"A change is as good as a rest, Alex..." While the Fourth is celebrating the success of the Quarus mission, Captain Alex von Strada is seconded for a five month mission aboard the Fleet's newest and finest destroyer. But while Alex is enjoying adventures on the Assegai, his professional and personal lives will be pushed to crisis point. Could the rise of the Assegai mean the end of the Fourth? And will Alex's life ever be the same again?