With Meerut secured, First Centurion Kosnett asks Dalou for permission to present the Captain of Morninghawk with the Republic Cross, at the Dalou capital. This sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to bring down the entire Hegemony, unless the Shogun, the Emperor, and the Republic of Aquitaine Navy can find a way to keep an uneasy peace. Book Three of a new Republic of Aquitaine Navy series: First Centurion Kosnett, and a sequel to The Jessica Keller Chronicles. Be sure to start with Book One: Encounter at Vilahana.)