New York Times bestselling author Jack Campbell delivers fast-paced, "edge-of-your-seat combat"* in one of the most plausible visions of a future military--with one of the most starkly portrayed heroes in modern science fiction. The Alliance woke Captain John "Black Jack" Geary after a century of cryogenic sleep to take command of the fleet in the still-raging conflict with the Syndicate Worlds. Now Admiral Geary's victory has earned him the adoration of the people--and the enmity of politicians convinced that a living hero can be a very inconvenient thing. The war may be over, but Geary and his newly christened First Fleet have been ordered back into action to investigate the aliens occupying the far side of Syndic space and to determine just how much of a threat they represent to the Alliance. And while the Syndicate Worlds are no longer united, individually they may be more dangerous than ever before. Geary knows that members of the military high command and the government question his loyalty to the Alliance and fear his staging a coup--so he can't help but wonder if the fleet is being deliberately sent on a suicide mission.... *Elizabeth Moon, Nebula Award-winning author of the Vatta's War series