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Farther north, our surveillance platforms would spotlarge encampments without fail. Different as the personnel were different, especially the centralfigures, Engwar II Tarsteng and Heber Lanks. Varlik nodded. It could be arbitrary, it could be very spiteful, and it was in aposition to exercise and enforce both, especially on a planet twenty-sixdays from home.

Then it was quiet again. The sky was innocent of city glow, stars myriad against and around theMilky Way's white swath. The commodore, his aideand orderly brought up the rear. And thirdly, their understanding of human behavior andtheir ability to deal with human emotions allowed them to manage humanactivities with unusual skill.