At the galaxy's most prestigious command academy, earning your place is only the beginning.
Seventeen-year-old Lira Valas arrives at the Thean Academy of Command and Exploration determined to prove she deserves more than her family name. Generations of her House have trained at TACE. Now it is her turn to face the punishing drills, fierce Fleet rivalries, and exacting standards that shape the Supremacy's future leaders.
But the Academy's ideals are easier to teach than to uphold.
Noble privilege clashes with a growing demand for opportunity. Powerful officials resist reform. And among the cadets, friendship does not guarantee loyalty.
Lira finds her footing within the Circle, nine first-years whose backgrounds and ambitions are as different as the worlds they call home. Together, they navigate demanding instructors, first romances, and choices that put their friendships to the test. As misconduct exposes deeper corruption, Lira must decide what honor requires when telling the truth could hurt the people she loves.
Then a secret passed down through her family leads her toward something hidden beneath the Academy: the lost work of an ancestor who discovered how to predict the course of civilizations.
For five hundred years, others have searched for it.
Lira may hold the key.
And those watching her have no intention of letting a first-year cadet decide its future.
TACE: Year 1 begins a science fiction saga of friendship, military training, political intrigue, and the difficult business of learning to lead.
She came to the Academy to earn her place. What she discovers could change the future of the Supremacy.