We’ve come a long way with Cameron Alvarez and Vicky Sandoval. We followed their careers as Marines and then watched them go into civilian life and then wind up right back in the military. They have had some wild rides even surviving the Tahni War and fighting off a Tahni General that wanted to let loose something that had killed the Predecssors. Cam and Vicky along with a ship full of Navy and Marines headed off to find the Predecessor seeking the reason for all the trouble they had caused humanity.
They found most of what they were looking for, but they also found themselves, tired and worn out, only wanting to go back home. They had fought and fought hard, but now a new enemy, the Unity says it’s coming for humanity and Cam and Vicky have to get back to the Commonwealth to warn everyone as to what’s coming. Yet, Cam doesn’t feel that a warning will make a difference, humanity just doesn’t have the assets to fight off the Unity.
So, after a long, long journy in transition space, they finally arrive in the Commonwealth. They recognize a planet that once had a thriving colony located deep inside a miles wide crevasse, the only place on the planet that life could exist. Yet, when they went down deep, they found nothing resembling what should have been a colony of humans. They did find bones and structures that had been worn down by time. Cam knew this colony was alwasy going to struggle since they were so far from everyone else, but this shouldn’t have happened, unless there was something else going on.
What they did find was a last series of communications with the colony from the Commonwealth government. It was system wide emergency announcement telling of an extremely contagious virus that had been spreading throughout the colonies via independent cargo vessels. This virus caused the human brain to become violent and destructive. People infected began to tear everything and everyone apart and there wasn’t an easy way to stop them or the virus. What was most disturbing was that this virus had even gotten out to the remote colony and the results were obviously devastating. Lastly, this virus had gone though the Commonwealth in just the two years.
So, Cam had some idea of what this virus was and he knew that him and his people were already noculated against it. And they wanted to go home, to Earth, hoping against hope that humanity had found a way to treat the virus. Yet the closer they got to Earth, they knew something wasn’t right. There weren’t any of the usual space traffic coming and going around the planet or any other planets in the Solar System. Even the once proud space stations orbiting around Earth seemed dark and dead. Upon closer look, they had been wrecked and were now nothing more than floating junk piles.
Yet, the did eventually find a single blip of warmth coming from the planet. Apparently someone had a nuclear generator buried underground out in Wyoming. There were humans there and Cam was going to go down and find out just what happened to everyone he had ever know. The rest of his crew could only stare at the desolation and lack of any activity, bright lights or signs of life on the planet they had called home.
What Cam finds leads them on another mission to another colony, one that had survived. It was the only known gathering of humans in the Solar System and they were trying to recover. What Cameron will find is a fledgling reconstruction of the Commonwealth government that was trying to keep humanity alive. They certainly were in no shape to face the coming Unity.
Could this be the end of all humanity. It seems as though the Humanity is specifically seeking out Cameron Alvarez and wants to destroy him along with anyone he associates with. How will this new government react to the new threat? Fortunately, you’ll find out in this book. And yes, this does appear to be the end of the Drop Trooper series.