The second volume of the epic New Terrans series! After the events in Aurora Ascending, peace settled in the Orion Arm. But when ships sent to explore the Eagle Nebula in the Sagittarius Arm disappear, Elliot Greyjoy and his team uncover a deadly threat: automated defensive drones with the power to destroy entire fleets. Worse still, the AI controlling the drones has determined that humanity must be extinguished. Elliot has been chosen to lead the combined forces of the Aetherian Empire, Canopan Empire, Rigellian Alliance, and unaligned planets against the new threat. These spherical drones, armed with powerful free electron lasers, have destroyed every ship sent to investigate their stronghold in the Eagle Nebula of the Sagittarius Arm. When they begin to construct an extermination fleet to wipe out humanity, the stakes couldn’t be higher. As Elliot and his allies prepare for a suicidal assault on the Sagittaron stronghold, one of their own goes rogue. Hailey Link, a humaniform android created using Aetherian and Canopan technology, steals a captured Sagittaron sphere and takes off on a seemingly suicidal mission. With the fate of the Orion arm resting on Elliot’s shoulders and the odds stacked against them, can they overcome the Sagittaron threat before it’s too late? And what is Hailey’s true objective, and can she be trusted to save them all? Meanwhile, Prince Consort Lys Calt and Willa Greyjoy must navigate the complex politics of their respective empires, while Admiral MacDougan and young Syn Calt, heir to the Canopan throne, work to develop new technologies and strategies to aid the fight. In this thrilling space opera sequel to Aurora Ascending, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.