chunk: While following the leads, the Lensmen visit alien planets and encounter bizarre life forms (and attempt to recruit representative members of as many species as possible as Lensmen). They build a fleet uniting all the continental fleets of Tellus (Earth) into the “Grand Fleet of the Galactic Patrol”, and engage in a massive space battle in defense of their headquarters, “The Hill”. The upper levels of the Patrol are starting to realise that the beings that they have been calling pirates are actually members of another civilization, a civilization at least as big and as powerful as that of the Galactic Patrol. Having beaten off the pirate fleet attacking The Hill, it was time to cut off the head of the dragon by defeating the corrupt political machine in the next election.