When diplomacy fails, send in the Space Marines The Maltaani home world has been plunged into civil war. The anti-human nationalists have driven the royalists out of power and forced the government into exile aboard a Maltaani fleet orbiting the planet. On Terra Earth, war fever grips the populace. Opportunistic politicians and war profiteers manipulate public opinion to demand the United Nations of Terra get involved. It’s a war everyone wants, and it’s a war everyone will get. Brevet Captain Abner Fortis takes command of Tango Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Regiment—Tango 2/2—just in time to join the fight. Tango 2/2 is a reconnaissance company, and their mission is to lead the way for the invasion force. The entire fighting force of the ISMC—nine divisions, forty-five thousand Space Marines—is depending on Fortis and Tango Company to succeed in the face of overwhelming odds. It’s a risky strategy, but if they can do it, the payoff is nothing less than the liberation of the Maltaani from their nationalist oppressors. Fortis is reunited with his trusted comrade and Space Marine extraordinaire, Gunnery Sergeant Petr Ystremski. Together, they lead Tango Two Two on an increasingly desperate gambit as the invasion stalls, and they’re stranded behind enemy lines. With no good options, they do what Space Marines always do—pick a bad one and execute. After all, they’re paid to do it, not like it. There can be no failure. Win… or die. DINLI!