Explore "Despoilers of the Golden Empire" by Randall Garrett on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
No man is perfect. Even with four decades of training behind him, Commander Frank couldn't call the turn every time. After the first few villages, there were no further battles. The natives, having seen what the invaders could do, simply showed up missing when the commander and his men arrived. The villages were empty by the time the column reached the outskirts.
Frater Vincent, the agent of the Universal Assembly, complained in no uncertain terms about this state of affairs.