Jack of Harts

The South American Union’s colonization of San Santiago, and their discovery of the hyperspace run connecting it directly to Alpha Centauri, changed that sector of space forever. It had taken their colony ship nearly three years to make the trip to San Andres via Altair. Seven years later, that same hyperdrive traveled from San Santiago to Alpha Centauri in under two years to find the Peloran had made Contact while they were out on the edges of civilization. And the improved hyperdrives they were helping Earth build would soon be able to make that trip in under a year. The Union Council held a golden goose in their hands, and they strangled that goose for all it was worth. They had a century of sunk losses to recover.