"You never told us!" Campora looked excited. "You agreed that we'd never head for Earth without warning. You know the men won't stand for it!"
"Yes, they will!" Lodar eyed the mate steadily. "Tell 'em they needn't worry, I'll look out for them."
"There'll be trouble!" Campora snapped.
"Is that a threat?" The big man's voice was icy. Then, as Campora subsided mumbling, Lodar turned abruptly to Ray.
"You can come with me, Burk, if you want to look at the cargo."
As he headed for the exit Ray followed curiously. It was the young navigator's first trip to Venus and he'd never seen a Mute close at hand. Which was strange, since his own past was so inextricably tied up with them.
Ray had served five years with the Mars-Venus Company to earn his unlimited navigator's ticket on the Mars passenger flights.
This company was chartered "to develop and exploit the planets of Mars and Venus" and most of its wealth came from the exploitation. For years Venus Mutes had been captured and sold to zoos or to wealthy people for pets.
The practice was strongly condemned by humanitarian groups on Earth. This became so vociferous that, finally, the Earth Federation halted all flights to Venus regardless of charter.
The Company declared such law was illegal. It would send a ship to Venus and have matters settled in court.