"

"He's glad he didn't know me sooner," said Gwenlyn. She looked smugly
pleased. "Considering everything, it was a very nice thing to say. I
like him even if he doesn't smile."

Morgan did not seem enlightened. "It doesn't make sense to me."

"That's because you are my father," said Gwenlyn. She stirred
restlessly. She was no longer smiling. "I hope Talents, Incorporated
information isn't wrong this time! Remember, we heard on Norden that the
dictator of Mekin consults fortune-tellers!"

"Ah!" said her father. "But they're only fortune-tellers!"

"One could be a Talent," said Gwenlyn worriedly, "maybe without even
knowing it."

There came a far-distant, roaring sound. Something silvery and
glistening rose swiftly toward the sky. It dwindled to a speck. There
were more roarings. Three more silvery, glistening objects flung
themselves heavenward, leaving massive trails of seemingly solid smoke
behind them. Then there were bellowings. Larger ships rose up. As the
din of their rising began to diminish, there were louder, booming
uproars and other silvery objects seemed to fling themselves toward the
sky.

Then thunder rolled, and huge shapes plunged in their turn toward the
heavens. The space-fleet of Kandar left its native world. It departed in
the formation used for space maneuvering, much like the tactical
disposition of a column of marching soldiers in doubtful territory.
There was a "point" in advance of all the rest, to be the first to
detect or be fired on by an enemy. Then flankers reached straight out,
and to the right and left, and then an advance-guard, and then the main
force with a rear-guard behind it.

The take-off area became invisible under a monstrous, roiling mountain
of smoke, from which threads of vapor reached to emptiness. It became
impossible to hear oneself talk; it was unlikely that one could have
heard a shot, as the heavy ships took off. But presently there were only
lesser clamors and then mere roarings after them, and the last of the
rocket-boomings died away. The smoke remained, rolling very slowly
aside. Then there were unexpected detonations. As the rocket-fume mist
dissolved, the detonations were explained. Every building in the fleet's
home area, the sunken fuel-tanks, the giant rolling gantries--every bit
of ground equipment for the servicing of the fleet was methodically and
carefully being blown to bits. The fleet was not expected back.

The ships rose above the atmosphere,