ne.

_"Easy, boy,"_ hissed Stetson. _"Don't pick a fight with him now.
Remember, his race is arboreal. He's probably as strong as an ape."_

"I could kill you where you sit!" grated Tanub.

"You write finish for your entire planet if you do," said Orne. "I'm not
alone. There are others listening to every word we say. There's a ship
overhead that could split open your planet with one bomb--wash it with
molten rock. It'd run like the glass you use for your buildings."

"You are lying!"

"We'll make you an offer," said Orne. "We don't really want to
exterminate you. We'll give you limited membership in the Galactic
Federation until you prove you're no menace to us."

_"Keep talking,"_ hissed Stetson. _"Keep him interested."_

"You dare insult me!" growled Tanub.

"You had better believe me," said Orne. "We--"

Stetson's voice interrupted him: _"Got it, Orne! They caught the_
Delphinus _on the ground right where you said it'd be! Blew the tubes
off it. Marines now mopping up."_

"It's like this," said Orne. "We already have recaptured the
_Delphinus_." Tanub's eyes went instinctively skyward. "Except for the
captured armament you still hold, you obviously don't have the weapons
to meet us," continued Orne. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be carrying that
rifle off the _Delphinus_."

"If you speak the truth, then we shall die bravely," said Tanub.

"No need for you to die," said Orne.

"Better to die than be slaves," said Tanub.

"We don't need slaves," said Orne. "We--"

"I cannot take the chance that you are lying," said Tanub. "I must kill
you now."

* * * * *

Orne's foot rested on the air sled control pedal. He depressed it.
Instantly, the sled shot skyward, heavy G's pressing them down into the
seats. The gun in Tanub's hands was slammed into his lap. He struggled
to raise it. To Orne, the weight was still only about twice that of his
home planet of Chargon. He reached over, took the rifle, found safety
belts, bound Tanub with them. Then he eased off the acceleration.

"We don't need slaves," said Orne. "We have machines to do our work.
We'll send experts in here, teach you people how to exploit your planet,
how to build good transportation facilities, show you how to mine your
minerals, how to--"

"And what do we do in return?" whispered Tanub.

"You could start by teaching us how you make superior glass," said Orne.
"I certainly hope you see things our way. We really d