“Vaguely,” Leoh said. “He’s a political leader of some sort.”
“Of the worst sort. He has acquired complete dictatorsnip of the Kerak Worlds and is now attempting to rearm them for war. This is in direct contravention of the Treaty of Acquatainia, signed only thirty Terran years ago.”
“I see. The treaty was signed at the end of the Acquataine-Kerak War, wasn’t it?”
“A war that we won,” the general pointed out.
“And now the Kerak Worlds want to rearm and try again,” Leoh said.
“Precisely.”
Leoh shrugged. “Why not call in the Star Watch? This is their type of police activity. And what has all this to do with the dueling machine?”
“Let me explain,” Massan said patiently. He gestured to an aide, and on the wall behind him a huge tri-di star map glowed into life.
Leoh recognized it immediately; the swirBng spiral of the Milky Way galaxy. From the rim of the galaxy, where the Sun and Earth were, in toward the star-rich heart of the Milky Way, stretched the Terran Commonwealth—thousands of stars and myriads of planets. On Massan’s map the Commonwealth territory was shaded a delicate green. Just beyond its border was the golden duster of Acquatainia. Around it were names that Leoh knew only vaguely: Safad, Szamo, Etra, and a pinpoint marked Kerak.
“Neither the Acquataine Cluster nor our neighboring nations,” said Massan, “have ever joined the Terran Commonwealth. Nor has Kerak, for that matter. Therefore the Star Watch can intervene only if all the nations concerned agree to intervention. Naturally Kanus would never accept the Star Watch. He wants to rearm.”