ade to
restrain him. He still controlled the Ministry. No effort had been made
to limit his authority.

He picked up a sheet of paper. Oh, no? They didn't want to limit
him--they wanted everything. Here was this demand for a conclave.

And with that Waern kid running around loose, that was bad.

And he had no one to talk to! Of all the people in this palace, not a
single one could serve as confidant. With Gorham gone----

He shuffled through the papers. Yes, here was the formal demand for a
conclave. He looked at it unhappily.

And here was the transcript of the Waern claim. It looked too good.

He tossed the papers back to the desk. It was good, and he knew it.
He'd seen the originals in the heraldric files. They were destroyed, of
course. But here was a photo of that clan book!

And worse, here was the notice from the Resident Commissioner that the
claimant had requested protective intervention from the Galactic
Federation. That was really bad. He could remember his interview with
the commissioner on that.

Jackson had always been something of a problem. He was a stubborn man.
But up to now, he'd always backed down--if enough pressure was put on
him. This time? Hah!

He'd come in, bringing that rancher--that Kent Michaels. Stern frowned.

Hadn't old Jake said that guy had been shot down--was dead?

He hadn't looked very dead. As councilor of the Waern clan, Michaels
was supposed to be calling on Jackson for backing. Who, Stern wondered,
was backing who? He recalled the interview.

They'd come in. And he'd started to establish dominance over Jackson.

Then that Michaels had butted in. He was worse than old Jake. What with
one thing and another, he'd backed Stern into every corner in the
office.

It had ended very simply.

Jackson had simply declared that there would be a conclave.

The Stellar Guard detachment would be in attendance. No irregularities
would be tolerated.

And he'd even named the day--today. Then the two of them had walked
out.

Stern twisted his chair around viciously and sat down. He punched at a
button on his desk.

An aide came through the door. That was another thing. After that
fiasco at the Michaels ranch, he'd had to get a new aide. He motioned
the man forward impatiently.

"You have made final arrangements for the conclave?"

"Yes, sir. The Heraldric Branch has everything set up. The clans have
already gathered in the Throne Room. The private conversation will be
hel