Just one more hyperspace jump and the Proxima will have reached its destination - when the engines fail again. There is nothing around except for a mining station that has been abandoned for decades. Major Vara and his team investigate the station to see if they can get the spare parts they need. Suddenly, Colonial pursuit ships appear! There is no escape and the battle is hopeless - only a miracle can save the Proxima! Star Cruiser Proxima - an odyssey through an empire on the brink! The Terran Republic is falling apart. Former colonies declare their independence, plunging the galaxy into chaos. In a devastating battle, the Terran star cruiser Proxima barely escapes the combat zone. On the retreat, the Proxima fights for survival and becomes a pawn in a confusing war. But Captain Zadiya Ark and her crew have no idea that fate has even harsher blows in store for them... Dirk van den Boom (born 1966) has published more than 100 novels in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. In 2017 he received the German Science Fiction Award for his novel "Prinzipat". Dirk van den Boom is also a consultant on development cooperation, migration policy and social policy, and a professor of political science. He lives with his family in Saarbrücken, Germany.