Alexander smiled. “Another point in his favor. He knows how to keep his mouth shut.”
“Not when he’s telling someone what to do about disease,” Jordon interjected.
“Or telling someone off when they haven’t followed directions,” Blaiok added.
“Better and better. I was sure that he was the one we needed when we first met.”
Kennon felt his ears turn flaming red.
“But that’s not the reason I brought you here. This isn’t a Jac Kennon admiration society. I called you because I want to expand the Lani breeding program.”
“Why?” Jordan asked.
Blalok stiffened. “You know my feeling about that, sir. I’ve never liked the idea of selling them. If that’s what’s in your mind—”
Alexander shook his head. “Simmer down,” he said, as he seated himself at the head of the table. “There’s going to be no selling. The Lani are too valuable for that. We’ll need them more than the money they’d bring on the market. You see—I’ve acquired a planet out on the periphery. A place called Phoebe. One of our ships found it, and I staked a discovery claim on the major land mass, and the crew made lesser claims that covered all the available land. Last month the Brotherhood allowed the claims. Last week the crewmen sold me their land. Phoebe’s a lovely place—quite a bit like Flora—and the ecological tests show it’s capable of supporting mammalian life. Just before I came here I sent three shiploads of exterminators to clean it up and make it ready for us. It should be ready in two years.”
“What sort of an ecology are you exterminating?” Jordan asked.