I9

One fed up woman with no filter holds the key to changing the future of the empire.

Burning season on the exile world of Anduvea means the space station at the edge of the empire is full of rich, drunk tourists and their idiotic antics. When Senior Security Officer Rita Stabinov spots a thief wanted dead or alive by Empaetor Iradio VIII himself, she envisions a hefty reward or maybe a promotion anywhere else.

A deathbed promise to the thief to keep the goods out of the Empaetor’s hands puts Rita in possession of a stolen treasure with a value far greater than she’s ever dreamed. The heavy-handed ruler will do everything in his power to get it back, and he’s already got an agent on the way.

Cooperating with the agent would be in Rita’s favor, but what have the empire or Anduvea’s residents ever done for her? Keeping her promise means subjecting her already tenuous tolerance for people to a whole new level of elite snobbery. It could also bring about a regime change and a new era of peace and prosperity…or the entire empire could slip into chaos, because when has anything ever worked out neatly?

Torn between reward and duty, Rita becomes entangled in a generations-old mystery that not only puts her heart in jeopardy but also her life and that of everyone she loves.