Task Force 92 was murdered in a matter of minutes.

Captain Enrique Santiago was one of the best picket commanders in the fleet. His squadron was under orders to conceal its presence, survive and quietly gather information on enemy deployments. But DSS Arklow and her escorts were apparently not only detected, they were annihilated so fast they couldn't even transmit a coherent distress signal.

Only enemy strike fighters would be capable of such lethality. The problem is the empire has no strike fighter technology. Or at least they shouldn't.

Prairie Grove was once home to a heavy manufacturing facility Skywatch has long believed the empire covets. Now that the system was apparently the site of an open attack on Alliance forces, more heavily populated planets and the Manassas base could be next.

When the cruiser DSS Concordant and Commander Phillip Hauer fail to transmit a routine DWAY course check in the nearby El Rey system, multiple ships raise their alert conditions. The failed rendezvous puts the starship Conquistador and Alert Force 29 directly in the path of whatever is approaching human star systems.

Captain Jason Hunter's officers are also getting unusual readings from planet five. It could be a crash site, meaning human survivors could be in need of rescue. Or it could be something else. Something so chilling no starship or crew can be fully prepared.

If the battleship Argent doesn't untangle the mystery of Mount Tynavu, Captain Santiago's picket force may only be the beginning of the casualty list.