Operation Haystack

In the far‑flung capital of the Galactic League, a routine scouting mission turns grim when Senior Field Agent Lewis Orne is brought back from a near‑death state, his body sustained only by a mysterious life‑support pod. The doctors at the I‑A medical center can do little more than keep him alive, while his battered record hints at a deeper, forbidden operation on the planet Heleb—where women alone rule and the gender balance is wildly skewed. As his section chief, Umbo Stetson wrestles with the stark report, he is forced to confront both the brutal cost of the mission and the unsettling secrets it uncovered.

Stetson’s own doubts grow as he prepares the official dispatch, aware that the details of Heleb’s hidden militia and the manipulation of birth itself may never see the light of day. The narrative follows his uneasy attempts to honor a fallen comrade while navigating a bureaucracy that prefers summaries to truth. Through vivid, gritty scenes and a touch of dark humor, the story explores loyalty, the price of obedience, and the shadows lurking behind a seemingly orderly galaxy.