When an emergency cripples the civilian transport ship Aestrea, chaos erupts. Systems fail, alarms blare. Passengers flood the corridors toward the escape pods. No one knows what is happening. Only that time is running out. Dr. Elias Rowan, a reserved astrophysicist more comfortable with data and charts than people. He expects to survive quietly. Instead, he crosses paths with Sargent Mara Kade, a military police officer determined to maintain order and get every civilian off the ship safely.