The Hub: Dangerous Territory

THE HUB IS A VERY DANGEROUS PLACE-
BUT SO ARE ITS CITIZENS.

The Federation of the Hub: thousands of rough, ornery and tough-minded human worlds with only the subtlest of interstellar governments holding them all together. Stable at last after centuries of war, the Hub is now prime real estate ... making it a merciless arena for the conflicting schemes of criminals, unscrupulous corporations, and invaders from beyond the edges of Federation space.

But the Hub is well-defended, and not only by professional heroes such as Telzey Amberdon and Trigger Argee. In Hub Space a citizen is expected to stand up for herself, blaster in hand, as needs must; so when Trouble comes Hubward in large doses, there are an awful lot of armed citizens waiting for it....

"Take my advice and buy TWO copies of this book! You'll want to lend it to friends and (trust me on this: 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-winning author of Uhura's Song

"Wonderfully fresh."
—The Horn Book

"A typical James Schmitz mix of humor, strange mental powers, and mild anarchy. Delightful."
—The Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction

Cover art by Bob Eggleton

Paperback

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, April 2001

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
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New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
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Typeset by Windhaven Press
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Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webwrights.com

ISBN: 0-671-31984-1

"Grandpa" was first published in Astounding, February 1955;
"The Other Likeness" was first published in Analog, July 1962;
"The Winds of Time" was first published in Analog, September 1962;
"The Machmen" was first published in Analog, September 1964;
"A Nice Day for Screaming" was first published in Analog, January 1965;
"Balanced Ecology" was first published in Analog, March 1965;
"Trouble Tide" was first published in Analog, May 1965;
"The Searcher" was first published in Analog, February 1966;
"Attitude" was first published in Magazine of F&SF, February 1969;
The Demon Breed was originally published as a two-part serial in Analog (September-October, 1968), under the title "The Tuvela." It was first published in book form by Ace Books in 1968.

IN THIS SERIES:

Telzey Amberdon
T'nT: Telzey & Trigger
Trigger & Friends
The Hub: Dangerous Territory

Baen Books by Eric Flint:

Mother of Demons
1632
The Philosophical Strangler (upcoming)

The Belisarius series, with David Drake:

An Oblique Approach
In the Heart of Darkness
Destiny's Shield
Fortune's Stroke
The Tide of Victory (upcoming)

with Dave Freer:

Rats, Bats & Vats