The Fourth Concubine

Dalton Greaves is a hero. He is one of the first human representatives of the Unity, an interspecies confederation that seeks to unite all intelligent life in one kind, harmonious brotherhood.

At least, that's what he was told. So far, he has only seen two representatives of the Unity with his own eyes – the giant slug Boreau, who is more interested in plundering than spreading love and harmony, and his human companion, Neera. And Dalton suspects that she only invited him aboard Boreau's ship to avoid becoming the next crew member to be eaten by natives while exploring some unknown planet.

Surprisingly, however, it turns out that a benevolent interspecies confederation, which has the good of all intelligent life at heart, does indeed exist. It calls itself the Collective, and it does not like the Unity. And it certainly can't stand its new human minions.

When the encounter between Boreau's scout ship and a Collective cruiser over a newly discovered world ends badly for both sides, Dalton finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place – a 'Špejlovec', a terrifying soldier of the Collective, the local natives, who are not exactly friendly, and Neera, who may be the most dangerous of the three.