Demand the Debt That's Owing The religiously pro-human Manifest Destiny Movement's genocide of the Tau Ceti's intelligent species has all but succeeded. Now Manifest Destiny seeks to launch its biological weapons against the spidery zhizhu, voracious and uncommunicative competitors for the rare Earth-like worlds in local space. The Humanitas Church, a prime gateway to Manifest Destiny, has converted an unknown number of Imperial Fleet crews. Vessels stolen from Fleet's reserve anchorage are already crewed by deserters, retirees, and others. Cuchulain "Murphy" O'Meath of the Emperor's Jin Jun has limited time to interfere with Manifest Destiny. Fahnisht, his non-human friend and Clanlord, intends to collect the blood debt owed for his species' near-destruction. They will do what they must to interfere with genocide, even of the zhizhu. Fleet fighter pilot B. P. Avinashini and marine Urwah Grunon, Fleet Marine, have both seen the ugly death the zhizhu bring to human "cattle." Impressed by O'Meath as crew of Granuaile, they can help - or they can give Manifest Destiny its chance to end the zhizhu's own threat to consume humanity.