It’s very hard to convey the passing of time in a written book. Unless you pay very close attention, you assume the next book will start at about the same time as the last book ended. So, I’ll tell you right now that this book contains about a year in-between the end of the Confed/Hegemony War and the present. The Confederation is very slowly recovering from that war. They have to rebuild much of their capital, Megara, as well as their fleet. Everyone is very busy. Still, CinC (Commander-in-Chief) Admiral Tyler Barron is still haunted by the unexpected total surrender of retreat of the Hegemony.
Tyler didn’t know the exact reason, but their Ambassador Carmetia had been warning the Confederation Senate of what she called, “The Others”. Even as Tyler reviewed his memory and his conversation with Hegemony Commander Chronos, he knew that the Commander was fearful of something, something that would convince him to give up the Colossus in order for it not to be completely lost. Additionally, the rapid retreat of the entire Hegemony fleet was quite extraordinary. They made no claims for held Confed territory and removed every single one of their occupation troops on every occupied Confed planet. Admiral Barron knew he had to find out what was scaring the Hegemony so badly because such an enemy would almost certainly be able to destroy the Confederation without much effort.
Still, Tyler Barron found the time to marry Andi Lafarge. That was something that needed to be done a long time ago. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t have a very long time together since Admiral Barron was convinced he needed to take a fleet to the Hegemony system and their capital of Calpharon. He knew that his arrival might not be met without a fight. He was hoping the Hegemony was scared enough to consider an Alliance with the Confederation. That kind of arrangement troubled Tyler deeply. He wasn’t sure he could fight along side an enemy that had killed so many of his close friends and thousands of his fleet personnel. Yet, he knew that if the Hegemony fell, then the Confederation would certainly not be able to withstand this new enemy.
And “The Others” had, in fact, arrived in Hegemony space. They immediately proved their superiority in battle by decimating a large Hegemony border fleet without much trouble. They had strange shields which prevented a targeting lock on their vessels, so the Hegemony ships had serious trouble shooting back. The Others also had a blue energy beam that could slice through any of the Hegemony vessels including their largest Monitors. Those ships hadn’t been used in the war with the Confeds since they were the first line of defense against The Others, only they didn’t last much longer than any other Hegemony ships. A way to fight back had to be found.
Meanwhile, Admiral Barron and his small fleet has arrived at Calpharon. They are not immediately fired upon, instead, they are contacted directly by Akella, First of the Hegemony, President of the Ruling Council. What this means for the Confederation is unknown, but Admiral Tyler Barron is ready to find out even if it costs him his life.
Speaking of life, Andi Lafarge or now Andi Barron, has some important and exciting news that he needs to hear. But, how will she ever get that news to him and will she even see her new husband anytime soon?
A very good story, but it can get kind of depressing sometimes. We hear the thoughts of the main characters as they remember all the friends they have lost in battle and now they might face another terrible war. Additionally, the editing in this book was blow standards for a Jay Allan novel. Lots of missing words or words showing up in the wrong place. Not used to reading that kind of errors, but I will keep reading this series. Can’t wait for the next book.