Flight of the Sparrow

When a notorious space pirate is accused of intergalactic terrorism, her longtime cronies go after an unlikely recruit: her ambitious cadet granddaughter. Nimah may have been born a RIM-rat, a hardscrabble kid from the far reaches of the galaxy, but now that she's a well-respected cadet at the prestigious STARS military academy, she's put her past behind her. Or so she thinks, until her future is obliterated by the return of her infamous space pirate grandmother, who abandoned her at a barren outpost fifteen years ago and is accused of setting off a bomb at the millennial summit for United Planetary Nation leaders. When her connection to Capt. Indira "La Voz" Roscoe is exposed by an anonymous source, Nimah is expelled from STARS. Devastated by the loss of all that she's worked for, she still doesn't quite believe that the woman who has always been the voice of refugees across the galaxy, bestowing the fruits of her heists upon the poor, is actually a killer. But when a member of her grandmother's old crew tracks Nimah down and delivers the news that Ro was set up, Nimah must make a choice. The only way to regain what she's lost is to prove Ro's innocence, and they can't do that if she's dead. The plan is simple-and insane: Nimah has three days to band together a motley crew of geriatric women plus a notorious thief, steal her grandmother's ship back, elude the powerful SIGA, and cross the void to save Ro before she's executed for intergalactic terrorism. Otherwise, her dreams and the last surviving member of her family will be lost forever. Should be easy work for a former RIM-rat. Or it would be if Nimah wasn't terrified to the bone of the void . . .

With enemies closing in and lives on the line, a former military cadet has no choice but to embrace her grandmother's legacy-and become a pirate. Having turned her back on the STARs Academy, Nimah Dabo-124 now serves as second-in-command of the Stormchaser, under her space-pirate grandmother, Indira Roscoe (aka Captain Ro). After stopping a massacre and toppling a tyrant, Nimah should feel victorious. Instead, she's adrift, tormented by guilt and hallucinations of her traitorous ex-crewmate, Dobs. At a gathering of pirates, the council makes a stunning declaration that Ro will be their next queen. But the controversial decision comes with an ultimatum: she and her crew have five days to rescue hundreds of children abducted from a slaughtered commune. Succeed, and Ro will ascend the throne. Fail, and they will all be exiled forever. But when Captain Ro declares she intends to defy the council and refuse the crown, Nimah challenges her grandmother's leadership and commandeers the Stormchaser for what is surely a one-way mission. The crew is certain the government is responsible for the abduction. But years of military training fill Nimah with doubt, leading her to seek help from an embittered ex-comrade with access to vital intel. As they plunge deeper into SIGA territory, another merciless wild card enters the mix: Vesper Crole, a bounty hunter with a lethal reputation. She doesn't take prisoners; she takes heads. The closer they get to the truth, the deeper Nimah spirals into madness. As secrets and lies pile up at every turn, the greatest threat may not be the enemy nipping at their heels but rather the storm brewing inside her . . . Tropes include: coming of age, rich versus poor, fascist government, and friends to enemies.