At the dawn of the twenty-fourth century, with colonies spanning fifty star systems, mankind has created the Confederation of Allied Worlds. When trouble erupts, the Confed’s solution is swift, savage, and supremely effective: dispatch small teams of elite warriors. Deadly fighters like Tex. . . . As one of the most decorated soldiers in the Confederation’s arsenal, Tex has survived covert operations in every steaming hellhole. As a result, he knows more than enough about the Confed’s most brutal and amoral activities, which makes him wonder: Is it mere coincidence that all missions assigned to veteran teams seem to be suicide missions? Fortunately, the new assignment doesn’t have the markings of a lethal affair. Tex is dispatched to the Ulysses star system, a backwater group of inconsequential planets populated with misfits and malcontents. What he doesn’t know is that this lowly cluster secretly harbors perhaps the greatest threat ever faced by the Confederation. Worse yet, the shadowy Protectorate behind the mission intends to make certain Tex does not survive. But Tex hasn’t earned his reputation as a well-honed killing machine for nothing. . . .