The Fourth Consort

Dalton Greaves is a hero. Hes one of humankinds first representatives to Unity, a pan-species confederation working to bring all sentient life into a single benevolent brotherhood. Thats what they told him, anyway. The only actual members of Unity that hes ever met are Boreau, a giant snail who seems more interested in plunder than spreading love and harmony, and Boreaus human sidekick, Neera, who Dalton strongly suspects roped him into this gig so that she wouldnt become the next one of Boreaus crew to get eaten by locals while prospecting. Funny thing, thoughturns out there actually is a benevolent confederation out there, working for the good of all life. They call themselves the Assembly, and they really dont like Unity. More to the point, they really, really dont like Unitys new human minions. When an encounter between Boreaus scout ship and an Assembly cruiser over a newly discovered world ends badly for both parties, Dalton finds himself marooned, caught between a stickman, one of the Assemblys nightmarish shock troops, the planets natives, who arent winning any congeniality prizes themselves, and Neera, who might actually be the most dangerous of the three. To survive, hell need to navigate palace intrigue, alien morality, and a proposal that he literally cannot refuse, all while making sure Neera doesnt come to the conclusion that hes worth more to her dead than alive.