Simon listened to these facts with interest. He was, of course, aware of the crime syndicates, but he gave those sorts of people as wide a berth as possible, having no interest in getting mixed up with a criminal element again.

"They are on more of an equal footing with the others now, so it behooves everybody to try and get along," he concluded. "Which is a good thing for us, because dealing with hostile kedan would make it that much harder for us."

He raised an eyebrow.

"That does sound very dangerous," he agreed. "Where I come from, lasers are mostly affordable only to the very rich... they are seen as being as much a status symbol as a weapon."