An all-new galaxy. A terrifying new enemy. Exploration of Sextans B is underway via the first stable trans-galactic in recorded history. Colonel Mateo Larra takes command of Joint Base Sagittarius Arch, the visionary new space station housing diplomats, merchants, and military personnel eager to make their mark. But with every opportunity comes opposition. Pirates harass travelers throughout the newly charted system. Smugglers, hauling valuable contraband, slip under the CDF’s nose. Even the League of Sol continues spy games as if the war never ended. Colonel Larra barely steps aboard the Arch before facing the most daunting challenges of his storied career. Challenges that have only begun. Ships vanish without a trace. The mysteries deepen when one reappears like a ghost, pristine as the day she left the shipyard—without her crew. But when the League ambassador is kidnapped, his bodyguards murdered in cold blood, Colonel Larra encounters an unimaginable horror on their doorstep. And this time, it’s a fight the Coalition can’t win.

Enemies crouch at the door, seeking to devour. The Kin have slinked away to lick their wounds, but Colonel Mateo Larra remains ever vigilant about protecting those aboard Joint Base Sagittarius Arch. Patrols scour the galaxy for their nesting place. Space station security is doubled, and the diplomatic dance with the League of Sol heats up. But as the top brass are quick to remind him, the show must go on. If he didn’t have enough on his plate, Colonel Larra is tasked with babysitting the production of the popular holovid series War Patrol. What he didn’t count on was seeing more than one familiar face among the crew. Rising like a ghost from the grave. Father and prodigal son are scarcely reunited before tensions flare. The feud deepens when locally hired set crews turn up dead, cut down by a stealthy and vicious new enemy. Attempts at capture prove futile as the murder spree becomes a blood bath. But when his loved ones are targeted, Colonel Larra must choose between duty and family. Before all he holds dear is lost.

A storm is brewing. Colonel Larra walks a tightrope. After several enemy incursions against Joint Base Sagittarius Arch, he’s facing backlash from the merchant guild over the backlog of customs screenings and immigration through the galactic wormhole. But it’s a delicate balancing act between freedom and security for all souls aboard the space station. A responsibility he doesn’t take lightly. Despite the challenges in Sextans B, progress is being made on the diplomatic front—and in Colonel Larra’s family life. The relationship with his wife has only strengthened through the recent adversities, and communication lines have miraculously been reestablished with both sons. But it’s only the calm before the storm. An offshoot of the Hex nation has declared independence and requested asylum. But after the Hex came to the Arch’s aid against the Kin, the appeal places the Coalition in a difficult position. When a saboteur targets the diplomatic corps, Colonel Larra is forced to take up the ambassador’s mantle. The team barely departs when terrorists strike targets across the station—and worst fears come to fruition. Now, with a fleet divided amid battles on multiple fronts, it’s all hands on deck. Or the house will fall.