A DARK WARRIOR RISES…

Jade Falcon Galaxy Commander Malvina Hazen and her warriors are in their Occupation Zone, overseeing the consolidation of power on the worlds they've wrested from the collapsing Republic of the Sphere. When a ship appears at Skye's jump point and its commander declares a Trial of Possession for the Mongol Doctrine, the warfare strategy he claims Malvina stole from Clan Hell's Horses, Malvina sees her vision unfolding: she agrees to single BattleMech combat.

Malvina emerges from the fray victorious—and inspired to ride her growing reputation into Clan Jade Falcon's halls of power. Frustrated by the lack of support from her own Khan, and guided by the machinations of her Clan’s supreme strategist, the fearless warrior plots to expand both her and the Falcon’s power, crushing anyone who gets in her way.

But her bold actions may herald the beginning of a civil war that could unmake not simply her own Clan, but the entire Clan way of life…