The Cortii are mercenaries, for hire to anyone who can afford their services. From their beginnings in humanoid pre-history, they have grown and colonised to span every galaxy. Every government uses them; no single government can destroy them. One Cortiian in particular is the only person Irin Seviki trusts with his neck, if not his dignity, in the political quagmire of Central Worlds - especially with his influential father dangling the lure of a business deal that could shape the future of a planet to get him there. The Cortii are mercenaries, for hire to anyone who can afford their services. From their beginnings in humanoid pre-history, they have grown and colonised to span every galaxy. Every government uses them; no single government can destroy them. One Cortiian in particular is the only person Irin Seviki trusts with his neck, if not his dignity, in the political quagmire of Central Worlds - especially with his influential father dangling the lure of a business deal that could shape the future of a planet to get him there.