Thawed out after a century of cryogenic sleep, Captain John "Black Jack" Geary has led the Alliance fleet through Syndicate Worlds space, thwarting the enemy at every turn-even within his own ranks-during the long journey home. Alliance prisoners of war are being held at a labor camp in the Heradao Star System, which also happens to be the location of the majority of the surviving Syndic warships. Determined not to leave any of his people behind,...

The Alliance has been fighting the Syndic for a century--and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is Captain John "Black Jack" Geary-a man who's emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized beyond belief. Now, he must live up to his own legend.