Quotes from book
The Five Gold Bands
The Five Gold Bands is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, first published in the November 1950 issue of Startling Stories magazine. It was published in 1953 as a separate book under the title The Space Pirate, and in 1963 it was paired with Vance's Hugo Award-winning novella The Dragon Masters in the form of an Ace Double.

“I'm only giving orders because I'm more efficient and smarter than you are.”
Source: The Five Gold Bands (1950), Chapter 5 (p. 57)

“Damned meddlers. It’s hard to know when their curiosity is official and when it’s just curiosity.”
Source: The Five Gold Bands (1950), Chapter 6 (p. 65)