Flandry of Terra

the long version

From back cover Coronet paperback 1976: Captain Sir Dominic Flandry was a top man in the Intelligence Corps of the Imperial Terrestrial Navy. He knew that on the outer edges of the empire, civilization was spread hideously thin. The stars faded towards barbarism, with the great evil Empire of Merseia beyond. But there were times when Flandry abandoned his senior position of command to go out in the field. Then he operated like the cool and brilliant agent he was, a ruthless, highly-trained professional. And in these three fast-moving adventures Captain Dominic Flandry shows that a space-age secret agent has to stay on top of the job -- or succumb to nameless horrors.