The Evening Star

They buried the war. The empire sent lawyers.

For a year, Ethan Cross has been a ghost to Earth. A fugitive's face on the news, and a string of unanswered texts on his best friend's phone.

Out in the dark, he has become something else: the voice of a fleet of freed starships, bound by a promise to lay the dead to rest.

Then the empire serves a warrant at the graveside, and takes someone the fleet cannot lose. Getting her back means walking into the heart of their power under a stranger's name. What waits in that vault will change everything.

And now the empire has found Earth.

The visitors arrive with perfect manners and a beautiful offer. All they ask in return is a registry. A census. A permission slip with a friendly cartoon star on it.

Ethan knows exactly what the fine print costs.

So a hundred and thirty starships that were never wanted anywhere are finally coming home. In the open. In front of eight billion people. With the empire hard behind them.

A heist. A homecoming. And for Earth, the countdown has already begun.