Breach of Faith

Captain James Henry is caught between a rock and a hard place - again. Merchant ships operating in neutral space near the Terran Coalition and the League of Sol are disappearing without a trace. The latest report has something the others didn’t: a survivor. When news reaches the planet Lusitania during a cargo offload, Captain Henry and the Shadow Wolf’s crew are hired to extract the surviving operative before she’s silenced and the information she has is lost.

What once was his downfall becomes their saving grace. Hard-fought skirmishes leave Captain James Henry and the Shadow Wolf limping into Lusitania’s port. Payday awaits once the undercover operative is safely delivered planet-side to brief authorities on the League of Sol’s activities within neutral territory. But Jim learned long ago never to take anything at face value.

It takes more than truth to serve justice. Captain James Henry is left stinging after the latest firefight. However, lost cargo and payments mean little as a disturbing message reaches into neutral space - his uncle is dying. Uncle Charlie was the one who saved his life after Jim’s disgraceful dismissal from the Coalition Defense Force. He owes the man an enormous debt for giving him renewed purpose.

Captain James Henry has finally gained what he long desired - redemption. Yet not even his restored military honors and reputation can wipe away the bitter taste in his mouth after 15 years weighed down by guilt and shame. Before deep-seated betrayal sends Jim to the bottom of another whiskey bottle, the past again rears its ugly head when the Shadow Wolf’s first mate is kidnapped by an unholy enemy alliance. To rescue her from their clutches, Jim swallows his injured pride and accepts assistance from an unlikely source.

Admiral James Henry has traded a war of weapons for one cloaked in diplomacy as leader of the fledgling Independent Systems Fleet. Fighting alongside the Terran Coalition to rid the Sagittarius Arm of tyranny was the easy part. Now forced into the political arena, he’s never missed the freewheeling spacer’s life more.

Admiral James Henry faces a serious dilemma. Curall has already made deep inroads throughout Independent Space. While distracted fighting the League, the Jalm’tar Empire waged a clandestine war using the highly addictive substance—with far deadlier consequences. Billions across the galaxy face an excruciating death without a constant supply of the drug for which there is no known antidote. To keep the tap flowing, one planet’s leadership intends to roll the dice and adopt the Jalm’tar’s terms despite their onerous constraints.

The battles never end for Admiral James Henry. After months of negotiations, galactic alliance talks between the Independent Systems Federation and the Terran Coalition have stalled. There’s no urgency to strike a deal since the antidote nullified the Jalm’tar Empire’s Curall threat. But Jim suspects the usurper on the Jalm’tar throne still has a decisive hand to play in war games.