And quickly sixty of Robin Hood's men

his understanding smile began to replace the sadness in his eyes. So am I. Lars leaned forward to kiss her, gently at first and then with an urgency that showed Killashandra the depths of his apprehension for her. Then, with a spring in his step and a jaunty set to his shoulders, he went in search of food. Killashandra did have to endure the official apologies and insincere protestations of the Elders, all nine of them. She made the obligatory responses, consoling herself with the thought that their days were numbered, and she would shorten that number as much as possible. She pretended to be far weaker than she actually was, for once the symbiont began its work, her recovery was markedly swift. But, for official visits, she managed to assume the appearance of debility so that her convalescence had to be supervised by Nahia and Hauness, skilled medical practitioners that they were. This gave the conspirators ample time to plan an orderly and discreet exodus of people in jeopardy from Elderly tyrannies. Olav had smuggled his miniature detector unremarked into the Conservatory as a piece of Haunesss diagnostic equipment. At first they had been bitterly disappointed when it responded to Lars proximity, despite his pockets being full of white crystal shards. If Trag approached with Lars, the device remained silent, so Killashandras theory that crystal resonance confused the detector was correct. But her resonance was gone and, with the imminent arrival of the scout ship, there would be no chance for Trag to usher a few refugees past the security curtain at the shuttleport arch. Fortunately Lars also remembered that Killashandra had disrupted the monitors by singing the crystal fragments. These, resonating discordantly as the wearer hummed, fooled the detector. It was then only a matter of experimentation to discover just what quantity of crystal provided adequate shielding. Perfect pitch was actually a handicap, the more out-of-tune the note, the more the white crystal reacted, and deluded the detector. A week after the attack, Olav had no further excuse to stay at the Conservatory, and left, it was said, for the islands. He had been able to convince the Elders of his determination to send more islanders to the public concerts. Actually, he stayed in the City and made a few minor but important alterations to his appearance. The next day, he reported to Hauness and Nahia in Killashandras suite, bearing documents that proved him to be the qualified empath whom Hauness and Nahia had drafted from their hvl-f1000 digital camera flash clinic to attend Killashandra. Now that Killashandra was recovering, they wished to return to their other patients in Ironwood. Nahias the one who ought to be leaving, Lars had bitterly objected. Shes the most vulnerable of us all. No, Lars, Trag had said. She is needed here, and she needs to be here for reasons which you might not understand but for which I esteem her. Trags unstinted approval of the woman did much to placate Lars but he told Killashandra that, in leaving, he keenly felt himself the traitor. Then come back with the Revision Force, she said, more than a little irritated by Larss self-reproach on this and other issues. She immediately regretted the suggestion at the look of relief in Larss face. But it was a solution which could resolve many of Larss doubts, especially when she knew he loved his home world and would be happy enough sailing the Pearl Fisher around the islands. She was somewhat relieved that Lars would be happy on Optheria once the government had been changed. The Federation will need people with leadership potential. Trag says it usually takes a full decade before a new provisional government is appointed, much less ratified by the Federation. You might even end up a bureaucrat. Lars snorted derisively. Thats the most unlikely notion youve had. Not that I wouldnt like to get back here unprejudiced. Id like to make sure the change is going to be beneficial. And ensure that you had official permission to sail about in your beloved islands. She managed to keep the bitterness out of her voice for she could think of many things that a man with Larss abilities and talents could do, once free to move about the galaxy. It rankled that her body was not sufficiently mended to add that argument to verbal ones. Lars was treating her as if she were fragile. He was gentle and affectionate. His caresses, though frequent, were undemanding, leaving her frustrated. He was so solicitous of her comfort that she was frequently tempted to wreak a bit of violence on him. Although her jagged, red scars looked more painful than they were, a lover as considerate as Lars had always been would be reluctant to approach her. The symbiont couldnt work fast enough for her. But would it have repaired her before the scout ship brought them to the Regulus Federation Base? She tried to overcome her desire for Lars and to ignore the fact that time was running out for them both. It was too soon and not soon enough when Mirbethan communicated the