 How do the others in the Council Chamber feel about Marshall and Crownwall's news?
If they carried out the threats of their present attitude, Earth would have to send Marshall to replace him. A pair of guards, their purple hides smoothly polished and gleaming with oil, crossed their ceremonial pikes in front of him as he approached the entrance. "Just tell him that a man has arrived from Earth to talk to him. An elegant courtier, with elaborately jeweled harness, bustled from inside the palace, obviously trying to present an air of strolling nonchalance. What I meant was that I expected someone from Earth to break through our blockade and come here. There was even serious discussion of destroying Earth out of hand, while it is still possible. While these creatures could by no means be classed among the intelligent races, there was a general expectation, which we reported to the Sunda, that they would some day come to be numbered among the Servants of the Emperor. As an Earthling, you have heard of the details of the first expedition of your people into space, of course?" " Heard about it?" exclaimed Crownwall. It had been manned by a dozen adventurous people, captained by Crownwall, and had headed out on its ion drive until it was safely clear of the warping influence of planetary masses. The men of Earth had decided that it should work in theory. They had headed for that planet confidently and unsuspectingly, using the ion drive. Two weeks later, while they were still several planetary diameters from their destination, they had been shocked to find more than two score alien ships of space closing in on them—ships that were swifter and more maneuverable than their own. Crownwall recalled the discussion—the council of war, they had called it—and their unanimous decision. Although far within the dangerous influence of a planetary mass, they had again activated the distorter drive, and they had beaten the odds. With your total lack of information about us, what you did was more than the height of folly. "Could we have done anything else that would have kept you from landing on Earth and taking us over?" asked Crownwall. Even if you could get down to the bottom of the ocean and tamper with the bomb, you would only succeed in setting it off, and that's what the Sunda had been in favor of in the first place. From what you had already done, I suspected it wouldn't be long before one of you amazing Earthlings would dream up some device or other, head out into space, and show up on our planet.
 They are unsure if they sent the right person to do their job because of the outcome
 They are disappointed that they will not have the chance to wage war against an alien species  They are relived to not have a threat to handle but unsure of how to proceed  They are ecstatic that all of their problems have been solved, and know they sent the right person  They are unsure if they sent the right person to do their job because of the outcome