When duty collides with nightmare, survival becomes the only mission.
Chief Engineer Lillian Stark has spent her life fighting for a seat at the table. The Vanguard mission was supposed to prove her worth—a stepping stone toward her captain’s license. But when corporate politics hand the command to someone else, Stark is left to navigate a volatile captain, a crew of strangers, and a colony job that should have been routine.
What begins as a standard deep-space voyage quickly unravels into something far darker. The colony they were set to deliver colonists to seems to be abandoned. As part of the landing party, Lillian walks the unsettling corridors looking for any sign of what may have happened to the facility. But something not entirely human may be stalking the halls.
As paranoia rises and trust fractures, Stark must rely on her instincts and her stubborn refusal to back down. But out here, light-years from home, even her brilliance may not be enough.