by the
mutineers, all but those twenty Kragan Rifles we loaned Jaikark. They,
and about a dozen of Jaikark's courtiers and their personal retainers,
are holding the approaches to the King's apartments. The
native-lieutenant in charge of the Kragans just radioed in; says the
situation is desperate."

"When a Kragan says that, he means damn near hopeless. Is this being
recorded?" When M'zangwe nodded, he continued: "All right. Use the
recording for your authority and take charge. I'm declaring martial
rule at Konkrook, as of now, 2253. Tell Eric Blount what's happened,
and what you've done, as soon as you can get in touch with him. I'm
leaving for Konkrook at once; I ought to get in by 0800.

"Now, as to the trouble at the Palace. Don't commit more than one
company of Kragans and ten airjeeps and four combat-cars, and tell
them to evacuate Jaikark and his followers and our Kragans to Gongonk
Island. And alert your whole force. These geek palace revolutions are
always synchronized with street-rioting, and this thing seems to have
been synchronized with Sid Harrington's death, too. Get our Kragans
out if you can't save anybody else from the Palace, but sacrificing
thirty or forty men to save twenty is no kind of business. And keep
sending reports; I can pick them up on my car radio as I come down."
He turned to the girl sergeant. "Keep on this; there'll be more coming
in."

He rose and left the booth. If we can pull Jaikark's bacon off the
fire, he was thinking, the Company can dictate its own terms to him
afterward; if Jaikark's killed, we'll have Gurgurk's head off for it,
and then take over Konkrook. In either case, it'll be a long step
toward getting rid of all these geek despots. And with Eric Blount as
Governor-General....

The girl captain in charge of the station met him as he came out.

"Poison," he told her. "A geek servant did the job, on orders from
Gurgurk and possibly Rakkeed. Gurgurk's started a putsch against King
Jaikark; I'm going to Konkrook at once. Call the military airport and
have my command-car brought to Company House."

Harry Quong and Hassan Bogdanoff had been at the banquet, too; on a
world of lizard-faced silicate-eaters, the social difference between a
human general and a human aircar-driver was almost infinitesimal. He'd
have to talk to Barney Mordkovitz, too; when word of events at
Konkrook got out among the local geeks, as it probably had already....

The inner door of the soundpro