Aboard the space station First Contact Café, Station Commander General Jake Devlin and Sissy, inexperienced and undereducated High Priestess of Harmony, confront the mystery of an odd eight-limbed stowaway, a mystical refugee who talks in circles rather than reveal the truth, and clues to the origin and genetic breakdown of enemies and allies alike. Together they fight diplomatic protocols to forge a necessary treaty between CSS and Harmony. Their efforts threaten to break the caste...

Harmony, a new utopia for space-faring humans. Or is it a thinly disguised tyranny locked into a rigid caste system, slavery by another name?Either way, xenophobic Harmony holds the secret to Badger Metal, a unique ceramic-metal alloy that protects people from the radiation and hard vacuum of space.Sissy grew up Worker Caste on the planet Harmony, her only hope for survival is to remain unnoticed, hiding her full array of seven caste marks. A devastating quake appears to be...