The voices on the flight recorder were very clear.

"What ship is that?"

"This is the Valparaiso Queen, Captain Kuhn commanding, thirty-seven days out of Santiago de Chile. To whom am I speaking?"

"This is Potter of the Bio-Pharm ship Lancet. Do you realize you are trespassing?"

"I think you exaggerate, Captain. There's no trace of your claim in the recent issues of StarSwap."

"We haven't chosen to go public with it just yet. But there are electronic warnings posted at the beginning of the quadrant. Surely you intercepted those warnings?"

"Oh, those!" Captain Kuhn laughed. "An electronic warning hardly constitutes a legal claim! No, Captain Potter, unless you publish your intent with the federal Department of Interplanetary Claims, it can't be said to exist. I have as much right here as you."

Potter's voice was low, and hoarse with menace. "Captain Kuhn, I am a man of little patience. You have already used up my entire store. You have about one second to go into retrofire and get your ship, out of there."

Kuhn replied, "I do not take kindly to peremptory orders, Captain, especially from one who has no legal right to give them. I will leave this vicinity in my own time, when I'm good and ready. And you may be sure I will file a complaint with InterBureau over your attitude."

"You will have more to complain about than an attitude, Captain Kuhn, but I doubt you will ever file that report."

"Do not try to intimidate me!"

"The time for words is past. The torpedo that puts paid to your pretensions is now coming toward you at a speed well below that of light, but fast enough, I think you'll find."

"Torpedo? How dare you, sir! Number two! Full power to the screens! Take evasive action!"

And then Badger had to turn down the volume as the recorded sound of the explosion shook the walls of Workshop D.