*** A B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree ***Cyrus Konami is the Chief Inspector on the first colony vessel, Aotea, to leave Earth's solar system. Deep within the machinery of the ship, a suspicious death upends the routine on board. Mysterious signals from deep space add to the confusion, along with a series of debilitating malfunctions. Cy and Lieutenant Beatriz Mattoso dig into the deceased crewman's background.

The first signs point to a tragic accident. Ship scuttlebutt points to the deep-space signals -- is a mysterious force trying to prevent humanity from spreading into deep space? Or are the radical pacifists and cultural separatists who funded the journey somehow involved? With an increasingly uncooperative populace, a shocking assassination attempt, and a spaceship falling apart around them, Cy and Bea must unravel secrets that threaten the lives of thousands before it's too late.