than he
had thought earlier.

Finally, the conference got down to business.

"My people," said Daphne Foster, "ask but a few minor concessions,
which we believe will benefit the remainder of the Empire as much as
Jursa."

"We are disposed to believe your good intentions," said Vyrtl
encouragingly.

He caught himself smiling, and immediately resumed the mask of
dignity.

The Jursans, it developed, would give up demands for autonomy and
resume allegiance to the Empire. They pleaded, however, for freedom of
scientific research, promising that their discoveries would be placed
promptly at Vyrtl's disposal.

In the matter of indemnities, they were willing, Daphne Foster said
with an intimate glance for Vyrtl alone, to rely upon his generosity.
They asked only that they be allowed a reasonable time to restore the
damage suffered in the fighting and that they be permitted to make
part of the payments in the technical equipment they were so skilled
at manufacturing.

Some of the officers raised objections that Vyrtl thought well-put,
but he overruled them. The main point, he pronounced, was to restore a
valuable possession to productivity. There would be no looting and
destruction.

He felt less sure of himself when old Tzyfol protested that free
research was one of the roots of the trouble. Consequently, perhaps,
the imperial glare that silenced the Marshal was the more withering.

After that, Vyrtl sat back and allowed his cohorts to promulgate a
number of minor, harassing conditions. These would satisfy their egos
to some degree, keep the Jursans aware of the folly of questioning his
authority again, and show their envoy how things might have gone had
Vyrtl not been merciful.

In the end, he added one condition of his own.

"It will be necessary," he said, "to hold frequent conferences on
these affairs. If the Jursan Council should appoint their envoy as
permanent ambassador to our court, we should be inclined to approve."

It was tantamount to a command, but the girl showed no resentment. Not
that Vyrtl expected anything so rash as outward reluctance--but a
lifetime of piercing the flattery of courtiers had made him a shrewd
reader of facial expressions.

He granted permission for an immediate broadcasting of the treaty,
overriding Tzyfol's desire for deeper consideration in favor of Daphne
Foster's plea that delay would cost lives.

After having copies of the rather simple document drawn up for the
fa