Harvest Time

By Gok-ri's estimate, the star had rotated the galactic core three times since the last review. It should be coming into ripe harvesting time soon. There wasn't a lot of profit in these common sort, but it was stable due to the steady supply. His cousin Shar-to preferred the riskier venture of speculating on quasars. Gok-ri wished him no ill for it, but couldn't stomach the ups and downs of the market.

Some of the large conglomerates were starting to broaden their reach, though. It was getting harder to find a good source that hadn't already been claimed. Hence why Gok-ri was so far out towards the rim, much further than he'd had to go before. Taking fuel costs into account, he might barely break even on this run.

At the last survey, the star had shown to have only a single planet with any life on it. Nothing of any significance. Typical basic multi-cellular. It was extremely rare for a planet like that to ever develop sapience or any of the other rarer traits the authorities got so hung up on preserving.

As his ship swung closer in, he turned on his receiver to start measuring radiation output. It wasn't vital to pick the star at it's peak, but it added an artistry that pleased him.

What did not please him was the decidedly non-star-like patterns he found. Nothing identifiable from the galactic database, so no poachers or corporate entities here. Instead... yes, triangulation suggested it was all coming from the sun's third planet. Beginnings of sapient life. It had to be.

Damn it.

Gok-ri began running the numbers in his head. The time between reviews was so sparse out here. There's no way the authorities knew yet. And the star was just about ripe.