We’re back in the thick of things between the Legion, the House of Reason, the Mid-Core Rebellion (MCR), and the Empire (Black Fleet). Goth Sullus has taken Tarrago Moon, although the space shipyards were destroyed, so his resumption of actions has slowed. Captain Keel (a.k.a. Legionaire Captain Ford, a.k.a. “Wraith”) has captured Exo and one other who have been working for the Black Fleet as Shock Troopers. Well, their not exactly captured, Keel just wants them to help him get his kidnapped crew back, so he’s just about willing to work with anyone.
Exo, for his part, needs to find the mysterious hidden fleet of starships that only Maydoon DNA will unlock command and control. So, they raid where Maydoon was buried and extra one of his hands. Working together they might be able to accomplish both their missions. What happens after that is up for you to read.
Meanwhile, the House of Reason has been stupidly plotting something very, very dangerous. They know of the Black Fleets danger and their not all that happy with the Legion, so they have secretly met with the zhee and have began arming them with a new fleet. At the same time, the House of Reason gave the Zhee access to one of the newest Legion bases in the region. They did all of this without telling the Legion anything. Legion Commander Keller has recently found out all this was done through a mysterious informer, so he sets the Legion up to attack Fortress Gibraltaar at Ankalor. This will be a very bloody battle, but can be eased somewhat if two Kill Teams of Dark Ops Marines can get in and do their thing. One thing about the Zhee, they are lazy and don’t do a lot of security stuff that should be done when occupying a base.
We introduced to a number of new Legion Marines and they fight some very bloody battles. The best laid plans don’t always work out and while the Zhee don’t have a very good handle on tactics or strategy, they do fight very hard once in frenzy mode. Two objectives are identified early on, one is to turn are the planetary defense shield and the other is to open the main gates so the Legion can flood through. General Hannubal is selected as the leader of the Legion forces attacking the fortress. Major Owens finds himself now in command of all Legion Dark Ops so he’ll, specifically, have his hands full!
Then Commander Keller decides that he’s had enough of the House of Reason. So, he’s implementing Article Nineteen of the Galactic Republic’s Constitution. This states that the Legion has the right and obligation to assume control of the government for up to six months if in the Legion’s opinion the House of Reason is not uphold the Constitution they were sworn to do. With the arming of the Zhee, Legion Commander Keller sees no other recourse. Now, the Legion will go in an arrest every member of the House of Reason and set them up for trials while allowing the Republics members to re-elect new representatives. Once the new members are in the place, the Legion will turn over governance back to the House of Reason, at least that’s how it’s supposed to work. It’s never been done before!
First thought, the Legion has to take back Fortress Gibraltaar! That’s not going to be an easy task. There’s some heavy fighting going on and not every mission launched by the Legion turns out successful. I found this part of the book very exciting and just what a military science fiction book should read like. I’m enjoying these Galaxy’s Edge books very much and looking forward to the next book. That one is already on my reading list and it’s titled, “Message for the Dead”.