BURDEN OF PROOF...

For too long the planet Stewart, the ancestral home of one of the oldest dynasties of the Free Worlds League, has remained in the clutches of Clan Wolf, locked behind a mutual nonaggression pact between the Wolf Empire and the League. But the Wolves have unexpectedly abandoned much of their territory, leaving many systems ripe for the taking.

The news of the Wolf Empire's poorly defended border spurs Count Gavin Stewart and the Silver Hawk Irregulars to take back his family's homeland while the Wolves are away, but his invasion threatens to destabilize the entire region. Recognizing the long-term danger, Captain Trenton Marik, Gavin's longtime friend, must travel to Stewart and convince Gavin and the Irregulars to withdraw before the Wolves return home in force and strike back.

But rumors of a conqueror claiming Terra?an ilClan, which demands all Clans bend the knee?stir up divided loyalties within the League's Clan Protectorate province, and the Protectorate's warriors must choose between fealty to the League or obedience to the ilClan. And the best path to proving their loyalty is to swiftly punish all who would dare invade the Wolf Empire...