"I don't know. That list was sent to me over the audioceiver by my superior. I was to relay it to Mercury should they accept our proposal to join forces against—" He stopped.
"Get him out of my sight!" barked Walters.
The guards closed in around the little man and he slowly shuffled out of the office.
"I wonder how many more there are like him in our organization, Steve?" The commander had turned to the window and was staring out blindly.
"I don't know, sir," replied Strong. "But I think we'd better be prepared for trouble."
"Agreed," said Walters, turning to the Solar Guard captain. "What do you suggest?"
"Since we don't know how many ships they have, where their base is, or when they plan to attack, I suggest putting the Venus squadrons in defense pattern A. Meanwhile, call in three additional squadrons from Mars, Earth, and Luna. That way, we can at least be assured of an even fight."
"But we don't know if they'll attack here on Venus. Suppose we weaken Earth's fleet and they attack there?" Walters paused, looking troubled. Then he sighed. "I guess you're right. Put the plan into effect immediately. It's the only thing we can do."
At exactly midnight every teleceiver on Venus was suddenly blacked out for a moment and then came into focus again to reveal the grim features of Commander Walters.