Commander Karel Thierry is an emotional powder keg with a short fuse. A promising young officer, albeit a grossly overextended one, he is offered a chance to command the Republic of Earth's most powerful new warship, the Fenrir, for a one month shakedown. Even before the testing of the Fenrir can begin, Thierry and his crew are diverted on a mission that will start Mankind's first interstellar war-a mission that Thierry is neither mentally nor emotionally prepared to lead.