Prologue

An uneasy peace reigns among the stars. The might of the Unionist Republic is waning, and a challenger has arisen from the ashes of the Holy Corinthian Empire: New Corinth. The complex web of alliances and assurances that binds the galaxy together is straining under the weight of power shifting from old to new.

Across a million solar systems, lesser powers look for answers as to their place in a galaxy reshaped. It is a time of great worry but also a time of opportunity for those daring. Fortunes are made and lost.

A mercenary and his ship have flown into the depth of interstellar space to earn their share of the spoils. A secretive religious order of mysterious origin is tendering a mission to anyone foolhardy and greedy enough to accept.