James H. Schmitz

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NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED . . . Captain Pausert thought his luck had finally turned—but he did not yet realize it was a turn for the worse. On second thought, make that a turn for the disastrous*. Unlucky in love, unsuccessful in business, he thought he had finally made good with his battered starship Venture, cruising around the fringes of the Empire and successfully selling off odd-ball cargoes which no one else had been able to sell. He was all set to return home, where his true love was faithfully waiting for him ... he hoped. But then he made the fatal mistake of freeing three slave children from their masters (who were suspiciously eager to part with them). They were just trying to be helpful, but those three adorable little girls quickly made Pausert the mortal enemy of his fiancee, his home planet, the Empire, warlike Sirians, psychopathic Uldanians, the dread pirate chieftain Laes Yango—and even the Worm World, the darkest threat to mankind in all of space. And all because those harmless-looking little girls were in fact three of the notorious and universally feared Witches of Karres.

The Federation of the Hub: thousands of rough, ornery and tough-minded human worlds with only the subtlest of governments holding them together. It's prime real estate for criminals, unscrupulous corporations, and invaders from beyond Federation space. But in Hub space, a citizen is expected to stand up for herself, blaster in hand; so when Trouble comes Hubward in large doses, there's an armed citizenry waiting for it.

IF BUREAUCRACIES HAD STARSHIPSCon games. Corrupt governors. Deadly rivalries between departments of the same government. And, of course, the long arm of the Mob. Even in our future among the stars, some things never change -- except that the governors run (and ruin) planets, the rivalries are fought with spacecraft and energy bolts, and the mobsters smuggle "real" illegal aliens and make their getaways with subspace portals. It's all just another day in that bastion of galactic peace and democracy, the Federation of the Hub -- -- "and somebody has to clean up this mess!" Join secret agent Trigger Argee, scout adventurer Heslet Quillan and Holati Tate, master of intrigue, as they battle the criminal element on its own interstellar turf...and make the future a little safer for the rest of us.

Previously appearing in separate publications, these stories of the Galaxy are now in a unitary publication. After the Galactic Empire crumbled, the Vegan Confederacy was too weak to survive, yet it prospered because of its secret weapon--telepathy. Not all of the Agents of Vega were human, but all were the most powerful telepaths in the Galaxy. Contains: 1 "That was an epiphany...." by Mercedes Lackey 9 Agent of Vega 84 The Illusionists 149 The Second Night of Summer 184 The Truth About Cushgar 233 The Custodians 281 Gone Fishing 338 The Beacon to Elsewhere 422 The End of the Line 467 Watch the Sky 495 Greenface 532 Rogue Psi

Telzey Amberdon is one of the most powerful xenotelepaths in the known galaxy. Trigger Argee is a crack shot, with reflexes that make lightning look lethargic, and also a top agent of the galaxy's Federation of the Hub. Separately, they have been making life miserable for human criminals, unfriendly aliens, and nefarious members of all species. But when a danger to the entire Hub civilization brought these two together, the galaxy would never be the same! 1 • Company Planet • (1971) • novelette 49 • Resident Witch • (1970) • novelette 93 • Compulsion • (1970) • novelette 93 • The Pork Chop Tree • (1965) • short story 163 • Glory Day • (1971) • novelette 207 • Child of the Gods • (1972) • novelette 263 • Ti's Toys • novelette (variant of 'The Telzey Toy' (1971)) 329 • The Symbiotes • (1972) • novelette 391 • Afterword • essay by Eric Flint 395 • That Certain Something • essay by Guy Gordon

MEET TELZEY AMBERDON-SHE'S NOBODY'S TOYTelzey Amberdon was only in her teens when she discovered that she was a telepath. Not only a telepath, but a xenotelepath, able to communicate mentally not just with humans, but with alien intelligences. And she turned out to be one of the most powerful telepaths in the history of the galactic civilization called the Hub.First she had to deal with an alien race that humans hadn't realized were intelligent, and who were about to eliminate those troublesome humans who thought they were colonizing an uninhabited world. Then, she had to fend off the secret psi agents of the Psychological Corps who took a dim view of any telepath, let alone one with Telzey's powers, operating outside of their control. Next, she stumbled across a telepathic serial killer, who used an unstoppable predator, under his mental control, to hunt and kill his victims-and Telzey was to be the catch of the day.It was fortunate for the human race that she survived, since she next found herself in the middle of a secret war between two hidden races of genetically engineered humans. They called it the "Lion Game," and they made the mistake of thinking that in this clash of predators, Telzey was just a harmless kitten. But when the dust settled, Telzey would be the only one purring....At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management)."Take my advice and buy TWO copies of this book! You'll want to lend it to friends and (trust me on I have years of experience to back up the observation) once people get their hands on a Schmitz book, they don't let go!" —Janet Kagan, Hugo-Winner and author of Uhura's Song