our days in which to stop the Verdam oligarchy from achieving its
long-time ambition of becoming big enough to swallow the Terran
Republic."

"I know," Hunter answered.

Jardeen, Vesta's companion world, was the key. Jardeen was large and
powerful, with a space navy unsurpassed by that of any other single
world. A large group of now-neutral worlds would follow Jardeen's lead
and Jardeen's alliance with the Verdam People's Worlds would mean the
quick end for the Terran Republic. But, if Jardeen could be persuaded to
ally with the Terran Republic, the spreading, grasping arms of the
Verdam octopus would begin to wither away--

Rockford spoke again:

"Val Boran, Jardeen's Secretary of Foreign Relations, is the man who
will really make Jardeen's decision. I know him slightly. Since my
public role is that of Acting Ambassador, he agreed--reluctantly--to
come to Vesta so that the talks could be on a neutral world. With him
will be Verdam's Special Envoy Sonig; a wily little man who has been
working on Boran for several weeks. He seems to be succeeding quite
well--here's a message I received from Earth early this morning."

Rockford handed him a sheet of the green Hyperspace Communications
paper. The message was in code, with Rockford's scribbled translation
beneath:

_Intelligence reports Verdam forces already massed for attack in Sector
A-13, in full expectation of Jardeen's alliance. Anti-Terran propaganda,
stressing the New Jardeen Incident, being used in preparation for what
will be their claim of "defensive action to protect innocent worlds from
Terran aggression." Terran forces will be outnumbered five to one. The
urgent necessity of immediate and conclusive counter measures by you on
Vesta is obvious._

Hunter handed the paper back, thinking, _It's worse than any of us
thought_, and wondering how Supreme Command could ever have entrusted
such an important task to a beer-guzzling old man from Strategic
Service--a branch so unknown that he had never even heard of it until
his briefing the day before he left Earth.

He saw that they had left the desert behind and were going up the long
slope of a mountain. "The meeting will be on this mountain?" he asked.

Rockford nodded. "The rustic Royal Retreat. Princess Lyla will be our
hostess. Her mother and father were killed in an airplane accident a
year ago and she was the only child. You will also get to meet Lord Narf
of the Sea Islands, her husband-by-proxy, who r