"What was in them?"

"High-speed voice-translation units."

"I fail to see--"

"--Previously only produced in the DYNAB. These were the first ones manufactured on CL worlds."

"So they're cutting into _that_ DYNAB industry too."

Michael shrugged.

"I guess they have a right to make what they want. The DYNAB simply was not turning them out fast enough. So, some Leagues industrialists went into that line. That was the first batch. As you know, they are precision instruments--one of the few machines that requires considerable manual adjustment. Lots of skilled hand labor makes for high overhead."

"And you think the Commander was involved?"

"Everybody _knows_ he was responsible. He's been doing things like this for years. He forgets the war is over, the armistice signed ..."

"You can't very well go into the DYNAB after him."

"No. But some powerful civilian may someday--somebody who gets tired having his property destroyed, or his friends or workers murdered."

"It's been tried, and you know what happened. Anybody who tries it now will be snapping at an even more indigestible mouthful."

"I know! It could lead to big trouble--to a thing we don't want."

"Supposing tile Service caught him, red-handed, putting a knife into somebody's back here in the CL--is it still what they used to say?"

"You ought to know the answer."

Morwin looked away.

"We never talk about such things when we talk," he said, finally.

Michael ground his teeth and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Yes," he said, then. "It still has full force and effect. We would have to return him to the DYNAB. We would then file a complaint with DYNAB Central, which of course would do nothing to their only surviving retired fleet commander. Legally, we would have to return him--so if there are too many witnesses, that's what gets done. If only they hadn't made him their representative at the First SEL Conference. It does seem as though they planned it then and are encouraging him now. I wish there were some way to get him to admit that it is a lost cause, or for us to get his diplomatic immunity revoked. The situation is very embarrassing."