10.Pirates

The foreign metabolism of the native forms of life and the low adaptability of the Terran plants led to a famine and were thus the fundamental cause that the Ivarnian society sank back to the pre-industrial level and the contact with the federation was lost. It was only with the discovery of fermenting microorganisms that mankind really managed to establish itself on the planet, but by that time an archaic form of society had already established itself in which the law of the fittest dominated. A group of later conquerors, descendants of outlaws excluded from the Federation, of which the OrPhons were the most powerful, took advantage of this and usurped control of the planet. They claimed space travel as a monopoly and ensured that any technical development was nipped in the bud. Most of the landlords, too, went back to later settlers, adventurers and displaced persons from all corners of the Federation who had to come to terms with the most powerful if they wanted to maintain their often cruel and almost always absolutist rule over others. On the other hand, the OrPhons ensured that small wars between the landlords did not get out of hand; nobody was allowed to become so powerful that they could endanger their supremacy. The Federation was of course not interested in these skirmishes, but in the OrPhons' contacts with the pirates and their role in their trade network. Spying on these connections was the job of Tjonre and Raft. The fact that the two of them could not operate closer to the capital Newi was due on the one hand to the skill of the OrPhons, but also to the fact that the Federation attached little importance to the planet Ivarn. The OrPhons did not endanger the Federation directly, and so the protection of people and the continuity of contact were given greater importance than the acquisition of information from this remote corner of the universe. At least that was the knowledge of Tjonre and Raft. Of course, other Federation agents could be active in Newi or have been smuggled into piracy as undercover agents who traded with Ivarn and had established a permanent base of operations here. But neither of them knew anything about that. Despite the remoteness, their task was not without danger. The OrPhons had repeatedly shown themselves to be downright psychopathic and would instantly murder any Federation agent they could get hold of.

Tjonre sat down with Raft at the table, in a narrower armchair and in front of a much smaller serving, even his glass of Avon contained only a modest amount of the drink compared to Raft's. Raft looked very pleased and scooped the food in. "And? Did you meet the blonde beast? ”

“ Why beast? She is very cute and very cuddly. Evwan didn't want to give them out at first, but for special customers ... "

" ... and with special payment ... "added Tjonre.

“That too, of course!” Raft grinned, “Evwan is not a benefactor. Anyway, it was worth it. She's a damn hot bride, believe me. Well-washed and so rich in experience that even I can still learn something. But apart from that, it could also be useful for us. ”

“ Why that? ”

“ We talked a little afterwards. Most recently she was busy with customers from the very best circles in a brothel in Newi, including OrPhons, so she probably knows a lot about their intrigues and machinations. ”

“ Then why did she end up with us? ”

“ There were disputes about her between two customers, of whom she was of course completely innocent ... "

" Certainly innocent as a child, "objected Tjonre,

" ... but the owner still thought it wiser to sell her as soon as possible. "

" I will visit Talira again soon, "said Tjonre," if you already know anything useful ... "

" Obviously a power struggle between Ephram OrPhon and one of his cousins by the name of Reja is going on. It's about the interstellar trade routes, of course, only those mean power. Reja is supported by a pirate whose lover she is and who calls himself a 'battering ram'. Is supposed to be a bad fellow and obviously not very imaginative, as you can see from his name. In any case, he hopes this alliance will give him his own base on Ivarn. That in turn does not suit the pirates who work with Ephram and who believe that they have privileges as long-time residents. They are of the opinion that the battering ram should either sneak in or only trade through their intermediary in Ivarn; in any case, they do not allow it to have its own base. The whole thing could develop into a little space war, possibly with consequences for Ivarn himself. As far as the blonde - her name is Elina, by the way - has heard, the battering ram has already started setting up a base on the Silonian plain. The plain belongs to the territory of Reja, but Ephram is quite angry and his pirates are raging, above all Tevar, called 'The Skull'. ”

“ That sounds bad, ”said Tjonre, who had already heard similar rumors It is imperative that the Federation be informed. I don't understand why the Federation doesn't smoke out these pirate nests. She had every reason to. After all, it is Federationists who are ambushed, robbed and enslaved and none of this would be possible if it weren't for these lawless planets that shelter them for their own profit. ”

Raft sighed. “I can understand your outrage, but a direct attack on one of the lawless planets would alarm everyone else and would inevitably result in the others showing solidarity and also forming a federation whose sole aim is to destroy our federation. This would be a necessary consequence, as history has repeatedly taught us. As the situation is now - the lawless planets don't like each other any more than they like the Federation - we're just better off. ”

“ Still, ”Tjonre gave free rein to his displeasure,“ it's hard to bear that we are just watch and never act. ”

Raft liked himself as the voice of reason. “Even if the federation acted, they certainly wouldn't send us out, we're not top agents, remember? Perhaps it even acts as far as we are from the action, we wouldn't even notice. ”

“ Of course you're right, ”said Tjonre finally,“ besides, I'm not a hero anyway. Sitting here in safety is the ideal thing for me. In any case, I'll be leaving for Talira tomorrow. Let's see what she learned. ”This visit was going to be unpleasant, but it was still best to have it now that Ivarn was comparatively less cold than usual. The brief Ivarean summer had begun. The conversation then went in a different direction, mainly Raft praised the qualities of Elina, her voluptuous female figure and the provocative behavior. Tjonre politely mimicked interest, although this slave did not address him in any way, either physically or physically. Tjonre used to describe the difference between their tastes in female beings by a parable of entering a house through a door. Of course you have to make yourself noticeable to the owner. If the homeowner is sensitive, it is sufficient to knock lightly on the door with your knuckle. He'll hear you and maybe open the door. But if the owner is hard of hearing, you have to knock on the door with a sledge hammer to be heard. In the interpretation of the parable, Raft was the hard of hearing and it took overly clear, oversized, sledgehammer-like female charms, such as melon-sized breasts, to appeal to him and arouse his interest. In contrast, Tjonre too considered himself the sensitive ear, who was more responsive to less pronounced stimuli and also less effect-oriented behavior.

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