Shield's Lady

generation of Shields. The odds were against finding suitable mates among this strange group of humans. They faced the fact that they would die in exile and there would be no offspring.”
    “But some of the stranded Shields found wives among the First Generation colonists.”
    “Yes. Your people were grateful to ours. But they were also bound by a very rigid social structure. If my people were to survive, they had to create a legitimate place for themselves within that structure.”
    “Hence the First Generation Pact was negotiated.”
    “And we have abided by the terms of the Pact,” he stated proudly.
    “Tell me something. What makes the Avylyns’ precious cutter Shield business?” Sariana asked abruptly.
    Startled by the change in subject, Gryph frowned. He wondered why she wasn’t asking him more detailed questions about his people. “The cutter wasn’t stolen by a rival jewelers’ clan, Sariana. And if someone didn’t need it to make prisma jewelry, there’s only one other use for it.”
    “To cut prisma.”
    “Exactly. That means another crystal ship has been found. But there is something else that bothers me even more than that.”
    She gave him a curious glance. “What is that?”
    “Everyone in the western provinces knows the danger of the crystal ships. The last thing any sane or even any crazy westerner would do is try to get into one on his own.” Gryph drew in a deep breath. “But it’s just barely possible an insane Shield might attempt it.”
    Sariana’s eyes widened. “Why?”
    “Because a Shield is the only one who would know that it’s theoretically possible to do something else besides jam the crystal frequencies and destroy the weapons on board the ships.”
    “What else can be done, Gryph?”
    “Some of my people have speculated that it’s just barely possible a Shield could manipulate the light frequencies of the crystal instead of jamming them. And if he could manipulate them, he might possibly be able to control the weapons.”
    Sariana stared at him. “He could use them? Turn them against others?”
    “It’s only a theory, Sariana. It’s never been attempted, at least as far as we know. Certainly it hasn’t been tried on Windarra. We Shields have been extremely careful to keep the theory to ourselves. No outsider has ever been told.”
    “I’m an outsider, aren’t I?” she challenged.
    “No,” Gryph said. “Not any longer. You’re a Shieldmate. My Shieldmate. You are entitled to know the secrets of my social class.”
    “Even if I’d rather not know them?” She looked wistfully out across the river.
    “You’re the kind of woman who ultimately prefers to face facts. You may waste a lot of energy trying to bend those facts to suit your fancy, but eventually you do face them. This secret I am telling you is a fact. And it’s a fact that a rogue Shield may have stolen the cutter because he’s discovered a crystal ship and has decided to see if he can get inside to control the power of the weapons for his own purposes.”
    “Why haven’t you told anyone else about this?”
    “I told Delek. He’s sending for backup support from the frontier provinces, but it will be a long time coming. I’m not sure we have that much time. He and I decided I’d better start the search for the ship now and let the others catch up with me.”
    “You could ask for help from my people,” she pointed out stubbornly.
    “Sariana,” he said as patiently as he could, “the other social classes must never know that such a thing as controlling the weapons is even theoretically possible for a Shield.”
    “Why not?”
    “Use your head! My people are a very small minority among yours. We’re tolerated because we have a history of having helped the colonists and because we’re useful as mercenaries and bandit hunters. We are also tolerated because we’ve always abided by the terms of the Pact. People trust us.”
    “In other words, you have been tolerated because you are seen as loyal warriors, not a potential threat,” she concluded.
    “What do you think would happen if it became known that a Shield might be able to use the power of the crystal ships to control everyone on this planet?”
    Sariana took a long time mulling that one over. “I see your point,” she admitted finally. “You walk a narrow line, don’t you, Gryph? You must keep people in awe of you if you are to maintain your secrets, yet you can’t risk having the populace learn to fear you. If