Lanze Degbrend grinned at him. Then he snapped down the visor of his
helmet, unslung his carbine, and presented it. He was still standing at
present arms when Trevannion blanked the screen.

* * * * *

"That still doesn't excuse a wanton and unprovoked aggression!" Erskyll
was telling Shatrak, his thin face flushed and his voice quivering with
indignation. "We came here to help these people, not to murder them."

"We didn't come here to do either, Obray," he said, turning to face the
younger man. "We came here to annex their planet to the Galactic Empire,
whether they wish it annexed or not. Commodore Shatrak used the quickest
and most effective method of doing that. It would have done no good to
attempt to parley with them from off-planet. You heard those telecasts
of theirs."

"Authoritarian," Shatrak said, then mimicked pompously: "'Everybody is
commanded to remain calm; the Mastership is taking action. The
Convocation of the Lords-Master is in special session; they will decide
how to deal with the invaders. The administrators are directed to
reassure the supervisors; the overseers will keep the workers at their
tasks. Any person disobeying the orders of the Mastership will be dealt
with most severely.'"

"Static, too. No spaceships into this system for the last five hundred
years; the Convocation--equals Parliament, I assume--hasn't been in
special session for two hundred and fifty."

"Yes. I've taken over planets with that kind of government before,"
Shatrak said. "You can't argue with them. You just grab them by the
center of authority, quick and hard."

Count Erskyll said nothing for a moment. He was opposed to the use of
force. Force, he believed, was the last resort of incompetence; he had
said so frequently enough since this operation had begun. Of course, he
was absolutely right, though not in the way he meant. Only the
incompetent wait until the last extremity to use force, and by then, it
is usually too late to use anything, even prayer.

But, at the same time, he was opposed to authoritarianism, except, of
course, when necessary for the real good of the people. And he did not
like rulers who called themselves Lords-Master. Good democratic rulers
called themselves Servants of the People. So he relapsed into silence
and stared at the viewscreens.

One, from an outside pickup on the _Empress Eulalie_ herself, showed the
surface of the planet, a hundred miles down, t