Book excerpt: As the cold war between the Klingon Empire and Cardassian Union intensifies, the United Federation of Planets embark on a controversial diplomatic solution that could change the entire future of the Star Trek galaxy. What begins as a discovery that would enable the Klingon Empire to reclaim a lost piece of its past becomes a prolonged struggle with the rapidly expanding Cardassian Union. Enter the Federation, whose desire to preserve interstellar stability leads Ambassador Curzon Dax to broker a controversial and tenuous peace—one that is not without opponents, including Lieutenant Elias Vaughn of Starfleet special ops. But there’s much more drama unfolding in the Betreka Nebula. Within the shadowy rooms of the Cardassian Obsidian Order, Klingon Imperial Intelligence, and even the Romulan Tal Shiar, secret scales are being balanced, and for every gain made for the sake of peace, there will come a loss.