her Marine officers.

There was noticeable tension in the room when Corina called the
briefing to order. They already knew the basic situation; she could go
directly to the assault itself. "I will be making assignments based
solely on shield strength, as that is the only factor which will slow
the Seniors to any degree. Ranger Medart, Colonel Greggson, and I will
attempt to trace and confront Thark and his two chief lieutenants. I
would like the rest of you to spread throughout the Palace, to find and
eliminate as many of the others as you can. We will remain in touch as
necessary by wrist communicators, which will be issued as soon as we
are finished here.

"I have ordered a disruptor mounted on the lander we will be using.
Lieutenant DarLeras, Ranger Medart tells me you are a pilot; since we
do not have such a specialist, I would like you to fill that position
as well as the combat one you agreed to earlier. Will that cause you
any problem?"

"No, sir. It just means I prep before we leave, rather than during the
trip."

Medart sent Corina a mental wince. *Make sure your restraints are
tight. He took it easy on the way up because it was your first trip;
he wouldn't be concerned about comfort on a combat flight even if he
weren't battleprepped. Since he will be, we're going to have a rough
ride.*

*He is still the only pilot we have, and it will be to our advantage
for him to be prepped. He will have to take our limitations into
consideration, however.*

*He will, since that's good tactics, but that doesn't mean he'll be
gentle, especially if he has to do any dodging. Go on.*

"Unfortunately, Prowler will have to be destroyed to prevent its
weapons from being used against us. Since I expect the crew to remain
aboard, that means they will be killed. The others, Seniors and
Sanctioners, will be in the Palace, and we must expect immediate
opposition when we land."

"What kind of armament does Prowler have?" Greggson asked.

"When I was last aboard, approximately a week ago, it had medium-power
blasters. I believe its shields are standard for that class."

"Nothing a disruptor can't handle, then. It'd take more than a week to
mount heavy weapons."

"He would depend more on speed and secrecy, even so," Corina said. "He
wishes to take over; he will cause no more destruction than he must."

"What about personal weapons?" Nevan asked.

"The Seniors will depend on Talent. Sanctioners, however,