Book excerpt: DEAD RIGHT THERE Flush with their success against the Jade Falcons on Borghese, Jeremiah Rose and the Black Thorns head to Harlech to draw a new assignment. Their only requirement: Their new job must let them face off against the Clans. They find more than they bargained for. Their assignment: Garrison duty on Wolcott—a Kurita planet deep in the heart of the Clan Smoke Jaguar occupation zone. The world itself is besieged, but protected from further Clan aggression by the Clan code of honor. And Wolcott makes a useful staging area for Kurita raids on Smoke Jaguar-occupied territory. The mission pay is good. The advance is unbelievable. They just have to live long enough to spend it...