HE WAS RAISED TO HOLD THE LINE.

The Federated Suns is on the brink of all-out war with the Taurian Concordat, and the cadets of Fulker Military Academy, on the planet of Taygeta, are caught between the two powers.

Darian Holt is the fourth generation of his family to walk Fulker's halls. His homeworld of Diefenbaker is under assault by the Concordat, and he hates feeling helpless, stuck learning instead of doing. But he was raised on duty, loyalty, the chain of command, and the promise that House Davion looks after its own, so he waits...

SHE WAS RAISED TO BREAK IT.

Risa Kalder grew up in the Iron Wake, a mercenary command where you earn a cockpit or you don't get one. She doesn't belong at Fulker and knows it, but with her dead cousin's coin, a battered Blackjack, and a talent for mechanics, she intends to make her mark, one way or another...

And now she's Darian's biggest problem. She keeps bending?but not breaking?the rules. He keeps catching her where she shouldn't be. They have no reason to trust each other, but neither one is willing to back down.

Then the Concordat invades Taygeta, a full assault force pitted against aging defense systems, failing fortifications, and untested cadets. No orbital support. No Davion rescue.

Honor is what Darian was taught. Survival is what Risa was raised on. The academy will need both to withstand this battle...and they'll need to rely on each other if they're going to survive...