The Intrepid is adrift between the stars. After near calamity at LHS 1565, the Intrepid is on a course for Kapteyn's Star to make repairs. There, the crew will need to spend decades building a temporary industrial base. Across the void, the Noctus prepare to leave Sirius for the same destination. Their plan is to colonize the system and forge a new lives for themselves, if they aren't destroyed by their own government first. In an epic tale spanning over a century, Tanis Richards finds herself in another fight for her life as the new colony of Victoria is built under the threat of interstellar war.