Rear Admiral Michelle Henke was commanding one of the ships in a force ledby Honor Harrington in an all-out space battle. The odds were against the StarKingdom forces, and they had to run. But Michelle’s ship was crippled, andhad to be destroyed to prevent superior Manticoran technology from falling intoHavenite hands, and she and her surviving crew were taken prisoner. Much to hersurprise, she was repatriated to Manticore, carrying a request for a summitconference between the leaders of the two sides which might end the war. But acondition of her return was that she gave her parole not to fight against theforces of the Republic of Haven until she had been officially exchanged for aHavenite prisoner of war, so she was given a command far away from thewar’s battle lines. What she didn’t realize was that she would findherself on a collision course, not with a hostile government, but with theinterstellar syndicate of criminals known as Manpower. And Manpower had its ownplans for eliminating Manticore as a possible threat to its lucrative slavetrade — deadly plans which remain hidden in the shadows.

Visual artist(s): Shinobu Gotoh, Shok Takaku