Iryao
Since he was serving as quartermaster, at least when Beto wasn't second-guessing him, he spent the week studying up on Iryao. He was a bit perturbed to discover that they imported food, but then realized that the reason he hadn't found any cargo was because that trade item was already locked up by the conglomerates! A few tons of food was nothing! The Big Guys were transporting hundreds of tons, even thousands of tons of food every month to feed a voracious population.
At the same time, that meant there was something that Iryao had that the rest of the galaxy wanted or needed. Vultine furs were popular and expensive but still had a limited market. Nargal feathers were... he couldn't quite figure out why anyone wanted them. Drex was a possibility; it was a type of whiskey, smooth from age, but was there sufficient quantity to fill the hold? he'd have to get a case or two anyway.
It was a wet world... that explained it. Not enough land and too much water. The cats didn't like to get wet, so they hadn't yet developed aquaculture. Then again... most of the population was still Florian. Not quite slaves but under Alsan control, dominance and influence. Apparently the fish weren't particularly appealing to the Aslan. Probably due to the low oxygen levels in the water, which was due, in turn, to the thin atmosphere. Masks and oxygen would be needed if you went outside.
Wow! High tech! Floating cities! Not floating in the water (though there were several of them) but floating in the air! Ah. No official downport. Made sense, too--nowhere to land. Only small craft would carry cargo from the orbital highport tot he floating cities.
But what was the planet's resource? No mining. No industry. Oh, wait. Anti-grav tech. Floaters and gravsleds and gravcarts and gravbots. Grav circuits! Imported electronics that were then modified with gravitics and exported.
Wait a minute... a footnote. Something called Trip is a significant drug export, as is Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills. Really? So that's where it comes from! Neither seem to be illegal on Iryao. No wonder we found drugs in the ship!
