‘Unconquerable’, repeated Markham. ‘A word that should not exist in scout-language.’ At that point he became riled, jerked open a drawer, extracted a notebook and consulted it. ‘Up to the last survey, four hundred twenty one planets had been discovered, charted, recorded. One hundred thirty seven found suitable for human life and large or small groups of settlers placed thereon. Sixty-two alien lifeforms mastered during the process.’ He shoved the book back. ‘And out there in the dark a wandering tramp picks a word like unconquerable.’