John "Newsie" Aerovant has built a career chasing the truth. Now, he's been offered the story of a lifetime! An exclusive interview with the architect of the system's recent chaos. He knows the United Nations Intelligence Service is using him as bait, but for a reporter like Newsie, the chance to expose the mastermind is worth the risk of being caught in the crossfire.
The colony world of Xoro has fallen to a violent coup. A large-scale operation is planned by UNIS, and Gamma Squadron is tasked with extracting the governmental staff from the heart of the insurrection. In the midst of a multi-faceted operation, things can always go wrong, and when a Shezlan combat team is the opposition, it's not a matter of if, but when.
As the operation turns into an all-out battle, Gamma Squadron discovers a brutal reality: they've walked into a tailor-made kill box. In the fires of Xoro, chaos reigns as the effort to protect Newsie and his UNIS handlers becomes inextricably linked with Gamma's own fight for survival. With the enemy tightening the noose, some debts are paid only in blood.
