The pilot threw away his cigarette and dropped out of the door to the cargo hold when Luke came limping into view. "My God, man! What happened?" "I ... made a mistake." He let himself be helped into the copter and took the mike, reporting the disaster on the beach to the Commandant back at Base. Then he let the pilot bandage his wounds. * * * * * "Eleven men dead," he said bitterly. "Don't take it so hard, Luke," said Andy Singer. The team Commanders were back in the debriefing room again. All had commiserated with Luke on the tragedy; none had been able to convince him that it had not been his fault. "Eleven men dead," he repeated, no matter what they said. The commandant came in and they rose. "At ease, gentlemen," he said, as he mounted the platform. He stared at them for a thirty-second eternity. "Ours is not an easy task." His words broke the tension; all sighed. "There has been a tragic accident, gentlemen. Good men have died. Men just as good have died on a thousand planets in a thousand different ways. Sometimes they died because of an error; sometimes the death was unavoidable. But for whatever reason, they did not die in vain! "This is a young planet," he continued. "In many ways, it's as near to paradise as any of us will ever see. Man is a young race here--young in development. Yet almost before he has a chance to prove himself, he has found himself in a backwater, stymied as it were by the very paradise qualities which attract us. Life is easy here, too easy. He doesn't have to exert himself. He lives much like his ancestors did, ten thousand years ago. "There is no future in standing still. Whether he likes it or not, man must develop, must give the future generations a chance for their place in the sun. Despite sentimentality, anything that gives them that chance is good. Therefore, I repeat: eleven men died here yesterday. _They did not die in vain!_" * * * * * "Time for a break, I think," said Reilly, pressing a button. The door opened and the cadet Sergeant-Major stuck his head in. "Sir?" "Coffee, Sergeant. That will be suitable, gentlemen?" The boys nodded and the cadet withdrew. "While we're waiting, are there any more questions?" One of the boys hesitantly raised his hand. "Mr. Phillips?" "Sir, why is so much of the activity by the agents carried out in secrecy? It all seems rather underhanded to me." "By the very nature of themselves, what we do must be carried out secretly. Even when we act openly, it is in secret...." * * * * *