Clarity to what exactly he’d signed up for came on the colony planet Astrild after teaming with an enigmatic colleague named Edgar Millen. Cole and Millen were tasked with removing obstacles hindering that planet’s development in preparation for joining the Federation, especially obstacles not amenable to diplomacy and reasonings—the methods left undefined by their employer. After success at the small town of Justice, their second assignment on Astrild was merely to observe and report on an area settled largely by religious sects—an area named Edna whose original purpose was to show sect colonists living in peaceful harmony—an Eden of tranquility. Unbeknownst to Millen and Cole, Justice and Edna were part of a larger conspiracy to keep Astrild from joining the Federation. In Edna, a serpent lay in wait for them, an evil that, if left unchecked, could infect all human civilization. Millen and Cole’s capacity for violent solutions, when needed, would be put to the test.