Hold tight . . . things are about to get bumpy Sitting in his oppressively small 10 x 10 cell at the Norfolk Naval Station’s Brig, Captain Galvin Quintos awaits his impending court-martial. That’s when he has a most unexpected contact by Fleet Commander Admiral Block. He’s proposing an off-book, secret operation—one coming at the request of the Pleidian Weonan Empress Shawlee Tee. For Quintos, telling Shawlee “no” was never an option. Unfortunately, according to the admiral, this very well could be a mission of no return. The war with the Grish has turned desperate and the Alliance is tallying far more losses than wins. To complicate matters, all other US Space-Navy warship assets have been deployed to various hot spots within the quadrant. As for the mission, Fleet Commander Twinwon and his crew are on the run from a fleet of eighteen Grish Warships somewhere out within the farthest reaches of frontier space. The Empress knows she has no right to ask, but she has no one else to turn to—she needs Quintos and the USS Hamilton’s crew— and she needs them now. Sure, this rescue may be coming too late—but no one ever said being a hero was easy. First problem—how the hell will Quintos escape from a Norfolk high-security detention facility…