 Why doesn't Malloy go to the peace talks himself?
And, Malloy knew, his own position was not unimportant in that war. To have shown himself to one of them would have meant instant loss of prestige. It was Bertrand Malloy's job to keep the production output high and to keep the materiel flowing towards Earth and her allies and outposts. They could be forced to allow supervision of the production potential, forced to disarm, rendered impotent. In addition, they demanded that the conference begin in three days, Terrestrial time. It would take more than a week for the Earth government to get a vessel to Saarkkad V. Earth had been caught unprepared for an armistice.
 Malloy has a psychological disorder that prevents him from leaving the house. He also hates aliens.
 Malloy is too sick to travel to the peace conference. He also hates aliens.  Malloy needs to stay on Saarkkad IV to keep the drug supply lines flowing.  Malloy is too far from Saarkkad V to get to the peace conference on time. He also hates aliens.  Malloy has a psychological disorder that prevents him from leaving the house. He also hates aliens.