Grand Human Empire

Jackson ”Jax” Caruso inherited a ship from his parents. They’re dead, and they don’t need it. The unification wars happened a while ago, Jax’s parents' fought for the losing side. Now he takes the jobs he can get—smuggling, bounty hunting, hauling cargo. If it pays, he’ll do it. When Jax is approached with a job that seems too good to be true, he should have known better, he should have walked. He didn’t. Now, he and a few friends are in it deep; imperial entanglements are the least of their concerns with organized crime on their tails.

The Crimson Orchid hasn’t forgotten what Jax did to them on Jebidiah. Everywhere he and Naomi turn, bespoke suited thugs are trying to kill them. When the Governor of Kelso station hires them to take her to a summit on the Imperial homeworld of New Terra, it’s the kind of straightforward job Jax likes. Naomi has other ideas. One thing leads to another and now it’s not just the Crimson Orchid that is hot on their heels, but a mysterious Imperial agent.