tor, then gestured him to a chair and sat
back down as Nevan took the seat. "Your note said you'd like to see me
about a personal matter, to be discussed under warrior privacy. What's
the problem?"

"It's not exactly a problem, sir, and I'm not quite sure how to
approach it, even with a battle-companion. You're familiar with our
custom of personal fealty."

That was a statement, not a question, but Medart nodded. "Very
familiar; I'm also battle-companion to Lord Klaes' 'na, Gaelan-Frederick
DarShona. Who are you planning on offering fealty to?" As if he
couldn't guess, he thought.

Nevan was relieved at the Ranger's calm response. "I would like to
serve Ranger Losinj, but she doesn't need an inexperienced young
officer, even a warrior. Since I've been given my choice of
assignments, I was hoping you'd help me pick one that will give me the
kind of experience she's likely to need. I'll just have to hope she
doesn't accept another 'na before I'm able to give her the kind of
service she needs."

Medart studied the young Sandeman for several moments. "I can do
that," he said at last. "But it's a type of work I think you'd find
distasteful, given your honesty, and given some of your cultural
conditioning, you could find the training for it intolerable. Your
psych profile, though, says you're adaptable enough that you could
accept both, given adequate motivation."

Nevan frowned. "I'm afraid I don't understand, sir. I don't know of
any Imperial job I would find distasteful, much less intolerable."

Medart chuckled. "Sure you do--it's covered at the Academy, though not
in great depth; the fact that you don't even like to think about it
proves my point. But if you can manage the training, I think you'd
make an outstanding field agent."

"Field agent!" Nevan couldn't help it; he grimaced in revulsion.
"Those are--" he hesitated, then decided even one of High War Speech's
worst insults wasn't too strong--"nekulturniy."

Medart grew serious. "Not at all, though I was sure you'd react that
way. Nevan, field agents have as much integrity as anyone else in
Imperial service, and they're necessary. Some investigations are
impossible to carry out openly--trying to find the Melgarie pirates'
base is a case in point. The only way it'll be found and destroyed,
other than by sheer accident, is by infiltration. If it could be done
openly, it's big enough it'd be a Ranger's job; since it can't, field
agents go i