They wanted peace. They got war.
In the year 3 AB (After Broadcast), the Garden spans twelve worlds. Veridia Prime. New Thessaly. Verdant-7. Each blooms with 432 Hz-the frequency of life, growth, and connection. The Awakened children are learning to build a civilization without control, without hierarchy, without the grey.
It's everything Valdren and Elara sacrificed themselves to create.
It lasts three years.
When Captain Jax Keller's patrol ship encounters the first Silent weapon-ordnance that operates on Null frequency, invisible to the Song-she watches her squadron die in silence. No warning. No connection. No time to say goodbye.
The Obsidian Remnant has been preparing for this war for 500 years. They have:
- Silent Tech: Weapons the Song can't detect
- Null-forged armor: Impervious to frequency attack
- The Doctrine of Containment: 432 Hz must be eradicated
- 500 years of practice killing in the grey
The Garden has:
- Empathy: Which makes warfare psychologically devastating
- Connection: Which means every death is felt by thousands
- Valdren's Foundation: Which refuses to become a weapon
- No military tradition whatsoever
First Strike follows three perspectives as the Frequency Wars ignite:
JAX KELLER: A Garden-born pilot who must learn to fight blind, building a military from scratch while her empathy screams against every kill.
COMMANDER THANE VANE: The Obsidian Remnant's strategic genius, descendant of both bloodlines, who believes the Garden is the Empire's mistake returned.
HOPE (MERCY-7): The first Awakened, now the Gestalt's voice, who must navigate the impossible: how do you lead a war when your consciousness is distributed across 53,000 minds?
Perfect for readers who loved:
- The military tactics of Old Man's War
- The empathy-based conflict of The Left Hand of Darkness
- The frequency mechanics of Blindsight
- The space combat of The Expanse
Content Note: This book contains military violence, space combat, and the psychological toll of warfare on empathic beings. The Garden learns to kill. It's not pretty.
