Randall Garrett

“ Within minutes, the heavy tractor beams pulled the smaller ship into the yawning airlock of the huge Flesso cruiser.
Okay, Marten thought. He folded his arms, leaned back in his chair, and waited. There was nothing else he could do—until a Fless tried to enter the ship.
Time passed. The little scout ship was drawn further and further into the monster Flesso ship. It was now entirely enclosed by darkness, imprisoned within the metal hull of the huge battleship of space.
Sitting inside, Marten waited patiently. The Flesso had been wanting to capture an Earthman for a long time. ”

“ A scaly, toad-like face appeared, and Marten stared blandly at the three red-rimmed, fiery eyes that confronted him.
"I see you are still alive, Earthman!"
"No thanks to you, ugly-face!" Marten returned. "I'm hungry, though. Am I going to stay for dinner, or can I leave now?"
Earth and Fless had long been in communication with each other; the war had lasted for nearly five years, ever since the first treacherous Flesso sneak attack on a Terran outpost. The beings from the planet Fless were the coldest, most dangerous aliens Earth had yet encountered in its expansion to the stars. ”

“ Within seconds, it could render any person a slave to the will of whoever operated the machine. Marten clenched his jaws grimly, ready to resist anything the Flesso could throw against him. There was always a chance that—
"Your mouth will be less full of insults when we have finished with you, Earthman."
"You're scaring me, Ghuvek."
"We'll see. Clamp down the helmet."
The cold metal descended and the Captain anchored it tightly around Marten's skull.
"What shall I ask first, Most Noble Sire?" Captain Yknor asked. ”

“ Fine deal all around. It cost us ten billion dollars to build Military Advance Robot Number Ten, not counting what we spent on the first nine failures—but it was worth it. We've saved untold numbers of lives. ”

“ He took a position behind the girder and, aiming carefully, picked off four more of the aliens. He tried to put his shot just back of the oversized, toad-like heads of the Flesso, though it didn't matter much where the beam landed. The result was the same.
The survivors were conferring hissingly and evincing great confusion. Apparently they still thought the fire was coming from somewhere within the ship, but they were unable to figure out where.
There were eight of them left. Marten picked off one of them with his ninth charge, then held fire. ”