This is book number 2 in the RCN series.
Lt. Daniel Leary of the Republic of Cinnabar Navy commands the corvette Princess Cecile. His friend, Signals Officer Adele Mundy, has the latest in spy apparatus and the skills to prowl the most tightly guarded database. All they lack are enemies, and fate is about to supply that need in abundance
A hostage uses the Princess Cecile to regain his freedom and his throne; an ally plots with enemies of Cinnabar, knowing the plan can only be safeguarded by destroying the Princess Cecile; a pirate chief joins in a cutthroat battle with a rival, and the Princess Cecile is a pawn.
Daniel, Adele, and their crack crew must battle bureaucrats and traitors, the winds of a barren desert, and the strains of a voyage never before attempted. If they succeed at every stage, their reward will be the chance to fight another enemy: one which can blow them and a hundred ships like theirs to vapor
BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by author David Drake.