Location of the Lesser Magellanic Arm (corporate systems that appear in Loyalty to the Cause, Last Measure of Devotion, and Hero of the Republic)

Although the focus in Hero of the Republic is squarely on Caden Twist and his part in the Brevic-Hollaran War and the opening shots of the Parasite Conflict, I especially enjoyed writing Part III of the novel. I knew that I wanted to expand the lore in the corporate systems portion of the universe and exploring the Covington family from Seshafi was a great way to do so. In the final book of the original This Corner of the Universe series, Last Measure of Devotion, there is a single sentence near the end referring to Aoife Covington and the Marines. I chose the Marines for a very specific reason that will become evident in the next book, Across the Blue Line (you may have already figured it out from the clues and sequence of events in Hero of the Republic). Additionally, by choosing a branch of service different from the Navy, it afforded me a chance to detail other aspects of corporate life.

One could argue that Part III is one, big metaphor. Aoife is loved by her family but she certainly didn’t fit in as well as her brother. Part III of the book is sort of the red-headed stepchild of Hero of the Republic. It’s interesting and fun to read (hopefully) but I suspect more than one reader wondered exactly how it fit in. I know that my beta readers each asked me this question. However, like Aoife, Part III is a late bloomer. Not only does the section of the book provide a bit of relief from the tense, almost oppressive atmosphere in the Brevic Republic, it will yield some wonderful fruit in Across the Blue Line.

As stated earlier, the other purpose of Part III was to add to the setting of the corporate systems. If Sade (from the original series) is patterned after 18th century England, and Seshafi is the US Colonies, how do the remaining two systems fit in? I was able to fit the third piece of that puzzle (Ardea) into Hero of the Republic, by giving it a significantly French flavor. I don’t know if I will have an opportunity to bring Lagrin to life in the current series but it will have a Spanish influence if I do.

Of course, this is only one, small portion of the corporate systems throughout the galaxy. Syntyche was covered, briefly, in Loyalty to the Cause but there are the Central Corporate Systems located in the heart of the Solarian Federation and the Periphery Corporate Systems at the Brevic border near the edge of explored space.