When the Betelgeuse message was detected, it changed a lot of things on Earth. We began to look seriously outward, t with the heady optimism of the early days, but with deliberate calculation. We knew that Someone was out there, and that eventually, they d be coming. If Earth didn t occupy the High Frontier, it could be ours to lose. Esther Star Svensdotter s job is overseeing the completion of the American Alliance s first O Neill cylinder a massive space hub capable of supporting thousands of colonists. It s just weeks away from commissioning, and she ll be damned if Luddite terrorists, squabbling bureaucrats, military takeovers or rogue AIs will stand in the way. Frontier justice on Ellfive sometimes involves an airlock you don t want to be on the wrong side of justice. Or the wrong side of Star Svensdotter. The first in Dana Stabew s Star Svensdotter trilogy, Second Star is a tale of first contact, declarations of independence, and new frontiers.