1.Face-Off

Bob, inhabiting an android body on Delta Eridani, participates in a hunting expedition with Deltan colonists and successfully helps kill a pigoid. On the return to Camelot, the group is ambushed by raiders from the rival settlement of Caerleon led by a character named Fred; Bob defuses the situation with verbal sparring and a quick strike when Fred attacks, impressing his companion Donald. Bob then brings the incident to the Council, learning of a pattern of recent raids, and proposes a counter-plan to Donald.

Bob joins a hunting party on Delta Eridani, fighting alongside Deltans to kill a large pigoid creature using coordinated spear tactics. While helping Donald prepare the kill for transport, Bob uses a knot technique from Archimedes that briefly puzzles Donald but is quickly dismissed. On the return journey to Camelot village, the hunting party is ambushed and surrounded by a larger group of raiders from Caerleon, led by an unpleasant Deltan named Fred. When Fred attempts to intimidate Bob into surrendering part of the kill, Bob responds with an insulting comeback drawn from his vast library of Earth literature, earning laughs from both groups. Fred feigns retreat but then attacks Bob, who easily sidesteps the punch and strikes Fred in the solar plexus, dropping him. The raiders back down, and the hunting party returns to the village. Donald escorts Bob to the Council Circle, where they report the encounter to Jeffrey, the current Council leader. Jeffrey reveals this is the ninth incident in recent days, with several involving violence, all seemingly orchestrated by Fred and his gang from Caerleon. Bob and Donald discuss that the raids appear to exploit some underlying tension that has been building. Bob then proposes a plan involving extra fighters and "dirty tricks" to address the problem, which Donald agrees to help execute.