The second book in the action-packed Peacekeeper series, a continuation of Tanya Huff's military sci-fi Confederation series following Torin Kerr
Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr had been the very model of a Confederation Marine. No one whoβd ever served with her could imagine any circumstance that would see her walking away from the Corps.
But that was before Torin learned the truth about the war the Confederation was fightingβ¦before sheβd been declared dead and had spent time in a prison that shouldnβt existβ¦before sheβd learned about the βplasticβ beings who were really behind the war between the Confederation and the Others. That was when Torin left the military for good.
Yet she couldnβt walk away from preserving and protecting everything the Confederation represented. Instead, ex-Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr drew together an elite corps of friends and alliesβsome ex-Marines, some civilians with unique skillsβand together they prepared to take on covert missions that the Justice Department and the Corps could notβor would notβofficially touch. But after their first major mission, it became obvious that covert operations were not going to be enough.
Although the war is over, the fight goes on and the Justice Department finds its regular Wardens unable to deal with violence and the people trained to use it. Ex-Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr has a solution: Strike Teams made up of ex-military personnel, small enough to maneuver quickly, able to work together if necessary. Justice has no choice but to implement her idea and Torin puts her team of independent contractors back into uniform. It isnβt war, it is policing, but it often looks much the same.
When the scientists doing a preliminary archaeological dig on a Class Two planet are taken hostage, Torinβs team is sent to free them. The problem of innocents in the line of fire is further complicated by the fact that the mercenaries holding them are a mix of Confederation and Primacy forces, and are looking for a weapon able to destroy the plastic aliens whoβd started and maintained the war.
If Torin werenβt already torn by wanting that weapon in play, she also has to contend with the politics of peace that have added members of the Primacyβformer enemiesβto her team. Before they confront the mercenaries, Torin will have to sift through shifting loyalties as she discovers that the line betweenβusβ and βthemβ is anything but straight.
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