Farfetch (Dushau Trilogy No 2) (edition 1985)

Second in Lichtenberg's Dushau trilogy. Farfetch continues the adventures of Krinata, a 33 year old human researcher who has assisted Jindigar, an Duschau outcast, to escape from the rapidly declining empire of the Allegiency empire. I picked this book from a bookbox and immediately set out to swap for Dushau (the first book) and Outreach so I'd have the entire series.Having successfully evaded the emperor's forces, Jindigar and Krinata have gathered a small group of Dushau, humans, and other species and are attempting to escape to an undocumented planet that the Dushau had decided to use for a multi-species colony. Evading the fleets raised against them takes its toll and they crash-land on the planet known as Phanphihy. And, it appears that they will be the last to arrive, leaving the colonists without a functioning oliat.Phanphihy is a planet already populated by species which form 'hives' and resist incursion into their own territory by non-hive members. Jindigar knows that if they can convince the nearby hives that the refugees are a new type of hive, they will be able to co-exist with the natives. If not, the natives will attack and wipe out this small and fragile colony. ( )