Sonya leaned forward, grasping his hands. "Thank God," she cried in his ear. "Oh thank God. I was so afraid you wouldn't see it." He blinked, beginning to feel foolish. "You mean that you agree? Without resistance?" "We've been trying to find some way to make it happen for two years--ever since our commander refused to permit our decaying missiles to be used against your station," she told him. "But we never really believed it could happen." Blane knew that he had never believed it, either. He pulled her closer, beginning to smile again. "In the name of the free territory of space!" he said, and kissed her. VII The blaze in the heavens that had signalled the end of the _Goddard_ was less than twelve hours old. It had been a magnificent funeral pyre to an epoch, but it had not yet ended the methods of diplomacy. It had merely forced faster action. The Premier of Russia and the President of the United States sat together, trying to keep their voices down and yet hear each other over the noise and confusion of the assembly hall in the UN building. They were surrounded by guards, as usual, and the television cameras were focused on them. But they had so far been unable either to agree or disagree. They could only wait until the time announced had arrived, as most of the world was now waiting. Then the great system of amplifiers and speakers went into operation, and quiet began to descend over the hall. There must have been a greeting of some formal kind, but few heard it. Jerry Blane's tired voice was already setting forth his written statement of demands when the quiet was sufficient for him to be heard. He read with the voice of a man not used to making a written speech sound natural, but nobody noticed. The announcement of the facts was obvious, but it took on added power from the brevity that compressed everything into a single focus. America had lost a station and Russia had no supply ships. There was a supply base on Johnston Island, but the ships were all in space. Earth was completely cut off from contact with space for months to come. And Earth could no longer exist without that contact. Her next weather reports were needed within the week, and without them the damage to crops grown dependent on them might result in famine for much of Earth. Certain drugs had to be made in space. There were hundreds of needs, without which the economy of Earth would collapse. Today, in a real sense, Earth could exist only by the use of a station in space. But the station could exist for a longer time without Earth. There was food and supplies for more than a year. They were prepared to wait, if need be. * * * * *