Medart hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. He knew as well as anyone that the Empire was chronically short of Rangers. There were never enough, even when there were more than the average of ten. It was also common 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 could be positive, as she said, that he was in fact fully qualified. And he'd applied for the Academy because, as far back as he could remember, his goal in life had been to serve the Empire to the best of his ability. Until Perry had entered his life, he'd thought that meant the military, like the rest of his family. Now he was told there was a far more essential service the Empire wanted of him. That, he thought, had to take precedence over his fear of the responsibility--and they must have known he'd feel that way. "In that case, sir--it scares me more than I want to admit, but if you and His Majesty want me for the job, I have to try." He hesitated, then said, "Which you probably knew, from my psych tests, before I did." Perry's smile was relieved. "We hoped, and we thought the odds were good--but we didn't know. Good as the indicators are, we do have some refusals. Welcome to Imperial service, Ranger Medart." Ranger Medart. The idea still scared him, but he had to admit he did like 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 more appropriate than probationary-cadet clothing, and I have a sidearm for you outside the door. His Majesty will give you your badge when we get to 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 your initial leave, emergencies permitting--but the fealty oath you'll take there is for the public, not for yourself." * * * * * Medart was a little disappointed that Perry's uniform was hidden by a cloak when he got changed and left his room, and that the trip to the Palace was in an unmarked car, but she explained that was simply to give him enough private time to notify his family of his selection personally before His Majesty made the official announcement. "Take advantage of privacy whenever you get the chance," she advised. "You won't get it often, especially at first--and you'll want to make arrangements for SecuDiv to protect your family from the more persistent newsies, at least until the novelty of your selection wears off." "I hadn't thought about newsies," Medart admitted. "In fact, there's probably a lot I'm not thinking of right now."