"Yes--it's beside the phone Captain Odeon is using. If you can, please also find out how soon Ranger Medart will be arriving, and ask that he be informed I have been named sole negotiator for the Kingdom Systems." 27. Interim DeLayne's call was fruitful, more quickly than Cortin had expected. As soon as he identified himself, he was transferred to Ranger Medart. Cortin studied him while DeLayne reported. She'd seen photos of the Ranger before, but that had been before she had any expectation of meeting him, or having her society's future depending on how she dealt with him. But now everything about him was meaningful. Except for some graying around his temples, he looked young--normal for an Imperial officer, with the anti-aging treatments they got. But there was something in his bearing that made it obvious he was no innocent, even if she hadn't been acquainted, however vaguely, with his handling of the Sandeman annexation. He was, she decided, the sort of man she could respect--which meant she'd have to be careful not to let that feeling hinder her judgement during the negotiations. She frowned when Medart, informed she'd been named negotiator, asked if she were available--long-distance negotiations didn't strike her as a good idea--but when Delayne replied that she was, she had no choice but to go to the ultrawave. "I am Colonel Cortin." "Ranger James Medart," the man on the screen replied. "Pleased to meet you, Colonel. I'm also pleased to hear you'll be the one I'll be talking to. Do you have any objection to Captain DeLayne and his crew acting as Special Liaison until I get there?" "I would appreciate their assistance, though I am not sure what you mean by Special Liaison." "In this case, a demonstration of what Imperials are really like," Medart said. "Maybe by the time I get there, you'll have decided we aren't the sort of monsters you've apparently been taught." "That is possible," Cortin said. "I gather you do not intend to carry out our discussions long-distance?" "No." Medart grinned. "All our experience says long-distance negotiations are much less productive than face-to-face ones, especially something that looks like it might be tricky--such as working with a culture I know nothing about. So I don't plan on anything except this type of talk, and that only if you insist; I prefer to get my data in person. If there's anything you think I can do to help, of course, don't hesitate, but I won't be able to go beyond advice. Unfortunately, even an IBC can't go over three lights per hour, and I'm over five hundred hours away." Roughly three weeks, Cortin calculated. "I should be able to manage for that time; if not, I am the wrong person for this job. Until your arrival, then." "Agreed. Medart out." Cortin looked around, spotted one of her team and a couple of the Imperials watching TV, what looked like a news special. "Chuck!" she called. "What's up?"