Free Scout's Progress by Steve Miller, Sharon Lee

"Profit?"

    "Bound to be a cantra or two left over," he said, looking around the gleaming playground. "Some of the toys are speciality items, and those mirrors haven't gotten any cheaper."

    "Oh," Aelliana said, feeling rather adrift. She inclined her head formally. "Thank you, sir. I accept your deal."

    "Well enough, then." He waved her out ahead of him.

    "Will you be starting to work her at once?" he asked as they went back down the companionway.

    "At once? I—I must take the piloting exam," Aelliana said, slowly. "And—flight time. . ."

    There was a slight sound from behind her, as if Master dea'Cort had sneezed.

    "You haven't—forgive me. I understand you to say that you have no piloting license."

    "Not at the moment," she said, "but I shall be taking the exam—I have classes tomorrow . . . I shall take the exam on Banim. Second class is required to lift Class A locally, sir, is that correct?"

    "Correct."

    They had reached the dispensary. Aelliana paused, staring down into the 'doc's opaque hood.

    "I shall acquire a second class, then," she said, feeling necessity like a stone in her gut. "I will work this ship."

    "I don't doubt it," Jon dea'Cort said from beside her. "If you wish, I can test you, or one of my crew. We're all of us master class, as I said. Or you can call ahead to the Pilot's Guild in Chonselta and be sure they can accommodate you on Banim."

    "I believe that will be best," she said, still staring down into the darkness.

    "I'll call them now," he said, "while you use the unit here."

    She turned sharply. "Use the unit?"

    "No sense leaving that untreated when you've the means to mend it," he said, tapping his own wrist. "It's a rare wonder how those little things can eat away at your concentration." He moved down the hall. "I'll just get Chonselta Guild on the line. . ."

    He was gone. Aelliana looked down at the bruises circling her wrist. They seemed more vivid now than they had, hours earlier, outside of Quenpalt's Casino. And, now that she was reminded of them, they did ache.

    Well, she thought, with a flash of amused irritation, she was here and the autodoc was here. At the very least, mending the hurt would put a stop to all this rather embarrassing solicitude.

    So thinking, she tapped the proper code into the 'doc, rolled back her sleeve and slid the wrist through the open hood.

CHAPTER EIGHT
 
What's in a name? That which we call a rose

    By any other name would smell as sweet.

    —From Romeo and Juliet, Act ii, Scene 2 William Shakespeare

    VIN SIN CHEL'MARA was not a man accustomed to his delm's close attention. Most especially, he was unaccustomed to the felicity of receiving such attention during his rather belated breakfast.

    "How pleasant it must be," Aragon murmured politely, as tea was poured and set before him, "to sleep so far into the day that one may dispose of noon meal and waking meal in one repast. I quite admire the efficiency of such an arrangement."

    Since this particular arrangement had been in force for a number of years without awaking the delm's displeasure, his comment now was doubtless prologue to some other, less amiable, subject. chel'Mara inclined his head, as one acknowledging a pleasantry, and poured himself a second glass of wine.

    "The single difficulty I detect in such a system," Aragon pursued, "is that it opens one to disadvantage in the matter of collecting rumor and anecdote—vital work, as I am certain you will agree. For an instance, I had today from Delm Guayar an entirely amusing anecdote out of Chonselta, of all places. Had I adopted your strategy of late sleeping, rather than rising early to attend Lady yo'Lanna's breakfast gather, I should have failed of harvesting this amusing—and instructive—tit-bit."

    The chel'Mara schooled his face to calmness; deliberately raised his glass and sipped.

    "You are behindhand, Vin Sin," his delm chided softly. "Good manners dictate you allow me the pleasure of imparting my