Deep space is no place to spend the holiday season, but freighter captain Maxine Fields has no choice. She has to make a special delivery, the kind that pays as much for her silent discretion as for her on-time delivery record. So with nobody but the penguins on her favorite flannel pajamas to keep her company, she sets a course, pours a mug of eggnog, and contemplates what’s left of the ragged tinsel tree taped to her console. If only Santa would leave a little gift under that tree. No, a big gift -- a tall, rugged, ready-for-action gift. One who would heat up the holiday and show her just what kind of stocking stuffer a naughty girl should get. When Max responds to a distress beacon, she gets her holiday wish, and then some. Edmond Cabanesty might just be at the top of Santa’s naughty list. With growing dread, she reads the crimes etched into the side of his exile pod. Defection. Genocide. Murder. Oh, Santa, whatever will you deliver next...?