Hot, high, heavy, and dirty is a dangerous combination when you are trying to get an airplane off the ground with only a few thousand feet of runway. All too soon, though, he and his crew will have to take a stand. He needs a skilled warrior like Blackhawk on his side, but the mercenary, plagued by dark memories from the past, refuses to join the cause. For the marshal is determined to forge a Far Stars Confederation powerful enough to eliminate all imperial influence and threats in the sector. Pulled unwittingly into the conflict, they uncover disturbing information about secret imperial involvement that could upset the plans of Lucerne. When the Wolf's Claw is damaged, they are forced to land on a remote planet subsumed by civil war. Sent to rescue the kidnapped daughter of his longtime friend, Marshal Augustin Lucerne, Blackhawk and his crew find themselves drawn into one deadly fight after another.

Even his cynicism cannot banish the guilt and pain that threaten his sanity. A veteran fighter as deadly with a blade as he is with a gun, Blackhawk is a man haunted by a dark past. Smuggler and mercenary Arkarin Blackhawk and the crew of the ship Wolf's Claw are freelance adventurers who live on the fringe of human society in the Far Stars. The first installment in the Far Star series, a swashbuckling space saga that introduces the daring pirate Blackhawk and the loyal crew of the Wolf's Claw, from the author of the best-selling Crimson Worlds saga.

Duel in the dark jay allan