“Then the Star Watch will step in,” Leoh said.
Hunching forward in his chair in eagerness to make his point. Hector said, “But -. look, it’ll take time to mobihze the Star Watch. Kanus can move a lot faster than we can. Sure, we could throw in a task force, I mean, a token group. Kerak’s army will chew them up pretty quick, though. I … I’m no politician, but I think hat’U happen is … well, Kerak will gobble up the Acquataine Cluster and wipe out a Star Watch force in the process. Then we’ll end up with the Commonwealth at war with Kerak. And that’ll be a big war, because Kanus’U have Acquatainia’s, uh, resources to draw on.”
Leoh began to answer, then stopped. His eyes were fixed on the far entrance of the dining room. Suddenly every murmur in the busy restaurant stopped dead. Waiters stood frozen between tables. Eating, drinking, conversation hung suspended.
Hector turned in his chair and saw at the far entrance the slim, stiff, blue-uniformed figure of Odal.
The moment of silence passed. Everyone turned to his own business and avoided looking at the Kerak major. Odal, with a faint smile on his thin face, made his way slowly to the table where Hector and Leoh were sitting.
They rose to greet him and exchanged perfunctory salutations. Odal pulled up a chair and sat with them, unasked.
“What do you want?” Leoh asked curtly.
Before Odal could reply, the waiter assigned to the table walked up, took a position where his back would be to the Kerak major, and asked firmly, “Your dinner is ready, gentlemen. Shall I serve it now?”