Practically the entire planet had a mild, pleasant climate, and there was no ice anywhere except near the poles, where the mountains were just high enough to make for perfect ski runs. Even better, there’d been a native ecology similar enough to Earth’s in chemical terms that the soil and stuff was rich and fertile and perfect to plant ornamental gardens in. Best of all, Secundus’s native plants and animals were all so primitive that even the most delicate and overbred of Earth flowers pushed them aside with ease. It was difficult to conceive of a planet more perfect for colonization, and thus it was no surprise that the monarch had snapped it up for himself back when the Kingdom of Man was first reaching for the stars. There weren’t even any insects on Earth Secundus, except for the beneficial ones. Secundus had never evolved anything so advanced as an earthworm, while we’d been very careful indeed to leave the mosquitoes and such back on humanity’s world of birth. While Secundus was a king’s world, the noble families were all allowed small holdings there.
