"[in the original prologue] There are nights when the Etherium is as calm and peaceful as a pond on the planet Pelsanor. Nights when the big merchant ships with their cargoes of Arcturian solar crystals can expect a smooth ride. But there was a time when the even the calmest night could give way to the unexpected... Pirates! The enemies of all honest spacers. And the most feared of all these pirates... was the notorious Captain Nathaniel Flint!"