Book excerpt: On the isolated garden world known as Wagner, Humans and Droyne have lived in peace for generations. But now a bloody war rages across the planet. Each side claims the other started it, and each species plans to end it by exterminating its rivals.Lieutenant Walker's platoon guards the Imperial Embassy, and her orders are clear: Protect the ambassador and don't get involved in the war. The Imperium is a neutral party. Marines always follow their orders.But when Walker encounters a group of Droyne outcasts and a wounded Human soldier with a wild story about a lost family and mind control, she has to decide whether to get involved. She can try to stop the war or follow her orders while the world burns around her.