At this time Ray Burk was due to command his first ship. He was offered the Venus flight—the breaking of law to be merely a step in establishing precedent, so they said. It sounded like high adventure, with himself carrying the ball. He gladly accepted. And, as expected, he was intercepted by an Earth patrol ship.
But in the ensuing legal battle the Company found its very charter jeopardized. It hastily switched tactics, disclaimed all knowledge of the flight, and said Ray had set an incorrect course. Even hardened politicians smiled at such a thin excuse, but the Company made it stick. Ray lost his navigator's license. He was through.
The Company even went further in order to clear itself. It righteously promised to limit the capture of Mutes and save them from extinction. In fact, it offered to patrol Venus and stop illegal raids by others.
Then the price of Mutes rose to fantastic heights. Poachers moved in to reap fortunes from the trade.
II
Lodar was one of them. Cashiered from the Earth Fleet, an ex-officer, he was well trained to outmaneuver the patrols. It was he who offered Ray his first job in months.
"Get in on the gravy," he urged. "They already made you a goat, and no one else will employ you!"
After all, it wasn't criminal. They were only doing what the Company had done for years. There was a thrill of adventure in the risky smuggling, a sense of getting even with those who had disgraced him unjustly.
Yes, Ray was curious to see these Mutes who were at the base of his trouble.