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clear that a warning would be too precarious."
Shara's frustration forced her to rise from her chair and pace the
large room.
     
"I'm sorry," Romulus repeated with a shake of his
head. "Our hands are tied."
     
Maybe
your hands are tied, Shara thought, but mine are still free. She turned
away from him, knowing that if he saw her eyes, he would know she was
scheming. Trying to appear resigned to the decision, she promised to be
at his house for dinner in two nights, as usual, and left the office.
     
Later
that evening, when Shara was certain her parents and their staff had
gone home, she returned to the Governor's office. Having worked there
during her academy years, she was familiar with the storage system and
where to find the week's entry code. Within minutes she had an
emergency travel visa good for a round trip between Innerworld and
Norona. She couldn't be certain how many times she might need to make
that trip, so she took a few more. Copying her father's signature and
applying his seal took special care, however, and a man's voice in the
outer office let her know she had taken a few minutes too long.
     
"Is
someone in here?" the voice called out.
     
Security,
Shara deduced, knowing they would have been alerted to activity in the
Governor's office. She had expected to be in and out before they would
investigate.
     
"Yes," she returned. "I'm in the storage room."
Her
mind clicked through her options. If her father learned of her
late-night excursion, he might guess her purpose. She couldn't let that
happen. As the security man entered the back room, she remained seated
at the desk, as if it were perfectly natural for her
to be there. Relief eased her shoulders when she recognized the
black-uniformed man. "Good evening, Tomas. I didn't mean to pull you
away from your office. I guess I should have told you I'd be here
tonight."
     
Tomas lowered the small stunner in his hand. "Good
evening
to you also, Shara. Has your father got you working nights in his
office these days?"
     
She laughed, but braced herself inwardly
for
what she had to do. But she had no choice. "Not really. I was on my way
to his house, and he asked me to pick up these visas for him." Tomas
walked toward her, frowning slightly as his gaze fell on the visas in
front of her, and Shara panicked. If he recognized the signatures and
seals, she would be caught in a lie—a small crime compared to the one
she was about to commit.
     
She had been taught never to misuse
the
gifts the Supreme Being had granted her, but as the security man leaned
over the desk to get a closer look, she acted in self-defense. Her mind
entered his and planted a suggestion.
     
You must return to your
office, and you will not remember seeing me. You investigated the
Governors offices and no one was there. Everything was in order. Go now.
     
Tomas
stood erect and left the room. Shara took a deep calming breath, but
when she picked up the electronic writer, she couldn't stop her hands
from shaking. She had just broken one of the most serious Noronian
laws—invasion of mental privacy.
     
She assured herself that when
her
mission was over she would be forgiven for everything: the lie, the
illegal mind-touch, stealing the travel visas, and forging her father's
name, all leading to defiance of the Tribunal's decision not to use the
tempometer.
     
Listing
her crimes in such a way gave her an anxious moment. They were adding
up terribly fast, and she hadn't even left Innerworld. She repeated the
litany that had brought her to this point: The reward is worth the
risk. With a lot more haste, she completed her chore and returned to
her residence. -
     
In order to go back to the time of the
rebellion,
she first had to get to Norona without being discovered. There were two
days before her father expected to see her, and she wanted to be well
on her way by then. An express mail ship was scheduled to leave in the
morning, but even that speedy transport took a week. In an attempt to
put