Tyrone 'Tim' Middleton had been on his way out. With twenty years of military service under his belt, it was time to settle down on a colony somewhere and start the next phase of his life. But without warning, the Empire of Man withdrew its support of the Confederated Spineward Sectors, taking the vast majority of high-value military assets - including capable officers - with it. The would-be retiring Lieutenant Commander was improbably given a field commission of Captain, and tasked with a simple 'wave the flag' operation by his even more improbable commanding officer, Admiral Jason Montagne. So Captain Middleton set out to patrol the adjacent Sectors, and carry out his orders to the best of his ability. But, as is so often the case, one thing leads to another and Middleton finds himself and his ancient warship, the Pride of Prometheus, caught in quandary after quandary as the shadows of a Sector-wide conspiracy loom wherever they turn. The further down the rabbit hole he goes, the less he likes what he finds and his simple patrol mission soon turns into something much, much larger. With a crew of rookies and society's unwanted - including a pair of teenagers from a world very different from his own - Captain Middleton will discover one simple, incontrovertible truth: In life, there is no middle ground.

After emerging victorious against the Rim Fleet detachment sent to destroy them, Captain Middleton and the Pride of Prometheus’ crew point the bow at the heart of the enemy stronghold with a unified purpose: to destroy these Imperial interlopers and erase their subversive plans to conquer the Spineward Sectors before the first of the Raubach Clan’s dominos can fall. But their ship has been through more than even her Captain was aware, and before they can break their orbit of Capital the crew’s morale will once again be tested by an unexpected change in berthing assignments—one which will have a domino effect of its own on certain members of the crew. Their journey will take them beyond the Rim of the Spineward Sectors, and the first leg of that journey brings them face to face with evidence of a truth so profound it challenges Imperial propaganda at the most fundamental level. But this evidence also leads Captain Middleton to a path which just might grant the Pride and her crew a path to victory over their enemy—an enemy which outnumbers them fifty warships to one! It will take guile, it will take valor, it will take grit, and most of all it will take the best ship in the Spineward Sectors to carry this brave crew to the field on which one of the Spine’s most important, but least known, battles will take place. Before the end, relationships will be tested, new friends will be made, old ones will be called upon, and the price of victory will require the ultimate sacrifice—and perhaps much, much more—from the Pride’s crew.

Book 5 in the ongoing Spineward Sectors: Middleton's Pride military space opera series. Captain Tim Middleton and the last survivors of the Pride of Prometheus, after the fateful battle at Cagnzyz, now find themselves aboard an alien, derelict ship on the other side of the galaxy surrounded by pirates. Which wouldn't be all that unusual for the intrepid crew—except for the fact that they can't even seem to get their new ship's lights turned on. Complicating matters, Mr. Fei's wounds suffered at Cagnzyz appear to have significantly deteriorated his once unparalleled mind, which will only make the tasks before them that much more difficult as the talented young crewman struggles to deal with the new reality of his strange condition. But he's not the only one who has difficulty with the consequences of Fei Long's actions back at Cagnzyz, which Middleton knows would warrant court martial—or possibly even a summary execution. Balancing these problems—and many, many more—Captain Middleton must navigate the treacherous waters on the far side of the galaxy as he finds himself swept up in a conflict that has been decades in the making, and in which nothing is exactly as it seems. It seems there's never a dull moment in the life of an MSP crew, and this one's survival will depend on their captain's wits, his flexibility, and his tactical acumen—but perhaps more importantly than all, survival will depend on his prejudice.

With a patchwork fleet under his command, Supreme Commander Middleton now faces the daunting task of dealing with an Imperial Fleet's seemingly unstoppable advance into the Gorgon Sectors. But the first order of business for any military commander in Middleton's position is to gather intelligence. So before they rush off to engage the enemy in a battle for the fate of the Gorgon Sectors, Middleton and his people must learn more about the mysterious nature of the Gorgon Conflict—and as each piece of the puzzle falls into place, a cloud of darkness appears at the edge of the galaxy which threatens to swallow the Gorgon Sectors whole. A mysterious figure known only as 'The Crafter' seems to only add to the increasingly murky picture in which MIddleton and his people find themselves, but it may be this same engimatic character who proves instrumental in the Alliance Gorgonus' ultimate victory in the escalating war with the Empire of Man. But for the first time in Middleton's career he has the resources, the crew, and perhaps the most crucial element of all—surprise—on his side necessary to bring a fair fight to the Imperial Fleet. And that's exactly what he intends to do. Meanwhile, on the far Rim, a secretive Imperial mission is under way to pierce the veil of darkness beyond the Gorgon Sectors—a veil behind which a threat of unimaginable danger might lurk. While fleets of warships vie for control of the Gorgon Sectors, the Imperial operatives will try to discover who their real enemy is—and their discovery may shake the galaxy itself. Will Middleton be able to keep the ramshackle Alliance Gorgonus from flying apart at the seams before they close to grips with the enemy? Will Kongming's personal transformation continue to strip away his remaining humanity? And will the Empire manage to regain the initiative, or will Middleton deal them a crippling blow before they even know he is hunting them? Battle lines will be drawn, players revealed, and fur will fly in this entry to the Spineward Sectors: Middleton's Pride series!