Scattered Stars: Conviction

The last reward Kira Demirci expected for heroism in a time of war was to spend the rest of her life dodging assassins - but when her government betrays her as part of their surrender, she and her comrades flee the star system of Apollo to the edge of civilized space. The Syntactic Cluster is disorganized, disunified, and in desperate need of the nova fighters Kira smuggled out of Apollo with her. With an entire squadron supposed to follow in her wake, it falls to her to build a new home for her comrades.

Kira Demirci left her homeworld of Apollo, pursued by assassins, seeking revenge for her victories in the war against the Brisingr Kaiserreich. She now has a new home and a new role as the nova fighter wing commander aboard the mercenary carrier Conviction under Captain John Estanza. Conviction is on retainer with the royal family of Redward, which encourages Kira and her pilots to make themselves a new home on the frontier planet. But there is a reason they want to tie the mercenary carrier’s crew more tightly to themselves, and storm clouds are brewing on the horizon.

Exile to the Syntactic Cluster has been good for Kira Demirci and her friends. Once elite pilots of the Apollo System Defense Force, they now own the most powerful mercenary warship in the entire star cluster. Working with the carrier-for-hire Conviction and her captain, John Estanza, they have helped the king of Redward usher in a new era of hope for the entire Cluster. That hope is nearly shattered when Estanza’s old enemies in the Equilibrium Institute strike directly at Redward’s king. 

Commodore Kira Demirci is now the commander of a small but powerful mercenary force - one of the most dangerous in the cluster of stars she now calls home. Her own actions have brought peace to the Syntactic Cluster, though, and a mercenary is in limited demand. A mutual interest brings her into the circle of the heir to the Royal Crest, a wealthy kingdom dozens of light-years away. Jade Panosyan has a nightmare brewing - and a plan to deal with it.

The star system of Apollo has fallen! Her fleets are scattered and her enemies victorious. Apollo’s last hope: an exile mercenary coming home at last. Ace pilot Kira Demirci fled her home system of Apollo five years ago. Betrayed by her own government and one step ahead of enemy assassins, she smuggled a squadron of star fighters into the Outer Rim and forged a mercenary fleet of old friends and new alike. Many of the aces of Apollo’s war against Brisingr weren’t as lucky.