The Gubru invade and overpower Garth's weak space forces, a battle that is witnessed by a neo-chimp soldier of Earthclan, Fiben Bolger. Having easily overcome Garth's token resistance in near-planetary space, the Gubru engage a small portion of their ground force in ritualistic combat against Earthling forces. Because they take relatively high losses, Earthlings successfully defend their legal right to the planet under the punctilio of Galactic law. However, the Gubru immediately take hostage most of the human population using pre-planned subterfuge consisting of poisonous gas. The Gubru, used to galactic norms, believe that the neo-chimp population on Garth will be easily controlled without their human patrons to guide them. However, humans are more lenient about the uplift process than most species, and have, as much as possible, already granted chimps full rights within their society (aside from free breeding, which is still controlled to continue the process of forced evolution), rather than keeping them as slaves for 100,000 years. Some humans and a few chimps are killed by the hostage gas while en route to receive the antidote; the surviving human population is sequestered on an island and kept isolated.