Paul thought a moment.
"I've still got Bennington," he said. "And—" here Grayson's voice paused for a moment.
Grayson's ship had been at One Light velocity, following the Beam towards Alpha IV. Now as he sat at the console of his ship's drive, he reached for a switch that swerved the ship aside in its course by just a few milliseconds of arc.
Seconds later he passed the boiling ruin of Alpha IV by a half-million miles, still following the head of the Galactic Survey Beam.
As Paul passed the planetary ruin, he snapped another switch, picked up the microphone and cried:
"Al Donatti! Al Donatti!"
And down from Neoterra came the reply. "Grayson? You've got Bennington?"
"On the other end!"
Back in the White House, President Bennington sat before the broad desk, looking at the microphone with an odd expression on his face. Somehow flowery speeches and fancy, well-calculated words seemed a bit pale and unconvincing in the face of men who lived and died for a Grand Principle.
He looked up at the wall.