"As he opened the door, he heard a loud high trilling note as an Aalonna tried to break through the barriers. She glared widely around the station with her gleaming faceted eyes, waving her thin legs and arms. Her interpreter was crying out loud, 'Let her through, let her through. Sir, please She needs to speak to you.""

Commander Joleson gladly accepts a commanding position for the World Federation's first starship, "Star Gazer." But something doesn't feel right. Even though representatives from the World Federation will be on board and supposedly working together, Joleson can't shake...