When the line between enemy and ally blurs, things get complicated. Free another planet from Traverse occupation. It was a routine mission—until an ambush decimated the task force’s Special Forces contingent. After six months in deep space, the Intergal fleet returned to finish its task: break the Traverse occupation of the planet and restore freedom and self-governance to the Tinareean people. As a bonus, they recovered four members of the annihilated SF Units. Things were finally going as planned… Or were they? Taylor and his team escaped their captors’ not-so-tender mercies and made their way back to the fleet, but their homecoming wasn’t as welcoming as they expected. Instead, it felt more like they’d entered enemy territory of a different kind. Commander Richards was used to complications, but after his extensive groundwork as Intergal’s liaison to Tinaree’s resistance movement, this mission should’ve been straightforward. But oddities were rarely coincidences, and old habits died hard. When the peculiarities surrounding the ambush and the subsequent events involving Taylor and his team stacked up, Richards took note. While the team struggles to heal and reintegrate into the fleet, Richards draws on his true specialty and a fortunately placed, highly skilled resource to investigate further. As he digs deeper, accepted truths are thrown into question, circumstances surrounding events become murky, and the line between enemy and ally blurs. Is this a series of random happenings, or is it something much more malignant?