“He is a magnificent animal,” Kennon admitted as he eyed the Lani. “But it seems to me that you could train some obedience into him.”
Douglas shook his head. “That would introduce a modifying factor, something bigger and more powerful than the male himself. And that would modify the results. We can control them well enough with knockout gas and shackles. And those things, oddly enough, don’t destroy their pride or self-esteem. They think that we use them because we are afraid, and it satisfies their egos.”
Kennon eyed the caged Lani dubiously. “This is going to be difficult. I must examine them and treat them, but if they’re all as homicidal as this one—”
“You fight me man,” George interrupted, his face twisted into lines of transparent guile. “I am boss and others do as I say. You beat me, then you are boss.”
“Is this true?” Kennon asked.
“Oh, it’s true enough,” Douglas said. “George is the leader and if you beat him you’d be top male until some other one got courage enough to challenge you. But he’s just trying to get his hands on you. He’d like to kill.”
Kennon looked at the big humanoid appraisingly. George was huge, at least five centimeters taller and fifteen kilograms heavier than himself. And he was all muscle. “I don’t think I’d care to accept that challenge unless I was forced to,” Kennon said.
Douglas chuckled. “I don’t blame you.”
Kennon sighed. “It looks like we are going to need reinforcements to get these brutes under control. I’m not going in there with them, and I can’t examine them from out here.”
“Oh, we can hold them all right. Paralysis gas and shackles will keep them quiet. There’s no need to bother the troopers. We can handle this by ourselves.”