”We,” he tapped his breast bone, “are expendable. We’re independent businessmen, on nobody’s payroll. No insurance company in the world will touch us, not even Lloyd’s of London. That’s another downside to scouting. No health coverage, no life insurance, no disability policies. You sign on for this job, you take your chances. There is a guild, if you care to pay the dues, but the treasury’s almost always empty. Time scouts tend to suffer catastrophic illnesses and injuries with depressing frequency. I hope,” he added grimly, “that you have a high pain threshold and don’t faint at the sight of blood-yours or anyone else’s.”
Margo didn’t answer. But her chin came up a stubborn notch, despite sudden pallor beneath already fair skin.
Kit sat back. “Huh. I’ll give you credit for guts, girl. All right, let me show you how these operate.”
He and Malcolm took her step by step through the operation of both machines, although they couldn’t shoot a star-fix from inside La-La Land The personal log she caught onto fairly quickly. The ATLS’ geo-magnetic sensors gave her trouble.
”No, you’re plotting that reading backwards, Margo. You’ve just put yourself half a continent off target, which means you’ve Just calculated the time zone completely wrong, as well. Run it again.”
”I hate math!” Margo snapped “How was I supposed to know I’d need all this crap?”
Malcolm visibly suppressed a wince. Very gently, Kit took the ATLS from her. “All right. We’ll begin by having you hone up on basic skills. I’ll schedule study times for you in the library. And not just for remedial math. You’ll need language skills, historical studies, costuming and customs, sociological structures…”