 Who is Ggarran?
The sight of an Earthman on Vega III, where it was impossible for an outlander to be, brought angry crowds to surround John Crownwall as he strode toward the palace of Viceroy Tronn Ffallk, ruler of Sector XII of the Universal Holy Empire of Sunda. 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. "It was only decided yesterday, back on Earth, that I would be the one to make the trip here. What I meant was that I expected someone from Earth to break through our blockade and come here. "If you wanted someone from Earth to come here to see you, why did you put the cordon around Earth? 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. The Star Seeker had been built in space, about forty thousand kilometers above the Earth. 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. You knew that you could have destroyed not only yourself, but also all who live on that planet. You could also have wrecked the planet itself and the ships and those of my own race who manned them. "Could we have done anything else that would have kept you from landing on Earth and taking us over?" asked Crownwall. I traveled halfway across the Galaxy to meet him, to convince him that it would be sufficient just to quarantine you. 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.
 The Viceroy's advisor
 The Viceroy's advisor  The head of the palace guard  The leader of the Vegans  The leader of the Sundans