This is the fourth book out of a six book set. Each book is not very long, but they do contain exciting stories. Some of the circumstances they find themselves in are due to their own actions which are sometimes not very smart! We have moved some twenty years further in the story. A lot has changed since Commander Scott McNabb (now just Scott McNabb) and a small crew were able to get a quantum communications device installed in Athena. Athena, as you know is the QI that now controls most all AI activity in the northern hemisphere. She is also now connected with a greater QI quantum communications network that allows instantaneous communications throughout the Solar System. Along with Solomon (Europa), Homer (Ceres), Aria (Mars) and Athena (Earth), they now control what the AIs can and cannot do. More importantly, these AI can no longer be influenced by the Seven, a group seven mega-corporations heads that cause wars to be fought so they can make profits.
The worst of the Seven is Fredrick VanHeilding. He is, quite simply, a megalomaniac bent on controlling everything. His plans suffered a serious setback when Scott McNabb installed the quantum comm device in Athena. As expected he has been working for the last twenty years to circumvent the situation with the IQs. He thinks he knows how is about to launch a surprise attack using his Node Runners against Athena or at least one of her data nodes.
Additionally, Miranda Lee-VanHeilding had been tricked into going home to Earth to have her child. That child was the product of Miranda and Scott’s union and it was only two years old when Scott had last seen her. Unknown to either Miranda or Scott, while Miranda was pregnant, the VanHeilding physicians were experimenting on the unborn fetus. They were making genetic changes to her that would lengthen her lifespan and something else. What that other genetic change was about was a highly kept secret.
Thankfully, Miranda had managed to escape from the VanHeilding space station taking Luca (her daughter’s name) with her. But Scott and Miranda both felt that Luca had to be protected from Fredrick VanHeilding. He or his henchmen had tried to kidnap Luca on at least one occasion. So, they needed to find a place to hide Luca so she could grow up into the young lady without being treated like a lab rat. The decided to place her on Earth in a research facility ran by Dr. Stephanie Rayman, a former crew member of the Hermes, and a close friend of both Scott and Miranda. The facility was also watched over by Athena which provided even greater security, or so they thought. Here she would grow and develop more naturally with the help and assistance of Dr. Rayman.
Yet, there was something about young Luca that just wasn’t right or so she felt. She didn’t think she fit in anywhere, but didn’t know why. Then something happened and she and Steph decided that Luca had to flee Earth so they were going to head to The Belt and join with her Father and Mother for the first time in a long time. Except that didn’t happen, at least not the way they planned nor as quick as they had planned. It was very hard to stay hidden from Fredrick VanHeilding even thought Luca had done it for twenty years, but now she was going to be found and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
So, this book is very exciting. Some of the things that happen are not surprising given the enormous resources the Seven manage and their insanely driven idea to control everything. After twenty years of peace under the guidance of the IQs, things were about to change. Would they be for the good, probably not, but more importantly, would everyone survive?
I’m not going on to the next book 5, “[Exodus](https://amzn.to/3K7632B)”, since I prefer a break between stories. I’ll be back to finish reading the last two books in this series for sure.