Cut off from home, the crew of the Athena has taken refuge on the Boxan colony world, a last safe haven for the creators of the Star Shroud. When Kaylan forms a psychic link to a mysterious Boxan soldier fighting gruesome battles on a dying world she has to act even if the Boxans refuse.

Rising Force is the fifth book in the Ascension space opera series. Kaylan will risk the Alliance to uncover the secrets of the Boxan home world and mount a daring rescue mission for those left behind. She just needs to find a way past a planetary quarantine zone that has kept the Confederation at bay for over fifty years.