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reveals that more than twenty years earlier he had attended the coronation of the present Khan of Tyrann. On his way back to Rhodia the Tyrannian spaceship in which he was traveling was hit by a meteorite, the two crew members were killed, and the control board possibly was damaged as well. But the ship made several automatic Jumps, and at the end of the last Jump men came from a planet in answer to Gillbret's radio message and took him and the ship into underground areas where men from all parts of the Kingdoms were preparing for rebellion against Tyrann. Gillbret was rendered unconscious and woke up in the Tyrannian spaceship floating in space off Rhodia. He has never told this story to anyone before except the Autarch of Lingane, whose name and position in the conspiracy he learned from conversations overheard by spy beam between Biron's father and Hinrik six months before. But the Autarch had been unwilling to discuss any conspiracy. |
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Gillbret, Biron, and Arta resolve to seek out the Autarch and to find the rebellion world. En route, Biron and Arta fall in love. The Autarch turns out to be Jonti. After Biron accuses Jonti of using him as a pawn, which the Autarch frankly admits, the Autarch speculates that the rebellion world may be located in the Horsehead Nebula. On Earth he found the coordinates of five stars inside the Nebula that Gillbret's course could have taken him near. The Autarch also accuses Hinrik of having been instrumental in the Rancher's death. This leads to a growing coldness between Biron and Arta and a growing involvement of Arta with the Autarch as they Jump toward the Nebula and begin exploring the five stars. |
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The first three are without planets. The group lands to explore a planet of the fourth sun; it has an oxygen atmosphere but no carbon dioxide and is cold and barren besides. Biron and the Autarch go out to set up a radio transmitter with which to try to contact the rebels, who have not responded to messages from space. But they could be underground or in a hidden valley. Arta sees Rizzett following Biron and the Autarch with a long-range blasting rifle and follows Rizzett. Biron reveals that he has accompanied the Autarch knowing that the Autarch planned to kill him and that the Autarch was guilty of his father's death. As the Autarch pulls a blaster out of the radio equipment, he admits his intentions and his guilt. But the blaster has no charge, and the radio communicator switch was shorted so that everyone, including the Autarch's crew, heard his admissions. Rizzett, it turns out, had been on Biron's side because he had begun to suspect his leader of treachery, including the killing of the Rancher of Widemos. |
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Biron helps Arta back to the ship (she had blacked out when running |
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