"I never said he wasn't."
"I know, Wade." The Secretary toyed with his tie. "But did you let your feelings toward Tomer interfere with your attitude toward Ackerson? He came to me you know, about halfway through the course. He said you were babying Tomer to the point where it was interfering with his instruction."
"He lied," Wade cut in. He threw down the cigarette he was holding and ground his heel into it. "You know me better than that!"
"Of course. But perhaps Ackerson did have something. Perhaps you spent more time with Tomer than you intended. Unconsciously you may have favored him to the point where Ackerson did suffer."
Wade let his eyes wander over to the small television screen. It was still operating. Flat, empty sand and a burned out area was all that remained of the Starfrost. He wondered: Did I do that? Did I forget to teach Ackerson something while I was working with Tomer?
The loud-speaker crackled.
"Mother. This is Starfrost. Over."
The operations room came alive. Wade and Lowe hurried over to stand beneath the speaker, as if that would put them closer to the Starfrost.
"Go ahead, Starfrost. This is Mother." The communications man held the mike in a hand that wasn't quite as steady as it should be.
"This is Starfrost. Everything in the green. Repeat, everything in the green. Over."