They'd never anticipated a battle, and still less that someone would attack them from within, but the colonists of Marée had learned to be resilient. They counted their losses and began to rebuild. The widespread field that remained from the long-ago exploded planet was rich in resources and they were far enough from the inner planets that they felt they could afford to experiment with engineering and biology.

The success of the habitats began to be duplicated and even the enclosure-the most massive engineering project in the solar system-was drawing onlookers from all over the system. Despite the attacks, the petty rivalries, and corporate espionage, they were starting to feel invulnerable, and that was a mistake.

The Corps was becoming a genocidal force in the solar system, and they had yet to plumb the depths of their secrets and depravity. It was the battle of their era, that with the Corps, but they were concerned that if the rest of the system turned against them, they'd be on their own again.

This time they would be more careful, they would be more selective, and with a secret weapon on their side, they would strike against the Corps before it struck them.