There comes a point, inevitably, when a civilization must mature. For Thalea, that was its first interaction with another species, mistakes, and centuries of war. For Brax, a Thalean who lives centuries after this history, his own growing up becomes encumbered by the weight of the history of those mistakes. Despite his surviving the greatest calamity his civilization has ever seen, the trauma of it pulls him into a world of secrets and power.The Cooperative, a political and economic alliance of five worlds and their colonies, seems to be in its height of peace and prosperity after 14 centuries of collaboration. But it is an illusion, hidden by efforts of men and women---if you can call them that anymore--who are burdened with a kind of power that few without it could hope to understand.What mistakes has history, culture, and secrets wrought? What can a traumatized boy, who becomes a man in the gauntlet of such history, do about it? Who and what are the Protectorate, and what is the source, and consequence, of their power?