abstract
| - Vergis Fenn was a mercenary in the employ of Gilmer. At the time Gilmer sacked Trantor, Fenn was Gilmer's fleet commander. He tended to be more cautious than Gilmer, and urged his warlord not to be wasteful with Trantor's riches; Gilmer ignored his advice, saying that Trantor had so many riches they could not be wasted if he spent the rest of his life trying. Shortly after Gilmer seized control of most of Trantor, Fenn explained that their forces were still unable to defeat the militia defending the Galactic University campus. Gilmer ordered Fenn to destroy the campus via orbital bombardment, but Fenn talked him out of it on the grounds that an emperor should have more consideration for cultural and intellectual heritage. He convinced Gilmer to meet with the University's Dean, and militia's commander, Yokim Sarns, and negotiate a ceasefire. After Gilmer had completed his negotiations, Fenn questioned why he had agreed to such excessively generous terms, granting the University complete autonomy and demanding no tribute from it. He was more diplomatic in his questioning than Billye, however.
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