The war to reclaim Earth has moved beyond the first salvo. Now, the real grinding begins.

Following their “baptism by fire,” the Colonial Alliance is no longer an unknown threat to the Gorge Empire. The alien masters of Earth have adapted, shifting their strategy from disorganized defense to a cold-blooded campaign of attrition designed to bleed the human fleet dry.

Sergeant Liam Wardell and the legendary Phoenix Squad are no longer just grunts in the spearhead—they are now the most wanted targets in the galaxy. As they are reintegrated into a full Marine platoon aboard the destroyer Thermopylae, the stakes reach a breaking point. From a disastrous descent into the fortified strongholds of Planet 1389 to a desperate, last-stand defense of FOB Valhalla, the Marines find themselves outmatched by a terrifying new enemy: the Janissaries, human warriors taken as children and rebuilt into the lethal “claws of the emperor.”

But the greatest threat isn’t just on the battlefield. Grand Admiral McNab realizes the Alliance is being lured into a trap. Every world they liberate one-by-one gives the Gorge more time to fortify the ultimate prize. To win, the Alliance must abandon their slow advance and take the ultimate gamble.

Phoenix Squad is rising. The children of Earth are coming home—and they are bringing hell with them.

Book 2 in this pulse-pounding military science fiction series—a tale of vengeance, sacrifice, and the indomitable spirit of heroes rising against tyranny.