Lawson Sawyer is now for certain the real Messenger. He’s in command of the gigantic mech called the Archetype which is ran by the AI named Sentinel. He doesn’t want to be the Messenger and would gladly give up his role if there was someone else that could trust to run the Archetype, but that isn’t possible. He’s stuck doing something he’d rather not do and he’s also homesick. I the first book, when he first found the Archetype, he learned that only someone with the original Messenger’s DNA could continue to operate the gigantic mech with the support of Sentinel. So he was stuck in this role and just like everyone else on this side of the Black Gate.
Beyond the Black Gate was Lawson’s homeworld, Hustanal’s World and his family. He knew he couldn’t just go through the Black Gate to home because it was heavily guarded by the Empire. Yes the former Empire has split with the Superba falling back to Hydaspes and with Darius Spann claiming he was the true Messenger. Spann insisted that the Cygnus Empire still existed with him at his head while the so called Cygnus Realm was a bunch of revolutionists lead by a kid, Lawson Sawyer. At the moment, neither side had enough of a military advantage to conquer the other so a sort of stalemate existed.
Both sides were looking at how to booster their position so the original Empire or Real could and would be once again, united. Only Darius Spann wanted it united with the Superba completely in control and ordinary humans under their command. Sawyer didn’t see that as something good for everyone. He thought most of the Superba were arrogant and only out for themselves which was mostly true, although several Superba has stayed with the Realm after the split. Again, both sides were looking for an advantage.
Spann recognized that with the Realm’s alliance with the N’Teal, he could be caught between two different enemies although neither by themselves were powerful enough to act alone. He needed to fix that and do it so. Meantime he had tasked Tara Quin, a vicious henchman, to attempt to deal with Sawyer. An assignation attempt would be perfect, but only if it was some kind of tremendous explosion while Sawyer was in the Archetype. So she was busily setting that up and it might just work. Swayer was not that experienced in warfare nor was he quite aware that some people would go to no ends to kill another. He had to be very careful, but sometimes he forgets!
Lawson also knows that he and his associates must also find something to booster their side. He needs allies, preferably strong allies and certainly not more enemies. They can search the depths of unknown space from which they know other civilizations must occupy. They have signals from distant places that give hits of someone or something out there that might be quite advanced. He also has found out that Dash Sawyer, the original Messenger, had five other gigantic mechs assisting him in his fight to establish the Cygnus Realm. They think they know where they can find two of these mechs but they don’t know if they will respond to their contact. And they also assume that wherever they are, they won’t be easy to get to. They are very right in this assumption.
So you’re going to read about both sides doing what they can to get an advantage over the other. Spann has his own distractors. Some don’t necessarily believe he is the real Messenger since he once had control of the Archetype, but only briefly. It would seem that once he had control of this mech made for the Messenger, he would be able to keep it. But, in actuality, the never really had control other than by removing the AI name Sentinel and replacing it with one of his own creations. That only worked temporarily until Swayer was able to board the Archetype and revive the Sentinel. It knows that he is truly the Messenger via his DNA.
Some of this book is kind of predictable. While Lawson Sawyer’s side wants to make Spann think that he’s opposed by a naive juvenile, it’s not necessarily true nor is it totally uncorrect. Lawson is just a teenager and he’s very homesick. He doesn’t want to do what he’s required to do because he doesn’t have the experience or the knowledge to do it comfortably. He’s been thrust into a position of command even thought he’s never been in the military and doesn’t know a thing about military tactics or strategy. But, he has found out that he relishes battle and that troubles him because there will be many battles in his future.
The series continues in book 3, “Spinward War”, now available on Amazon.