ORIGINAL TRADE PAPERACK Steve White co-author with David Weber of the New York Times best-seller The Shiva Option joins with Compton Crook Award Winner Charles E Gannon to carve another notch in the Starfire adventure saga The war with the Arduans—profoundly alien invaders who originally arrived in STL ships—is over Most of those attackers are now probationary (and very productive) citizens of the Rim Federation However many among the Arduans’ warrior caste have neither accepted defeat nor the personhood of any of the other intelligence races Their leader the ruthless admiral of the second Arduan exodus— Amunsit—is in firm control of the Zarzuela system Along with a fifth column among the peaceable Arduans she hopes to find allies in subsequent refugee fleets that abandoned their race&s now-dead home system long ago But as the victors’ diplomats attempt to soothe tensions with these warlike neighbors two heroes of the last war—veteran Admiral Ian Trevayne & young trouble-shooter Ossian Wethermere—suspect they have stumbled upon a deeper Arduan plot one which could shatter the Pan-Sentient Union & perhaps interstellar civilization itself Meet the Author Vietnam veteran Steve White is the author of numerous science fiction & fantasy novels including Wolf Among the Stars St Anthony’s Fire & Blood of Heroes & the coauthor of Exodus the immediate prequel to Extremis With David Weber White collaborated on Starfire series novels Insurrection Crusade In Death Ground & New York Times bestseller The Shiva Option Charles E Gannon is the author of Compton Crook Award winning Nebula nominated Fire with Fire Trial by Fire & Raising Caine in the Caine Riordan series He is the coauthor with Eric Flint of 1636 The Papal Stakes & 1636 Commander Cantrell in the West Indies in Eric Flint&s best-selling Ring of Fire series With best-selling Steve White Gannon is the coauthor of Starfire series entries Extremis & Imperative Gannon is also the author of multiple short stories He is a member of SIGMA the "SF think-tank" which has advised various intelligence & defense agencies since the start of the millennium Chuck lives near Annapolis Maryland with his wife & children