Book One in the Fractured Galaxy near-future hard science fiction trilogy, Random Walk is the story of three U.S. Air Force Space Command Colonel Derek Williams, a mild-mannered, experienced space traveler; Captain Jacob Mendez, the ship's playful navigator; and civilian Vicky Abrams, an introverted civilian accelerator physicist who joined the crew late. Together, the diverse military crew sets out to test a new propulsion system that will significantly shorten future trips to Mars. When the system malfunctions, the spacecraft is unexpectedly flung out of our solar system. The crew, cut off from Earth with no faster-than-light capabilities, has to set aside their differences and work together to survive without help from Ground Control. While their colleagues on Earth scramble to figure out what happened to them, Derek, Jacob and Vicky must find solutions that don't exist to a situation that shouldn't be possible.