simeon was a shellperson the brain who ran space station sss900 on the fringes of human space but things hadnt been going too well lately and he was more than a little discontented though normally he enjoyed his work these days it seemed boring to make matters worse his longtime parner had just retired and he was having a hard time adjusting to his newly assigned brawn a strongwilled woman named channa hap who seemed to feel it her duty to keep him in linesimeons love of wargaming would find unexpected uses when the brutal kolnari attack the nearby colony planet bethel sheltering the colonys refugees brought the city an invitation to serious trouble with kolnari pirates