“Well, there are after all only two ways of imposing peace on a community—from the inside or from the outside. We don’t seem to be able to do it to ourselves from the inside; so why not try imposing it from the outside?”

“And how would you go about that?”

“Quite simply,” said William, leaning back in his float. “Let all the worlds have open markets, but appoint a separate, individual supra-planetary authority to police the markets. Equip it with sufficient force to back up its authority against even individual governments if need be—and appoint a responsible individual in charge whom governments will think twice about tangling with.” He raised his eyes calmly to Donal across the table and paused to let expectation build to its proper peak in this young man. “How would you like the job?” he asked.

“I?”

Donal stared at him. William’s eyes were shrewd upon him. Donal hesitated; and the muscles of his throat worked, once.

“I?” he said. ‘‘Why, the man who commanded a force like that would be—” the word faltered and died, unspoken.

“He would, indeed,” said William, softly. Across from him Donal seemed to come slowly back to himself. He turned narrowed eyes on William. “Why come to me with an offer like this?” he demanded. “There are older commanders. Men with bigger names.”

“And that is just precisely why I come to you, Donal,” replied William, without hesitation. “Their stars are fading. Yours is rising. Where will these older men be twenty years from now? On the other hand, you—” he waved a self-explanatory hand.

“I!” said Donal. He seemed to be dazzled. “Commander—”

“Call it Commander in Chief,” said William. “The job will be there; and you’re the man for the job. I’m prepared, in the name of Ceta, to set up a tax on interplanetary transactions which, because of our volume of trade, we will bear the most heavily. The tax would pay for your forces, and yourself. All we want in exchange is a place on a three-man commission which will act as final authority over you.” He smiled. “We could hardly put such power in your hands and turn you lose under no authority.”

“I suppose—” Donal was hesitant. “I’d have to give up my position around Procyon—”

“I’m afraid so,” said William, frankly. “You’d have to remove any suspicion of conflicting interests.”

“I don’t know.” Donal’s voice was hesitant. “I might lose this new post at any time—”

“There’s no need to worry about that,” said William. “Ceta should effectively control the commission— since we will be paying the lion’s share. Besides, a force like that, once established, isn’t easy to disband. And if they’re loyal to their commander—and your troops, I hear, usually are very much so—you would be in a position to defend your own position, if it came to that.”