The first of the acclaimed Vatta's War books, the exciting military science fiction series that features a swashbuckling spaceship-captain heroine who mixes commerce with combat.

Kylara Vatta is the only daughter in a family full of sons, and her father's only child to buck tradition by choosing a military career instead of joining the family business. For Ky, it's no contest: Even running the prestigious Vatta Transport Ltd. shipping concern can't hold a candle to shipping out as an officer aboard an interstellar cruiser. It's adventure, not commerce, that stirs her soul. And despite her family's misgivings, there can be no doubt that a Vatta in the service will prove a valuable asset. But with a single error in judgment, it all comes crumbling down.

Buy a planet and disappear.... That's all Cole wanted. He spent 13 years hiding on the fringes of society, piloting freighters for criminals and building a stash to do just that. But life happens when you're busy making plans. When Cole chooses to save an ejected castaway and stumbles into a crew of his own, he starts down a path that will force him to choose. Will Cole protect those who have become his people? Or will he slip away quietly in the night?

His mind raced...as he lay in the alley. Why was he there? Gavin knew two things - his name and he was wearing a tunic and pants. From beyond the alley, hustling city sounds were unfamiliar. The warmth of the sun on his neck and its position in the sky suggests it was mid-morning. The first choice he made, turning out of the alley, would change his fate. Marcus has led a full life, but he was sick of it. Six thousand years of magic, mayhem, and fighting other people’s wars has worn him out. Why wouldn’t people just leave him alone?

Honor Harrington has been exiled to Basilisk station and given an antique ship to police the system. The vindictive superior who sent her there wants her to fail. But he made one mistake: he's made her mad....