Qorn slammed his fist down on the table. "I don't care what they are!" he honked. "Evacuate, hell! I can field eighty-five combat-ready ships!"
"And we can englobe every one of them with a thousand Peace Enforcers with a hundred megatons/second firepower each."
"Retief." Magnan tugged at his sleeve. "Don't forget their superdrive."
"That's all right. They don't have one."
"But—"
"We'll take you on!" Qorn French-horned. "We're the Qorn! We glory in battle! We live in fame or go down in—"
"Hogwash," the flame-and-blue Qorn cut in. "If it wasn't for you, Qorn, we could sit around and feast and brag and enjoy life without having to prove anything."
"Qorn, you seem to be the fire-brand here," Retief said. "I think the rest of the boys would listen to reason—"
"Over my dead body!"
"My idea exactly," Retief said. "You claim you can lick any man in the house. Unwind yourself from your ribbons and step out here on the floor, and we'll see how good you are at backing up your conversation."