Birthright

Furthermore, the galaxy was in a state of flux. Rebellions were cropping up with greater frequency, and

surely Durmin's contacts weren't the only aliens who had been surreptitiously stockpiling weapons over the centuries against the day that they would finally dig in their heels and strike back at the oppression of the Commonwealth. Blowing the whistle on this operation wouldn't solve anything; in all probability, it wouldn't even delay the uprisings on any of the other worlds. There were a thousand races that sooner or later would take up arms against Man—but there was only one collection, and probably only this one opportunity to add such precious treasures to it. Besides, in these days of instant interstellar communication, there wasn't a ghost of a chance that the aliens would still have their arsenal around by the time the Navy got there. Turning Durmin in would just be a gesture in futility, an act of misplaced nobility.

He picked up the explosive pistol again, caressed it lovingly, cradled it in his hands. He was still holding it when Durmin returned with another container. “Here are the rest of them,” he said, carefully unloading the items on Selimund's desk. Selimund looked them over one by one. Suddenly he froze. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked softly. “I thought you'd like it, Governor,” said Durmin, smiling. “A pistol from Twenty-Seventh Century Earth,” whispered Selimund. He reached out a trembling hand and touched it gingerly, reverently. “I've seen a couple of drawings, but...” “It's a beauty, isn't it?” said Durmin. Selimund nodded.

“I know your specialty is alien weapons,” Durmin continued, “but when something like this comes along ... well, it's the prize of the whole lot. That's why I've got to ask for the cannon.” Selimund looked long and hard at him, then found his gaze drawn back to the pistol. “It's a deal,” he said.

A moment later he was working meticulously over the newest treasure in his collection, polishing and shining it, completely oblivious to a galaxy that had once again found it expedient to stockpile weapons. 22: THE REBELS

...As the millennium drew to an uneasy close, Man was girding for the greatest challenge yet to his primacy in the galaxy; and, strangely enough, this challenge came not just from the alien races, but also from a number of misdirected Men as well. Among the first of the turncoats was Loran Baird, a former naval officer, who for reasons known only to himself...

—Man: Twelve Millennia of Achievement ...It was the alliance between two visionary beings, Brastillios of Canphor VII (6977-7202 G.E.) and Loran Baird of Aldebaran X (6955-7020 G.E.), that led to the first step in the downfall not just of the Monarchy, but of the whole of Man's tyrannical hold