The crash must've been more realistic than he'd planned, Ranger EstebanTarlac thought groggily as he regained consciousness. His head hurtwhere something had hit it, and his body ached in a pattern thatmatched the crash webbing's. But at least one thing was goingaccording to plan: he'd obviously been captured by the rebels, since hewas hanging by his wrists with his arms stretched painfully apart—andonly the rebels, on this world, would be willing to risk treating aRanger with such hostility.
He blinked a couple of times, then got his feet under him andstraightened, taking the weight off his arms. A look around satisfiedhim that he was indeed a prisoner of the rebels—and on display in themiddle of their base. That detail hadn't been part of his plan, butshouldn't affect it adversely. Even from here, the base looked likethe large recreation area it supposedly was; if Tarlac hadn't beenfamiliar with sensor data that showed it was actually close to theequivalent of a planetary defense base, as far as equipmentwent—personnel were a different matter—he would have thought himselfat the main campfire site of a particularly prosperous commercial campingarea.
"So Your Highness finally decided to honor us by waking up."
Tarlac winced inwardly at the sarcasm in the man's voice. It was thefirst time since he'd become a Ranger that he'd experienced openhostility, though he'd known from the beginning that sooner or later hewould. He looked toward the voice, immediately recognizing the olderman as Lord Robert Kaplan, second child of Count Jonathan Kaplan andthe reported leader of this rebellion. "Your hospitality leavessomething to be desired, my Lord. I hope you're giving my pilot andbodyguards better treatment than you're giving me."
"In a manner of speaking," Lord Robert said. "They, at least, are inno discomfort."
"They're dead?"
"I'm afraid so," Lord Robert said. "Not that you would really care."
The rebel leader was mistaken there, Tarlac thought grimly. He didcare, very much, about the Navy pilot and the four Security DivisionMarines who had volunteered for the mission that had cost them theirlives—but he couldn't let those feelings show. "What do you plan todo with me?"
"Trade you for rule, I think, rather than fight for it," Lord Robertsaid consideringly. "That way, none of my people suffer. And I thinkI should be able to get … oh, a Subsector at least for you."
In spite of his position, Tarlac had to laugh. Lord Robert wasdeluding himself if he honestly thought the Emperor would make thatsort of trade! "You must know better than that, my Lord. The Empiredoesn't make deals with criminals."
"I think His Majesty will make this one, Highness. You are, after all,his newest Ranger, and he is bound to want to keep you; Rangers, forwhatever reason, are scarce enough to be worth trading for an entireSector." Lord Robert looked thoughtful. "Yes, a Sector would be evenbetter. Myself as Duke, my lieutenants as Earls and Counts, otherofficers as Barons—that would be just enough." He scowled. "Theremay even be places for my beloved parents and sister, once theyacknowledge that I am truly the best of t