The da Vinci is returning to Hidalgo Station,a run-down old spacedock that has seen better decades, in order to pick up Commander Sonya Gomez from a much-needed shore leave. But when they arrive they find that Gomez has taken the station hostage, and is making insane demands -- if they aren't met, she'll blow up the station.

No one is more surprised than Gomez herself, who is trapped inside Hidalgo's control center with no way out -- and no way to stop her shipmates from thinking she's gone mad. Alone, the S.C.E.'s leader must find a way out of her trap before her shipmates take drastic action!

John J. Ordover