Life in the sparsely populated periphery is rustic—and dangerous.  Small settlements means small defense forces.  No wonder the outer worlds often fall prey to piracy.

So when Mark Castor shows up on the World of Randis with relief aid in tow and an assault ’Mech to protect it, the locals are overjoyed to see him.  But Castor isn’t at all what he appears to be—and before he’s done he’s going to turn the entire concept of privacy on its head.  Follow the twists and turns of Castor and bombshell Tracy Malfont in “Red Khopesh” and “The Bitter Taste of Hope.”

Steven Mohan, Jr. has professionally published more a half million words of military science fiction including the BattleTech novel A BONFIRE OF WORLDS.  He has sold original fiction to markets as diverse as INTERZONE, POLYPHONY, and PARADOX, as well as several DAW original anthologies. His short stories have won honorable mention in THE YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION and THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR and he has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

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