For a thousand years, humanity's empire ruled the stars. Now it rots from within. A dynasty despised as illegitimate has bled the realm dry, and its latest sovereign—a mad empress—drives the Fleet into civil war. Admirals rebel. Generals turn traitor. Sibling fights sibling as the empire tears itself apart.
With the Navy shattered, the frontier lies exposed. From the galactic badlands, barbarian hordes surge forward—hard men and harder worlds, bred on violence and hunger. They plunder colonies, enslave survivors, and burn whole systems to ash. Civilization itself teeters on the edge of annihilation.
Captain Jonas Morane saw it coming. Years before the first shot was fired, he prepared for the empire's fall. Now, as the senior surviving officer of a battle group destroyed by rebels, he must lead a rag‑tag fleet through a labyrinth of wormholes, hunted by former comrades and marauders alike. His mission: safeguard humanity's knowledge and carve out a sanctuary before the long night descends.
Along the way, he rescues shattered Marines and mystics from certain death, binding them to his cause. But every step brings new enemies, new betrayals, and new blood spilled.
The empire is burning. The barbarians are rising. And one captain's desperate gamble may be the only thing standing between humanity and oblivion.