Old Man's War

John meets with a Consu ambassador in an arena that was specifically designed for their assembly. Because the Consu believe themselves far superior to other races, they will destroy the arena after use and then send it into the nearest black hole to ensure the destruction of its atoms. The ambassador has a criminal record, the idea being that it is dishonorable to speak a human tongue.

The ambassador agrees to allow the humans to fight for the right to ask five questions. The humans win the first three fights, though they lose limbs and are severely injured in doing so. In the fourth fight, Sergeant Hawking loses and is decapitated by the Consu soldier. In the final one, Jane wins, throwing her knife into the Consu’s skull. In the end, John asks four questions, which is more than the CDF expected.

John asks if the Consu gave the Rraey the technology to track skipping, and the Consu representative admits that they did. He then asks how many tracking units the Rraey have and learns they only have one. For the third question, John asks how many other species that the humans are aware of have tracking devices; the Consu tells him that there are no others.