Coins for the Dead

Matt Hawke, once a respected special operations chief in the Kingdom of Persis Navy, had forged a new path as the head of Black Paladin Private Military Corporation. Leading a group of skilled mercenaries, he commanded his own ship, Vulture's Wake, marking a significant shift from his disciplined past to a life filled with risk and uncertainty.

But the destruction of Matt's ship and the disappearance of his crew shattered the fragile stability he had built. As a result, he was forced to confront the harrowing reality of deliberate sabotage. He could not shake the pressing questions—was this act carried out in the name of revenge, or was there a deeper betrayal lurking within his ranks or among his supposed allies?

In a universe where manipulation was commonplace—be it by governments, advanced machines, powerful yet shadowy organisations, or even entire planets swayed by corporate interests, criminal cartels, or ancient artificial intelligences—every day presented a test of survival. Loyalties were uncertain. What were once friends could reveal themselves as enemies, and unexpected alliances could emerge from the most unlikely places.

Matt now faces the ultimate question: who can he trust to help him uncover the real perpetrator behind the sabotage? With every relationship under scrutiny, the line between ally and adversary grows ever more blurred, especially as he's thrown headlong into the strangest encounters he's ever known.