While the war goes on, and the bulk of the Fleet is engaged in stopping the Ca'cadasan menace, there is another part of the Imperial Navy engaged in pushing back the frontiers of the Empire. Short on every resource but the intelligence of their personnel, Exploration Command goes where no human has gone before, discovering new worlds, species and civilizations, pushing the boundaries of knowledge, and always on the lookout for new discoveries that could help the Empire in its struggle against the invader. In this volume are three novelettes about Exploration Command, the scientific part of the Fleet. In Retribution, a Command team finds a devastated alien civilization being aided by missionaries from the Empire. Or are they? In Timeless, an ancient derelict is found in a place where no ship should be. Does it hide the secrets to a technology the Empire has sought for over a thousand years? And in They Don't Care, alien species are being wiped out by a renegade race. Can a single two ship team stop them, or will more species go into the long night? For those readers of Exodus: Empires at War, these stories fill in some of the background of the Empire and add to the series. For newcomers, they are a great introduction to the series.

The Ca'cadasans are not the only threat in the Empire during wartime Nature itself, run away science, environmental hazards, all take their toll. Six tales of the threats on the frontiers of the Empire, whether at the edge of civilization or the edge of science, and the brave people who face them. The Mountains: Two explorers look in one of the most inhospitable places in known space, the mountains of Everest, for the find that will set them for life. But is a find like that worth their lives? The Hunted: When a young man betrays the mob, only the deadly swamplands of his planet offer a place to hide. The mob is relentless, but they haven't faced anything like the continent spanning swamp. What's Eating You: Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it won't kill you. Lucille Yu discovers that when looking into other Universes, sometimes they look back. With hunger. A New Life: Cornelius Walborski only wanted to have the good things in life for he and his family. But a mistake made on a hunting expedition costs him everything. Goliath: When a twenty-five million ton warship comes calling, with the intent of killing all human life in the system, what's a frigate captain to do? The Deep: Sometimes new life is not life as we know it. And sometimes the threat to a planet is even more. The second Tales of the Empire volume fills in the tapestry of the Empire, while telling stories of courage and daring in the ongoing struggle to survive.