—And Devious the Line of Duty

Jardeen, the companion of Vesta, was the key. Jardine was large and powerful, with a space fleet not surpassed in any other world. A large group of now neutral worlds would follow Jardine’s example, and Jardine’s alliance with the People’s worlds of Verdam would mean a quick end for the Terran Republic. But, if Jardine can be persuaded to enter into an alliance with the Terran Republic, the spreading, clutching hands of the octopus Verdam’s hands will begin to die ...