Read The Star King for Free Online

Treatise of Trade, article four—"
     
    "Paragraph nine, third line down, I believe." Rom B'kah settled against the wall opposite the commander. Propping one booted foot behind him, he folded his arms over his chest and recited: " 'No organization other than the Vash Nadah or its duly appointed representatives may conduct transactions for profit or other such gain.' "
     
    Lahdo's expression said. Need I say more?
     
    "Commander, if I may clarify—it so states in the appendix that if no formal agreement is in place, the Articles of Frontier Trade apply, meaning independent merchants such as myself cannot be excluded." Rom peered out the viewport at the rainbow-hued gaseous giant with its odd red eye. Jupiter, the locals called it. "And I do believe this remote little system qualifies as the frontier."
     
    Lahdo exploded. He punched the comm button, shouting, "Dram, call up the Articles of Frontier Trade—"
     
    "Page twelve, subparagraph four," Rom offered blandly. He'd been reciting the like since he was a child. "My ancestors wrote the damned thing, Lahdo. But have your man look it up, if it makes you feel better."
     
    The commander closed his eyes, his lips fluttering as if he were counting silently to calm himself. "Disregard, Dram." He pushed himself to his feet. Gripping his hands behind his back, he paced the length of the room. "You have the audacity to maneuver your vessel into my fleet. Uninvited. Then you announce your intent to follow us to the new planet. Now you barge into my quarters spouting some obscure regulation that says you can trade with them."
     
    Rom lifted his palms. "I didn't barge. I knocked."
     
    "This is your most brazen ruse to date, B'kah!"
     
    "Another gem in a long string, eh?"
     
    "What brings you here? And why now? No one's heard from you in over a standard decade."
     
    "I'm looking for a little adventure," Rom replied candidly. "This is the first new territory discovered in years. The frontier is shrinking. And what used to be the frontier is now entirely Vash Nadah controlled. As it should be. But that does make earning a living a challenge, if not outright impossible for independent entrepreneurs."
     
    "Entrepreneurs? Bah! Profiteers, the lot of you."
     
    "I have a ship to maintain, Lahdo, a crew to feed."
     
    The commander rolled his eyes, and Rom bit back his urge to bait the older man. The man was intimidated, understandably, for few men of his station ever had the chance to cross paths with a B'kah, let alone speak with one. But Rom was no longer heir to the most powerful family in the Vash Nadah— he was no longer capable of being anyone's heir, for that matter. But the prestige still
     
    followed him. Romlijhian B'kah—the unrepentant pariah, the legendary war hero, depending on whom you asked. By his father's decree, he was forbidden from involving himself in Vash affairs. For that alone, his presence here made Lahdo and the others uneasy.
     
    They'd get over it.
     
    "All I am stating, out of sheer courtesy. Commander, is that my ship will trail the fleet when you are invited to land."
     
    "But Earth will not let us land! They are suspicious. They fret over disease, or that we will attack. I have never seen such a backward, dark-minded, pessimistic little ball of dirt."
     
    "Give them a ship."
     
    "A ship?" Lahdo repeated blankly.
     
    Rom offered a gentle reminder. "The inhabitants of Kaaren Prime were suspicious, too. We gave them a class-four merchant ship, a vessel far beyond the technology they'd had in place. It whetted their appetite for more. They all but begged us to land."
     
    Lahdo returned to his desk. He called up something on his viewscreen studying the text thoughtfully. "A ship..." He was now oblivious to Rom's presence. "Class twos and threes, only. No fours. Perhaps the cruiser? No, that won't do. Too old, needs repair. . ."
     
    Rom fought to keep his temper in check. Was this officer the best the Vash Nadah could find for this delicate