 Why does Malloy send James Nordon to the peace talks?
Every man in the Diplomatic Corps who developed a twitch or a quirk was shipped to Saarkkad IV to work under Bertrand Malloy, Permanent Terran Ambassador to His Utter Munificence, the Occeq of Saarkkad. To violate the rigid social setup of Saarkkad would mean the instant closing off of the supply of biochemical products that the Saarkkadic laboratories produced from native plants and animals—products that were vitally necessary to Earth's war, and which could be duplicated nowhere else in the known universe. She came in through the door, a rather handsome woman in her middle thirties, clutching a sheaf of papers in her right hand as though someone might at any instant snatch it from her before she could turn it over to Malloy.
 Nordon has trouble making decisions but will commit once the Karna present him with a choice that is not rigged in the Karna's favor.
 Nordon has trouble making decisions but will commit once the Karna present him with a choice that is not rigged in the Karna's favor.  Nordon is going to the peace talks to assist Braynek in case of a trap.  Nordon is the best negotiator Earth has to offer.  Nordon is a trained assassin. He will be ready to take out the ambassador from Karn if there is any funny business.