A weapon of unimaginable power. A desperate mission to the center of the galaxy. Mankind's fate hangs in the balance.

Captain Thomas Holbrook has anguished on the thought of drawing a one-way mission. When he receives orders to divert his warship to the center of the galaxy, a region from which no vessel has ever returned, he comes face-to-face with his greatest fear.

It's the year 2330. The "aughts," robots that warred for independence from mankind, seek insurance against the ever-present human threat. An aught ship speeds to the galactic center for material to build a weapon that could destroy the Earth.

Holbrook can't allow the creation of a planet-killing bomb. He enlists the help of a brilliant physicist with her own reasons for joining a mission that may not return, and an aught informant who might be a double agent. Can he keep a mutinous crew at bay, stop the aughts at the center of the galaxy, and somehow find a way back home?

Winner of the 2022 American Fiction Awards, Science Fiction (General)

Gold Medal Winner, Readers' Favorite Book Awards

Winner of the 2022 Beach Book Festival, Science Fiction category. The Beach Book Festival is an annual contest celebrating the hottest reads of the summer.

Winner of the 2022 San Francisco Book Festival, Science Fiction. The SF Book Festival is an annual competition honoring the best books of spring.

Winner of the 2022 International Firebird Book Award, Science Fiction.

2022 Outstanding Creator Award, Science Fiction (2nd Place), Military Science Fiction (1st Place), Hottest Character (Winner).