Morgan always assumed that if she could survive growing up in the mines of Planet Hillman – feared for its brutal conditions and gravity twice that of Earth – she could survive anything. That was before she became a starship mechanic. Now she has to contend with hostile bosses, faulty equipment, and even taking care of her friend’s little girl. Once pirates show up, it’s a wonder she can get any work done at all.

Morgan has finally made it, earning an officer’s slot on S.T.E.V.E., the ancient flagship of the Takiyama Merchant House. She’s survived so much to get here, and isn’t about to let lingering nightmares over those events stop her now. That said, even the toughest mechanics need down time. Grudgingly taking some shore leave, Morgan goes to visit the estate of her friend Emily, Baroness Novan. What she doesn’t know is that the first steps towards interstellar war have already been taken by the homeworld she escaped, and important leaders – including Emily – are targeted for Assassination.

An explosion is only the beginning of her problems… Morgan is finally back to work, having returned from her disastrous attempt at a vacation just in time to watch an accident cause a massive explosion on one of the other freighters. With the damaged ship out of commission it is up to the crew of STEVE – Morgan included – to frantically get the cargo transferred and depart more than a month ahead of schedule. But what Morgan doesn’t know is that the assassination attempts were only the beginning. Missed maintenance isn’t the only, or worst, danger lurking out in the black.

Morgan and the crew of STEVE have captured the pirates’ command ship, but can they keep it? After a harrowing battle on the mining station and in the Black they won an incredibly valuable prize – an armed starship that, once repaired, is capable of subspace jumps without a gate. All Morgan and her skeleton crew need do is make the long journey home and they will be rewarded handsomely. Unfortunately, not all the pirates are accounted for, and their nimble frigates are still out there somewhere, plotting to take back what Morgan rightfully commandeered…

Morgan had a simple sell her captured pirate ship, hire mercenaries, and rescue her parents from her former homeworld. Nothing was going to stop her, not even the pirates trying to take her prize back. All they got for their trouble was two more ships added to Morgan’s forces, but the pirates were only the beginning. The very people she wants to liberate her parents from have invaded her new home, laying siege and cutting them off from the rest of the galaxy. Desperate for ships and experienced spacers to crew them, Morgan, her crew, and her ships have been conscripted into the Navy of her adopted home, despite the exhaustion of the former and the damage to the latter. Morgan herself has been given the unwanted and laughable rank of Commodore. What for most would be a position of pride only represents the things standing in the way of Morgan’s plan. She has a new plan now; simpler, but also more dangerous. Survive.