Show me your laser.” The laser gun popped up from a front quarter panel, pointing ominously at the spider commander. Private Telk backed away, fearing the worst. “I told you it had an alarm system!” “Point your ray gun safely down range,” ordered the spider commander, calmly. “Where did such a fine weapon come from? The Coleopteran Federation, maybe? Those smarmy beetles are a cleaver lot.” “You covet our laser technology?” asked the rover, withdrawing the laser back to its hidden compartment. “For what purpose? You would attack humanity, or your other neighbors?” “As much as I would like, sentimentality is not an option. War with the United States Galactic Federation would be counter productive. We are allies against a vast hostile galaxy. I fear your laser may fall into the clutches of others just waiting for an opportunity to strike a dagger into the heart of the Empire.
