Privateering has its price. A conscience has consequences.
"Don't go beyond the Westwell unless you have a very good reason-Cybele's constables don't patrol that far," Minister Vass warned.
"We can handle ourselves, Minister," Yana objected. "We aren't children."
"Then you understand I wouldn't tell you this without a good reason. Cybele is a port of call for the Jovian Union, for Earth, and for the Ice Wolves-with the Cybeleans playing all of us against each other. There are wheels within wheels here, some set spinning by us, others by our enemies, and a few by those whose loyalties aren't clear. Open hostilities are rare in the main Wells-no one wants to offend the Cybeleans. But elsewhere? Anything goes."
For the Hashoone family, privateering is more than a business-it's a way of life. But now that the Jovian Union needs their help more than ever, their way of life is about to get a lot more complicated.
Earth is mounting an arms race, and has started recruiting privateers of its own. Facing this formidable foe, the Jovian Union has asked for all hands on deck-and that includes the Hashoones and their ship, the Shadow Comet. The stage has been set for a showdown in the Cybele asteroids, where the only rule is that friendship goes to the highest bidder.
With so many players vying for power, Tycho Hashoone will have to decide where his allegiances lie-and he'll discover that both betrayal and loyalty can have terrible consequences.
Taking a stand means risking a fall!
