Hope can turn the tides of war. It has been nearly ten months since the Battle of Artemis, where rogue Confederation warships attempted to eliminate President Kael Eridanys of the Galactic Union. The President lived and war did not break out between the Orion Confederation and Galactic Union. However, a rebellion has started to spread across the Confederation. As the Confederation burns, the "normals" of the Galactic Union and the "vampires" of the Blood Dynasty continue their peace talks. Jacob Carpenter and the former crew of Rapture have been welcomed aboard the heavy cruiser Empyrean. Jacob and his friends have begun training to become actual officers. The road ahead will be difficult but Captain John Devereaux believes new capable officers will be necessary when a war finally breaks out. Elsewhere, Riko Maeda struggles to survive. She finds herself on the prison planet of Mars. The Warden of the prison, Ross Algol, watches from the Citadel, high above Mars. No one will escape on his watch... not even Riko. Riko stares upon a broken horizon. Riko believes things are just going to get worse. In a time like this, the greatest weapon is hope.