In the unforgiving void of the rim of human expansion, Raimond Augustus Solomon von Machthaber, once the overlooked younger son of the Felgenland Union's founding Protector, rises to power through a shocking twist of fate, igniting a mandate to unleash total war against the iron-fisted Terran Directorate's overwhelming hordes.
Fresh from his father's improbable ascension, Heinrich "Henry" von Machthaber, heir apparent and battle-hardened Assault officer, plunges into a deadly labyrinth of espionage, sabotage, and Directorate dirty ops. Torn between the visceral thrill of frontline command and the weight of dynastic destiny, Henry must master the shadows to claim his birthright as the next Protector—or watch the Union crumble.
In stark counterpoint, Jurgen Wulfjaeger, a rags-to-ranks everyman risen from poverty through sheer grit in the Assault, charges into the fray as a corporal in the infamous Ninth Stahlburgh Rifles, known as “Violence Regiment." Facing an amoral enemy that shreds humanity's rules of war, Jurgen battles through fog-shrouded kill zones, incompetent brass, and relentless misfortune, where every pin rifle round and orbital strike tests the limits of duty to God, nation, and Protector.
Amid epic fleet clashes, ground-pounding assaults, and unbreakable resolve, their sacrifices forge the Union's fate. Will they shatter the Directorate's tyranny... or fall as martyrs for the Protector of the Union?
From an early age, Eric has always been fascinated by stories about outer space. By education he is a computer scientist. Most of his career he has been a systems engineer. He has worked all over the world and in various industries, including time at NASA flying satellites. He values the titles of: Christian, Father, Husband, Engineer, Medievalist, Historian, and Homesteader. He's part cyborg-cow, and is grateful for modern medicine. When he isn't writing, Eric is planning to chicken wrangle, schnauzer herding, goat herd, in his new home near St Louis.