1.Right company

PROLOGUE - Planet Arkeen

Blood! She had been dragged away from the place, from the pool of blood, but her little fingers were still covered in blood. The image of the two people who were in their blood, the image of the man and woman who were once their parents; it remained in her memory with agonizing clarity, could not be erased from her mind, never again.

Her eyes were full of tears, her insides frozen; she did not see the now, did not react to the brutal hand that clasped her upper arm, she was only vaguely aware of the black, tall figure, human-like and yet strange, hated. The creature was negotiating with the man who held it. The girl did not understand their conversation, did not want to understand.

Many things that had once belonged to her father and mother were taken out of the grotesque caricature and after a short bargaining passed into the possession of the man, including herself. She no longer owned anything, they took everything away from her that she held in hers Parents remembered; only a small, inconspicuous object, a cheap locket she held hidden in her bloody hand.

Not much later, the man was dragging her toward a ship that rose slim, needle-shaped against the sky. For a moment she looked at it, saw the sky, looked at the sun, not knowing that she had seen it for the last time for many years, that for many years she would not see the sun of this planet or that of any other.

***

Planet Ivarn

There were two men in the magnificent room, two men who - both in terms of appearance and inner mood - could not be more different. One - Raft AkRrovaar - stood in front of the other, who was sitting in a comfortable armchair, and yet barely towered over him. With his flowing, red hair and the long, bushy beard, he looked like a slightly shortened, but incredibly broad and massive Viking. In fact, his face was wider than it was long; with thick eyebrows, and a bulbous nose and a wide, recessed mouth that betrayed pleasure, as did the wrinkles in the corners of the eyes. The eyes were dark, the gaze intense.

Raft came from Romjen, a planet with one and a half times the earth's gravity. The people who settled there - perhaps actually very late descendants of the Vikings - were shaped by Romjen within a few generations: they were given a stocky, but enormously strong physique with relatively short, massive limbs, with enormous muscles. At Raft, however, this was currently covered by an extremely impractical robe decorated with ruffles and lace on the wrists. The shirt and pants were purple and also defaced with playful abstract patterns. A wide belt held the massive figure together and served as an anchor for a dagger sheath. The dagger itself was the only piece of clothing that lacked a playful touch. It was obviously chosen for its deterrent and deadly effectiveness.

The man was not holding the dagger in his broad hand, but a glass of bright green Nijem wine from his own cultivation.

The other man was slim and tall, had blond, slightly wavy hair that was currently in a mess, a high forehead, slightly slanted, gray-blue eyes, currently directed towards the other man, under thick black brows. The eyes had the remarkable ability to see equally sharply both on land and in water. His beardless face was rather narrow, as were his mouth and nose. The hands were slender and had webbed pimples as a special feature, which, however, did not even reach the middle of the first phalanges when relaxed. This peculiarity, which was even more pronounced on the narrow, long-toed feet, identified him as a man from the lagoon planet Wägan. Tjonre SoErgen, darkly robed and unarmed, looked sadly at the person opposite.

"What do you look so grouchy," said the deep voice of the red, "take a glass of Nijem, self-made, and enjoy life". The somberly dressed looked even darker, but did not deign to answer. Raft in no way lost its good mood. He was grinning at him now, with such a wide mouth a truly terrifying expression. “What you are missing is a woman! Let's go into town to see Evwan, he has the most beautiful and willing girls and the best Avon beer, which is also not to be despised! ”

“ I'm not interested in prostitutes, you know that. And I can't take Nijem and Avon so much that it is hardly worthwhile to start drinking. ”Tjonre turned his gaze to a nearby fruit bowl and grabbed a head-sized melon-like fruit with both hands, which he stared intently at. "At least you are not recommending one of the daughters of the neighboring landlords to me."

Raft shuddered, "Brr, better not! Then even better take one of our slaves! The drought with the long brown hair, what's it called,

ought to be exactly the size of your collar. ” Tjonre didn't know what it was called or he just didn't want to say it, at least he didn't answer for a while. Then he remarked: “I definitely don't do anything with a slave! How should I know that she actually has something for me, she has no choice but to please me. Besides, she's not the right company for a brooder like me. She is very fun-loving and likes to be the center of attention for my taste. By the way: she is not skinny. No, I'd rather stay here, alone ”, he emphasized this word,“ and brood. ”

“ Tjonre, you are not a monk, so don't live like that - but you are a fool! Thanks to the federation you have a considerable estate, you are not one of the big landlords, but also not exactly the smallest, you own land with considerable Nijem cultivation area, a beautiful manor house, dozens of slaves who work for you ... "

" Exactly! Why slaves! I hate slavery! There are machines that could do the work on the winery and in the cellar and house ... "

“If we were to design or buy machines and use them, we would soon be dead, you know that,” replied Raft, “the masters of this planet from the OrPhon family are liquidating anyone who could be dangerous to them and any machine that is more complicated than electric light or an automatic door opener could perhaps - at least in their eyes - be used as a weapon. Whoever has no technology, no weapons, no means of communication, no education, cannot threaten them. Use machines or behave somehow differently than the other landowners and your cover is gone! Then you can put on a sign that says 'Agent of the Federation' right away. ”