And the man who sat facing him in the screen was not Andray Dunnan, or any man he had ever seen before. A dark-faced man, with an old scar that ran down one cheek from a little below the eye; he had curly black hair, on his head and on a V of chest exposed by an open shirt. There was an ashtray in front of him, and a thin curl of smoke rose from a cigar in it, and coffee steamed in an ornate but battered silver cup beside it. He was grinning gleefully. "Well! Captain Harkaman, of the _Enterprise_, I believe! Welcome to Tanith. Who's the gentleman with you? He isn't the Duke of Wardshaven, is he?" VIII He glanced quickly at the showback over the screen, to assure himself that his face was not betraying him. Beside him, Otto Harkaman was laughing. "Why, Captain Valkanhayn; this is an unexpected pleasure. That's the _Space Scourge_ you're in, I take it? What are you doing here on Tanith?" A voice from one of the speakers shouted that a second ship had been detected coming over the north pole. The dark-faced man in the screen smirked quite complacently. "That's Garvan Spasso, in the _Lamia_," he said. "And what we're doing here, we've taken this planet over. We intend keeping it, too." "Well! So you and Garvan have teamed up. You two were just made for one another. And you have a little planet, all your very own. I'm so happy for both of you. What are you getting out of it--beside poultry?" The other's self-assurance started to slip. He slapped it back into place. "Don't kid me; we know why you're here. Well, we got here first. Tanith is our planet. You think you can take it away from us?" "I know we could, and so do you," Harkaman told him. "We outgun you and Spasso together; why, a couple of our pinnaces could knock the _Lamia_ apart. The only question is, do we want to bother?" By now, he had recovered from his surprise, but not from his disappointment. If this fellow thought the _Nemesis_ was the _Enterprise_--Before he could check himself, he had finished the thought aloud. "Then the _Enterprise_ didn't come here at all!" The man in the screen started. "Isn't that the _Enterprise_ you're in?" "Oh, no. Pardon my remissness, Captain Valkanhayn," Harkaman apologized. "This is the _Nemesis_. The gentleman with me, Lord Lucas Trask, is owner-aboard, for whom I am commanding. Lord Trask, Captain Boake Valkanhayn, of the _Space Scourge_. Captain Valkanhayn is a Space Viking." He said that as though expecting it to be disputed. "So, I am told, is his associate, Captain Spasso, whose ship is approaching. You mean to tell me that the _Enterprise_ hasn't been here?" Valkanhayn was puzzled, slightly apprehensive. "You mean the Duke of Wardshaven has two ships?" "As far as I know, the Duke of Wardshaven hasn't any ships," Harkaman replied. "This ship is the property and private adventure of Lord Trask. The _Enterprise_, for which we are looking, is owned and commanded by one Andray Dunnan."