Dancing in the Darkness

Charlie escaped Kander as a teenager during its civil war. Returning is not an appealing prospect, but she needs the work offered by its ruler, Kal: retrieve an Omega who has been kidnapped and taken off-world. Preparing for the mission brings Charlie and her mercenary team into close contact with the enigmatic female Alpha. As Charlie learns more about Kal, a job she meant to treat as a financial necessity becomes personal. Questions about the kidnapping complicate the rescue, and Charlie starts to care about people she had expected to keep at a distance. The assignment draws her into conflicts she can no longer regard as someone else's problem.