War of the Wing-Men

Also known as The Man Who Counts.
When three Terrans – a space pilot, a planetary queen and an obese
tycoon – crash landed on Diomedes, they realized that their chances of
survival were slim. The native food was poisonious to humans and they
had only six weeks' worth of supplies left. With that they would never
cross the thousands of miles between them and the one Terran outpost.
They
had only one hope left – to enlist the aid of the wing-men, the
barbarous inhabitants of Diomedes. But they were hardly interested in
the lives of three miserable humans. Unless strong persuasion could be
found!
Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson (1926–2001) was born in Pennsylvania of Scandinavian stock. He started publishing science fiction in 1947 and became one the great figures in the genre, serving as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America, winning many Hugo and Nebula awards, and also winning the Gandalf (Grand Master) Award.
The Polesotechnic League
Series contains 6 total works. Current series reading order on below.
After the first initial burst of exploration for national glory and for the pure joy of exhilaration, Mankind found trading to be a truly excellent reason to travel from star to star hoping to make a discovery that would make an amazing financial killing. And if, along the way, you could do some good, well all the better... The Polesotechnic League stories cover that initial explosion of Technic civilisation up until its replacement by the Terran empire.
Main series Technic History