"Yes, sir." There was a faint quaver in old Brenn's voice. "I welcome you to our world, sir, and offer you our friendship." "I understand you can produce Elusium X fuel?" "Yes, sir. Our Dr. Larue told me the process is within our ability. We--" He hesitated. "We know you haven't enough fuel to return to Vogar." Y'Nor stiffened in his chair. "What makes you think that?" "It requires a great deal of fuel to get through the Whirlpool star cluster--and even sixty years ago, the Elusium ores of Vogar were almost exhausted." Y'Nor smiled thinly. "That reminds me--you would be one of the Saints who murdered their guards and stole a ship to get here." "We killed no guards, sir. In fact, all of them eventually joined our church." "Where is the ship?" "We had to cut it up for our start in mechanization." "I presume you know you will pay for it?" "It was taking us to our deaths in the radium mines--but we will pay whatever you ask." "The first installment will be one thousand units of fuel, to be produced with the greatest speed possible." "Yes, sir. But in return"--the old man stood a little straighter and an underlying resolve was suddenly revealed--"you must recognize us as a free race." "Free? A colony founded by escaped criminals?" "That is not true! We committed no crime, harmed no living thing...." The hard, cold words of Y'Nor cut off his protest: "This world is now a Vogarian possession. Every man, woman, and child upon it is a prisoner of the Vogarian State. There will be no resistance. This cruiser's disintegrators can destroy a town within seconds, your race within hours. Do you understand what I mean?" The visible portion of old Brenn's face turned pale. He spoke at last in the bitter tones of frightened, stubborn determination: "I offered you our friendship; I hoped you would accept, for we are a peaceful race. I should have known that you came only to persecute and enslave us. But the hand of God will reach down to help us and--" Y'Nor laughed, a raucous sound like the harsh caw of the Vogarian vulture, and held up a hairy fist. "This, old man, is the hand for you to center your prayers around. I want full-scale fuel production commenced within twenty-four hours. If this is done, and if you continue to unquestioningly obey all my commands, I will for that long defer your punishment as an escaped criminal. If this is not done, I will destroy a town exactly twenty-five hours from now--and as many more as may be necessary. And you will be publicly executed as a condemned criminal and an enemy of the Vogarian State." Y'Nor turned to Dalon. "Take him away." * * * * * "Scared sheep," Y'Nor said when Brenn was gone. "Tomorrow he'll say that he prayed and his god told him what to do--which will be to save his neck by doing as I command." "I don't know--" Kane said doubtfully. "I think you're wrong about his conscience folding so easily."