Ecologic Secession

The Ecologic Secession is the second novel in The Ecolitan Matter series according to the internal chronology, following The Ecolitan Operation. In the previous volume, Major Jimjoy Earle Wright III was assigned to New Kansaw to neutralize a group of rebels. On the way, he discovered that his courier ship has been sabotaged and provided a little instruction in creative paranoia to the skeptical ship commander.On Kansaw, Jimjoy avoided another attempted assassination, found the rebel hideout, discovered that the Imperial marines had got there first, and rescued two rebels from torture. He then stole a flitter and infiltrated Missou Base, set the base self-destruct sequence, stole the emergency shuttle, and escaped off-planet. In orbit, he badly damaged the orbital station, stole a courier ship, and escaped out-system. In the Accord system, he evaded detection by the orbital station and convinced an Ecolitan station on the moon to rescue the rebels and himself from the powerless ship. Although exhausted after over eighty hours of sleep deprivation, Jimjoy had once again beat the odds.In this novel, Jimjoy is now Ecolitan Professor James Joyson Whaler II, Senior Fellow of the Institute, with an extensive body makeover. The Empire believes that he is dead and hopefully they will continue to do so. Jimjoy has created a new department within the Institute -- Applied Ecologic Management -- which is actually the new Special Operations branch. It is clear to Jimjoy and to the Ecolitan Prime that the Empire will be imposing more stringent controls on Accord and that the planet must rebel to keep its liberty. As a first step, Jimjoy single-handedly destroys the System Control station at Haversol.After this operation, Jimjoy begins implementation of further steps to secure complete autonomy for Accord. His major problem is the attitude of his fellow Ecolitans. The Ecolitan Prime has been assassinated by Imperial agents and his replacement is a weak procrastinator. However, Jimjoy bypasses the Prime and works with Ecolitan Thelina Andruz and her roommate, Ecolitan Meryl Laubron, to recruit and train a force of special operatives.The Institute already has a security branch in its Field Training department. There students receive training in armed and unarmed combat, field surveillance, and other security related subjects. Now Jimjoy is adding methods of entry, computer penetration, demolition, and other special ops methods. Moreover, his students are helping to build needle boats in the moon station and other Ecolitans are developing ecological weapons elsewhere off-planet.Despite his distaste for politics, Jimjoy is chosen to announce the Institute's plans to the Accordan politicians. Among these plans are the ejection of the Imperial governor, the wholesale resignation of the current council, and elections for a new council with systemwide jurisdiction. Nevertheless, Jimjoy makes it clear that the Institute will not allow the new council to

Jimjoy, a former Imperial Agent, has faked his own death to escape his previous employers, who want him dead. The Ecolitan Institute of Accord have given him sanctuary and a new identity: James Joyson Whaler. But what does this enigmatic teaching/research facility want with a guy who specialises in destroying things? His aid in helping Accord secede from the Empire - an offense that has previously seen whole planets 'killed'. The Ecolitan Institute is not without its own form of muscle - and this time the Empire had better look out. This book was somewhat hard to get hold of, and I bought it after reading The Ecolitan Enigma, where Accord and the Ecolitan Institute act as independent troubleshooters, with a strange code of ethics, and the ecologic technology that ensures nobody messes with them. This book, the third in the Ecolitan Trilogy, shows the conflict that leads to this unusual position of power. Again, Modesitt creates a world that is rich and complex, with its own patterns of behaviour, politics and technology. It's not always easy to follow, given that complexity, but on the whole is still a good read. It has odd twists and touches of humour - the tough commando Jimjoy's hobbies include calligraphy and gourmet cooking, of all things. Plenty of excitement, explosions and intrigue. The part I liked most was watching Jimjoy try to enact a formal courtship with a fellow Professor of the Institute, Thelina, who is not terribly impressed with his past or his heartfelt declarations.