A war in deep space The Hive has retreated from Earth, and Captain Richard Hammett has been ordered to give chase - in three puny corvettes. He expects to find the colony on Ariadne in ruins, but the colonists are alive, and they're fighting back. Leads to a war on the home front The first battle is ugly. It's only when reinforcements arrive from Earth, though, that things REALLY get bad. There's been a change of government, and the Navy has a new mission - keep the people of Earth under control. As the Hive prepares a doomsday weapon and launches it at Ariadne, Hammett receives new orders. He is to abandon the colony. Now, a man who has built his life around service to the Navy must make an impossible decision - disgrace his uniform, or become a mutineer.