."

  "True, but it'll still provide you a direct link to your ship, or toany planetary comp or military base you're within radio range of, andif necessary you can link to the Empire Net through one of those--though it's usually easier, if you have to contact it, to just use thenormal communicators. Want me to set up the implant for you?"

  "Please."

  * * * * *

  They arrived at the Palace's private entrance not long after Perryfinished making the arrangements, and she escorted Medart to EmperorYasunon's working office, down a wide corridor to a door that wasdecorated with the Imperial Seal and flanked by two Palace Guardofficers who came to attention as they approached. "Rangers Perry andMedart to see His Majesty," she told them.

  "He's expecting you, sirs." The senior opened the door, and Perry,grinning, gestured Medart through first.

  He had seen the Emperor's picture any number of times, on everythingfrom holo-news to currency, so the chubby, balding man was nosurprise--but His Majesty's obvious enthusiasm was. The Emperor camearound his desk and grasped both of Medart's hands, smiling widely."Ranger James Medart! You're the best thing that's happened to me inyears."

  "I'm flattered to hear that, Your Majesty." Almost as flattered as hewas stunned by the unexpected greeting.

  Yasunon released his hands and reached into a compartment on his belt--hewas wearing a Ranger's uniform, with the Imperial Seal--and pinnedthe star-in-circle badge to Medart's tunic, then repeated Perry'sgreeting. "Welcome to Imperial service, Ranger Medart."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." Medart felt a surge of deep emotions hecouldn't identify, except for the determination to do everything in hispower to justify their faith in him. He still had doubts of hisability to do that, but the badge's weight on his chest left him withno doubts that he'd try. "As soon as I make the arrangements for myfamily that Ranger Perry suggested, I'd like to start work."

  "Since you're from Terra, that shouldn't be too long," Yasunon said."I should start preparations for your confirmation, since there don'tseem to be any situations nearing the critical point; how long wouldyou like?"

  "A week should be more than enough," Medart said, after a moment'sthought. "I'll need a ride to the airport near my home, then I'll haveto borrow a car to get the rest of the way."

  "No problem," the Emperor said, a smile starting to grow. "Thearrangements have already been made; a lander's waiting to take you tothe airport, and a Texas Ranger car will be waiting for you there."

  Medart was surprised for a second, then he chuckled. "I like YourMajesty's sense of humor."

  "What can you expect when Emperor Chang set it up this way?" Yasunonwas smiling widely. "It's one of the requirements."