«He will not do this,» said Riyannah. «He keeps the planes and men raiding to train them for the conquest of Kanan.»

Blade frowned. Loyun Chard sounded like an ambitious, ruthless man, but hardly a raving maniac. It would take a maniac to plan the conquest of Kanan, if Riyannah's home planet was as she'd described it.

«Are you sure you aren't worrying unnecessarily?» he asked Riyannah. «How do you know he's planning to attack your world?»

Riyannah's voice was level. «He told us so himself.»

Loyun Chard was getting his space program nicely underway when the Kananites and the Menel discovered Targa. The Targans reacted quite calmly to the arrival of visitors from outer space, and the Kananites couldn't help wondering why.

«The Menel flew into a panic when we first appeared in their skies,» said Riyannah. «So why weren't the Targans doing the same? We soon found out. Loyun Chard was telling them that the conquest of Kanan would be an easy way to win the riches they hoped for.»

«Did you make the same offer of scientific help you'd made to the Menel?» asked Blade.

«Yes. The Targans rejected it. Loyun Chard said that we were wretched, cowardly creatures who could not defend what we had. We were making our offer only out of fear, and perhaps in the hope of making Targa dependent on us. The true Targans, the destined master people, would never permit themselves to be dependent upon anyone. They would stride like giants across the stars, taking whatever they wanted from whoever held it.»

«You're quoting him?» Loyun Chard's rhetoric had an unpleasantly familiar ring. It reminded Blade of Adolf Hitler's ravings. The ravings of a madman-but Hitler had developed the resources to make those ravings into a terrible reality. Apparently Loyun Chard was doing the same.