Winter Stars

Lords of the Winter Stars, #5

If a war is inevitable, it's good strategy to strike the first blow…to discover the enemy's strength and secrets.

Finally, the centuries old conflict must be addressed by any means necessary. A long-standing suspicion that there are traitors within human ranks who had been orchestrating the conflict between the Allied civilizations and the Shoultain Warlords, must be either confirmed—or disproved. Many highly-placed political and military figures believe that a war between the galactic human civilizations and the non-human aggressors is inevitable…but one last desperate bid at fragile peace must be made before billions are condemned to death; or worse—slavery in the internment camps of the Shoultain Warlords.

A convoy, delivering the much needed food staples and medical supplies to six enemy occupied worlds is deemed to be just the thing. It will be escorted by two dozen quick-strike fighters. They are the real bait. One of the escort ships will have Karin and Kitaya at the navs.

For the first time since they've met in a Synoor jungle, they're going out on assignment—together. It's a test and a trap. And they both know it. However, they've met under inhospitable circumstances and still managed to forge a friendship that transcends all barriers. Both are survivors with a bloody past that had prevented them from dealing with their individual traumas…but it's possible now that the fleet officer with questionable taste in women, might just be the right tool to put a different spin on danger. At least that holds true for Kitaya. For Karin, however, all relationships tend to end in tragedy.