"It is painful to—ah—beat around the bush. May I speak plainly?"
"Do," said the Coordinator.
"Our base on the Moon," said the Ambassador with a fine air of frankness, "some time ago reported military preparations on Earth, among the WDA nations. Those preparations could have no purpose other than an unwarned attack upon us. We felt it necessary, then, to take countermeasures of preparation only. We modified the plans for our moon base to have it contain not only the telescopes and such observational equipment, but to have an adequate armament of missiles. It is now so armed."
The Coordinator whitened a little, but he did not look surprised.
"Well?"
"I have to inform you," said the Com Ambassador, "that any military action directed against any Com nation, or its troops, or the Union of Com Republics, will be met by atomic bombardment from the moon as well as—ah—our standard military establishments. This, of course, does not mean war. To the contrary, we hope that it will end the possibility of war. We trust that all causes of tension between our nations will one by one be removed, and that an era of perpetual peace and prosperity will follow."
The Coordinator's lips twisted in an entirely mirthless smile.
"Military action against Com troops," he observed, "means resistance to invasion or occupation, doesn't it?"
"It would be wiser," said the Ambassador carefully, "to protest than to resist. At least, so it seems to me."
The Coordinator of the Western Defense Alliance said: