It's been ten years since the Lunar Free State established itself as an independent nation on Earth's Moon. Since then, other Earth nations have pushed out into space, competing with the LFS for the untapped resources of the Solar System; but thanks to the advantages provided by its gravity-driven spacecraft, the lunar nation has grown and prospered. All is going well for the Moonies until the research ship LFS Stephen Hawking encounters an amaly while surveying Saturn's rings -- an alien spacecraft that leads the LFS vessel on a merry chase before vanishing into... well, for want of a better term, hyperspace. The alien craft is obviously t from around here -- which leaves the LFS facing two undeniable facts: Humans of Earth t the only intelligent life in the universe, and travel between the stars is possible. Now the LFS just has to figure out how to do it... inner of the 2014 Darrell Award - Best SF Novel by a Midsouth Author