“You do not understand,” Massan said grimly. “Major Odal’s opponent—an industrialist who had spoken out against Kanus—was actually killed in the dueling machine. The man is dead!”
V
One of the advantages of being Commander-in-Chief of the Star Watch, the old man thought to himself, is that you can visit any planet in the Commonwealth.
He stood at the top of the hill and looked out over the green tableland of Kenya. This was the land of his birth, Earth was his homeworld. The Star Watch’s official headquarters may be in the heart of a globular cluster of stars near the center of the galaxy, but Earth was the place the commander wanted most to see as he grew older and wearier.
An aide, who had been following the commander at a respectful distance, suddenly intruded himself in the old man’s reverie.
“Sir, a message for you.”
The commander scowled at the young officer. “I gave orders that I was not to be disturbed.”
The officer, slim and stiff in his black-and-silver uniform, replied, “Your chief of staff has passed the message on to you, sir. It’s from Dr. Leoh, of Carinae University. Personal and urgent, sir.”
The old man grumbled to himself, but nodded. The aide placed a small crystalline sphere on the grass before him. The air above the sphere started to vibrate and glow.
“Sir Harold Spencer here,” the commander said.