From the safety of its hidden refuge, the Corvad House emerges, its vengeance honed by time, ready to reshape the galaxy. After thirty-three years of peace, the millennia-spanning House War reignites with brutal force. The galaxy trembles as the Corvad House, a dynasty once thought vanquished, emerges from the shadows with a vengeance. In a precarious alliance with the Colonial Council, the Corvad goal is the complete obliteration of the Nexus House, the guardians who have steered humanity through its darkest epochs. Within the fortified mountain stronghold of Domus Praesidium, Nexus Lara Anderson―the woman with no timeline―is tasked with navigating a treacherous time vortex. She must hunt down a rogue Nexus master whose lust for power has led to the unthinkable―a union with the Corvad House. As the last hope against the Corvad onslaught, the Nexus House's survival hinges on Lara mastering elusive powers that remain frustratingly beyond her grasp. Commanding the Colonial Fleet, Admiral Jon McCarthy―the strategic mastermind and Hero of the Korilian War―leads a desperate counterstrike as the supposedly weakened Synthec forces launch a devastating assault on Earth. With planetary defenses crumbling and enemies emerging from within, the Nexus House and humanity itself face the ultimate threat: Annihilation! Fans of James S.A. Corey's Leviathan Wakes and Frank Herbert's Dune will find themselves on familiar yet thrilling terrain in this penultimate novel in the Colonial Fleet saga. Here, the fates of empires are intertwined with the destinies of the driven few, whose decisions will either propel humanity to transcendence or consign it to oblivion. RICK CAMPBELL, a retired Navy Commander, spent more than thirty years in the Navy, serving on four nuclear-powered submarines. On his last submarine, he was one of the two men whose permission is required to launch its nuclear warhead-tipped missiles. Upon retirement from the Navy, Rick was contracted by Macmillan / St. Martin's Press for his novel The Trident Deception, which was hailed by Booklist as "The best submarine novel written in the last thirty years, since Tom Clancy's classic - The Hunt for Red October". His first six books became Barnes & Noble Top-10 and Amazon #1 bestsellers. Rick lives in the Washington, D.C. area and continues to work on new books across the submarine and science-fiction genres.