Caleb (a human) and Mezoke (a Sandjarr) are paired up and trained as special agents to keep the intergalactic peace. This is a controversial and historic alliance given their races' longstanding enmity, and a lot of people are watching them. Their first mission is to keep war from breaking out between humans and Javlodes on the planet Senestam.
Caleb acts as a mediator between the warring factions while dealing with an attack by Stilvulls (highly destructive insects)-and he also has to contend with his feelings for charming doctor Kim Vandersel. Mezoke is on the planet Upssal, trying to appease the Javlodes
It's clear now: the Neuronomes are not attacking the Confederation,
but rather are the victims of a mysterious aggressor, and they
explode when they die. They did, however, take up positions near
large population centres, threatening to take thousands of lives with
them when they go in order to pressure Confederate authorities - who
had once massacred them - into helping them. Unsurprisingly, Caleb,
Mezoke and Angus are chosen to go to the Neuronomes' home planet and
neutralise the unknown threat.
After the events in Stockholm, Caleb and Mezoke have become renegades and are hunted by the entire Confederation. Inevitably they end up on Tetsuam, a gigantic itinerant space station that's the capital of crime in the galaxy. But while they attempt to sort out a future for themselves, and as Confederate space is recovering from the civil war, the Neuronomes - sentient ships previously thought eradicated - appear to launch random, devastating suicide attacks that kill thousands...
Following the Kuala Lumpur incidents, which almost prevented the Human-Sandjarr reconciliation ceremony from being held, the situation on Earth is increasingly tense. The mood has turned ugly, resulting in attacks against aliens and assassinations of isolationist personalities. Meanwhile, the circles of Confederate powers are afire with political manoeuvring, and Mezoke is on trial for high treason, a convenient scapegoat. But when the judges request that Caleb be brought out of his regenerative coma to testify, the Sandjarr agent's loyalty is put to the test...
After fleeing Confederate space, Caleb and Mezoke are hiding among a community of exiles disgusted by the corruption and violence infecting the galactic government. Caleb is recovering slowly, just as Angus, the living ship, is doing on a different world. But a powerful, dangerous psychic link seems to exist between them, and all are actively hunted by both the authorities and a terrorist group. When running ceases to be the answer, the only option left is resistance...
The unexplained deaths in the mangrove have not deterred authorities: The ceremonies will go on as planned in Kuala Lumpur, despite Mezoke's resistance and growing disagreement with Caleb. But the official optimism is soon dampened by news of further destruction, closer to the city. And when Nina and Angus return with the identity of the killer, an old enemy of the Confederation, the agents will be forced to act in desperation-and, maybe, to pay the ultimate price.
In the 23rd century, humans and Sandjarrs are allowed to join an intergalactic multiracial organisation set up 8,000 years before. The humans are seen as a belligerent, underdeveloped race by the other members of the organisation and have been kept out of it until now. The Sandjarrs had stayed out of interplanetary politics until a war between themselves and the humans broke out. Now Caleb, a human, and Mezoke, a Sandjarr, are paired up and trained as special agents to keep the intergalactic peace. This is a controversial and historic alliance, and a lot of people are watching them. Their first mission is to keep war from breaking out between humans and Javlodes on the planet Senestam.
Kristina Swany, a rebellious young Human, discovers the hidden side
of the Intergalactic Confederation - crime, misery and corruption.
She will have to carve a place for herself in the shadows. The first
volume of an Orbital spin-off. 2279. A freighter arrives on planet
Drenn, with its hidden cargo of illegal immigrants, including young
Human Kristina Swany. Like the rest of her travelling companions, she
seeks a new life, a new start ... but what awaits them is slavery, at
the hands of a merciless criminal cartel - the supposed price for the
last leg of their journey. Left with no choice, Kristina and the
others must do dangerous work in atrocious conditions, and soon begin
to suspect there won't be a last leg ...
Victorian England. In Yorkshire, several men and horses working on a railway line have been killed-slaughtered, really. The police suspect some kind of wild beast. The government calls upon controversial naturalist Charles Darwin to help with the investigation. A reasonable move, but one that is dictated rather by the least known part of his work: research on what other people would qualify as legendary creatures. It won't be long before the scientist discovers that he may be right about them after all...
Caleb and Mezoke are on Earth for celebrations marking the end of the Human-Sandjarr wars, running security for the ceremonies. When an incident occurs between Malaysian fishermen and a nomadic alien species called the Rapakhun, they are brought in to investigate and to lead negotiations. But tensions are high, and something is killing the fish in the mangrove swamp. The two agents will have to contend with the humans' lingering mistrust towards aliens in their efforts to solve the mystery.
With the beast killed by the soldiers, the strike ends and things seem to return to normal. But there are still some unanswered questions and lingering tensions, especially towards the neo-druids who live in the forest. The death of a young girl triggers a wave of aggression and more deaths. Is anyone controlling the ancient evil in the forests? And why, exactly, is the principled, family-minded Charles Darwin drowning his nights in gin and loose women?
The beast was believed to be dead, and yet... The body has been stolen, its escort massacred. A woman has been killed inside the town. And the neo-Druids have been slaughtered by what they believed to be their god. Even more disturbing, Charles Darwin is revealed to be one of the creatures! The naturalist can no longer deny his dual nature as he struggles with the terrifying question: Could he be the murderous beast that committed the latest murders?
