And Devious the Line of Duty

And Devious the Line of Duty

A colonel-level mission on a frontier world becomes the stage for a tangled conspiracy and bitter power struggle between rival interstellar empires. An uncertain lieutenant, freshly assigned and considered expendable, is ordered by his superior—a world-weary, beer-loving, cold-headed operative with a reputation for devious manipulation—to counter the moves of an emerging oligarchy. The future of a far-off home world hangs in the balance as the Verdam empire, through strategic propaganda and battlefield intimidation, attempts to secure the loyalty of a powerful, neutral world whose alliance would signal the demise of an established republic. Central to the crisis is the pivotal role of a high-ranking diplomat from the key world. His wavering support, subtly influenced by the relentless pressure of a calculating envoy, could tip the balance in favor of the adversary. Into this volatile mix steps the lieutenant, whose task is not only to manage the military emergency on the colony but also to escort and emotionally manipulate a high-born princess. This princess, bound by an old promise to a proxy groom who represents corrupt political ambition, finds herself trapped by fate and her own sense of duty. Her vulnerability becomes a pawn in the broader political game. Amid tense diplomatic dinners, violent ambushes, and murky meeting halls on a rustic mountain retreat, the narrative charts an escalating series of deceptions and betrayals. The superior—who both plans and feigns incompetence—is revealed as a master schemer whose actions deliberately put subordinates in mortal danger. While he uses the lieutenant and the princess as instruments to sway political figures through personal relationships, he remains aloof and detached, even as events spiral into near-catastrophe. During a critical confrontation in a dense alien forest, the lieutenant is caught between the orders of his superior and his own emerging compassion for the princess, whose desperate situation hints at a far richer complexity beneath the veneer of royal protocol. The plot weaves together high-stakes strategic maneuvers with intimate personal tragedies. Political maneuvering is executed through coded communications, staged events, and carefully timed evacuations, while loyalties shift as each character wrestles with the cost of obedience, the corrosive effects of manipulation, and the inexorable pull of individual honor. Passion and duty collide in an environment where every personal connection is a potential liability. The lieutenant, increasingly disillusioned by his superior’s callousness and the relentless devaluation of human lives in the name of strategy, faces the ultimate test when an all-out assassination attempt forces him to choose between his orders and protecting a woman whose pain and defiance mirror his own inner conflict. In the culminating chaos of a violent firefight staged as part of the superior’s intricate design, the unfolding tragedy exposes not only the fragility of human emotions under extreme pressure but also the perverse outcomes of devious orders. The conspirators are met with ironic retributions—a mixture of humiliating punishments and controversial clemency—that underscore the corruption at the heart of interstellar politics. In the fallout, the lieutenant finds both professional recognition and personal devastation, realizing that in the labyrinth of duty, loyalty is often sacrificed on the altar of power, leaving behind only a trail of broken promises and the bitter cost of survival.

By Tom Godwin · First published 1957 · Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction · 18,788 words

First lines

"We're almost there, my boy. " The big, gray-haired man who would be Lieutenant Dale Hunter's superior -- Strategic Service's Special Agent, George Rockford -- opened another can of beer, his fifth. "There will be intrigue already under way when this helicopter sets down with us. Attempted homicide will soon follow. The former will be meat for me. You will be meat for the latter."

Rockford was smiling as he spoke; the genial, engaging smile of a fond old father. But the eyes, surrounded by laughter crinkles, were as unreadable as two disks of gray slate. They were the eyes of a poker player -- or master con man.

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And Devious the Line of Duty is listed on Textopian as a novella by Tom Godwin, dated 1957 CE.

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science fiction · thriller · crime · suspense · mystery · investigation · duty · betrayal · deception · action · adventure · political intrigue

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