Book excerpt: It seemed too good to be true... When marauding ships attack the Andromeda Ascendant, the Andromeda crew, desperate to save their ship, slipstream to a world called Festival, which fends off their mysterious attackers and welcomes the crew with open arms. The crew couldn't be happier. Festival wishes to join the Commonwealth, and, as its name implies, is a safe haven, a perfect place for relaxing and indulging in life's finer pleasures. But there's something not quite right about Festival. Captain Dylan Hunt is suspicious of the large number of armed soldiers who are ostensibly providing security for their visit. And when his crew finds a big underground bash, the revelers seem more tense than happy. Dylan and crew uncover a diabolical scheme seething beneath the planet's utopian façade: Festival's planetary government is really a powerful militant regime bent on forcing neighboring worlds to join the new Commonwealth against their own volition. Before the Andromeda crew can do anything about Festival's strong-arm tactics, they receive a distress call from a renowned peace ambassador whose ship is being attacked by space pirates. In a bloody battle, Dylan and his crew defeat the attacking pirates. After the smoke clears, they learn from the ambassador the rulers of Festival don't just want to join the Commonwealth . . . they want to rule it! Suddenly, Festival seems like the Andromeda's worst nightmare. Captain Hunt and the crew have their hands full escaping from the clutches of Festival's power-hungry government, and trying to keep the peace within the Commonwealth.