"They'll serve as shields," Dan muttered. "No telling what we'll run into inside." The Rebels moved forward, with the Watchers preceding them at gunpoint. Inside, the hall was silent and they walked cautiously, alert for any sudden action. "Don't turn around," Dan ordered the men in front of him. "Lead us to the quarters of the Council." The tense group continued through halls and rooms resplendently furnished and decorated. They stopped several yards from a steel door which faced them across a high ceilinged room. "Go on!" Dan ordered. "That's the Council's private apartment," one of the Watchers snapped. "Open it!" "No one's ever opened it. No one's ever been inside," the man answered. Dan turned to one of his men. "Try to open that door, but be ready for anything!" After some minutes, the man turned back to the group. "There doesn't seem to be any way to get it open, Dan," the man said. "Then we'll blast it open!" But it was soon evident that their blasts had no effect on the massive structure. One of the Watchers sneered, when suddenly, without warning, the door slid aside into the wall. "Keep an eye on them," Dan cautioned his men. He moved cautiously as he neared the open door. There was no sound from within and so far as he could tell the room was empty. He stepped inside. "Good evening!" a voice greeted him. Dan started, and his eyes quickly searched the room for the source of the voice that had delivered this unusual greeting. "Over here," the voice said. A grotesquely fat man wearing a red robe, heavy with gold brocade rose from a reclining chair and smiled at Dan. "We've just--," Dan began but the fat man interrupted him. "I know! I've been expecting you for some time now. Have some grapes?" the man asked, indicating a bronze container on the table. "Or some wine?" he asked, proferring a silver decanter that stood beside the bronze dish of grapes. "Where are the other members of the Council?" Dan demanded. The man repressed a laugh. "There are no other members!" "You mean you--!" Dan stopped in utter amazement as the truth began to become clear to him. "Yes," the man replied calmly. "But I don't understand. How did you do it?"