Book One of the Ugly Dirt Box Universe

Commander Rylae Westiel is the elven Executive officer of the UCST Corsari, an ambassadorial starship. While docked on Terra, the UCST Admiralty receives a declaration of war from the goblin world of Stenchstone. The Corsari is dispatched to Stenchstone with the mission to defuse the situation, which appears easy at first.

From the beginning, Rylae is confronted with details which don't add up properly, and the more she digs, the more she finds. Is there really a war starting, or is another agenda unfolding? If she truly wants to be a captain, Rylae has to learn one very important point - goblins won't always be goblins.