After all the fighting in the last book (first book of the series), you’d think everyone needed some time to calm down and collect their breath. Well, they kind of do but not to the extent that they should have been able to do. Colonel Mateo Larra is still commanding the Joint Base Sagittarius Arch which is a huge space station just on the new galaxy side of a worm hole. He did pretty well defending the station from the strange and inexplicable crystal entities that attacked the space station in the first book. These aliens have been identified as the Kin.
The Arch is home to a number of different civilizations each one protected by their Coalition agreement even if they are not all of the same species. Now, with this space station in a new galaxy, they know they will be meeting new species and inviting them to share in mutual commerce. The space station has a large business sector with an equally large diplomacy contingent. It’s up to the diplomats to bring new species to the station and make sure they get the required screening and to understand their needs and wants. They have just meet the Tarash, an alien species that lives mostly underwater. They can and do operate on land for periods of time, but must be allowed back to a moist environment from time to time. They have passed all the security checks and do not appear to pose a problem for the space station so they are allowed to board and assigned environmentally accommodating spaces.
Meanwhile, the Terran Coalition Task Force (Fleet) commanded by General Raylan aboard the CVS Eisenhower has been providing protection for the space station and now needs to start patrolling out further into this new galaxy to make sure the Kin aren’t preparing for another attack. General Raylan and Colonel Larra do not have a friendly relationship. Colonel Larra is the defacto Governor of this sector of space and as such can command the Task Force to do his bidding. Of course General Raylan does not like this arrangement. He feels he should be in command of the Arch while someone else commands the Task Force, but since that’s not the case, he must agree to do what the Colonel asks him to do. How he does it is up to him so he does as little as he can to accomplish those things which he doesn’t see as necessary.
Colonel Larra does much care what the General thinks as long as he’s protecting the space station. They have been attacked once and it will probably happen again so they must find the Kin before they find them again! Unfortunately, something has come up on the space station that is very disturbing. One of the alien species known as the Matrinid, also amphibian, have been attacked for unknown reasons by unknown assailants. Of course this has to be investigated and fine out who or what viciously murdered beings under his protection. Their initial investigation shows that whatever attacked the Matrinids was small, but very deadly. They also consumed most of the bodies.
While I like the story-line, one other thing has been brought up and it seems it’s always a part of books that don’t have enough conflict going on. This involves the relationship between the father, Colonel Larra and his youngest son, Damien. It seems as though Damien attempted to follow his father’s footsteps, but found he didn’t like the military at all. To make matters worse, Damien’s older brother had also joined the military and was doing well. But, since Damien had left the military without much explanation to his father or his mother, they have drifted apart and don’t talk much. Except now Damien has joined a film crew that has been given permission to shot a movie aboard the Arch. Damien is the set designer so that will definitely bring him into contact with his family. It seems his mother is going to have to be the peacemaker within the family if they are to get along. I don’t know why there has to be this kind of trouble in most books. It seems like there’s always one child that’s not doing what his parents think he should and this causes conflict. I think there’s enough conflict in this book without adding more.
This book is pretty much focused on some internal problems aboard the Arch and not so much with any new found enemies. I think the third book, “Forward Pact”, might bring more fighting against their known enemy, the Kin.