"Sit down, sir," Hanlon said kindly to the wondering man.
"What's this all about, Hanlon?" Philander puzzled. "Who are you, anyway?"
"I was assigned to find out what it was centering on Simonides that seemed inimical to the peace of the Federation. The trail led me to Algon."
"Where you used me to further your schemes, eh?" the tone was bitter.
"Please, Mr. Philander, don't misjudge me until you know all about it. First, let me ask you, did you know who 'His Highness' really was?"
The mining engineer shrugged. "You probably know already, so why ask me? Prime Minister of Simonides, of course ... but you said 'was'?"
"He's dead now. Did you also know he wasn't human—that he was an alien from some ..."
"Not human? You're crazy. He was as human as any of us."
"When we get back I'll show you a full-length X-ray of him if you wish. He was planning the conquest of our entire Federation and Galaxy. The Corps experts are still working to find out just what the details of his scheme were, but that much we do know. Did you know about all the warships he was building on Algon?"
"Ships? On Algon?" The surprises were coming too fast for Philander to adjust to them.