Much maligned mercenary John Ouzos has just returned from a mission that saw highs and lows, triumphs and woes. He was responsible for discovering a hitherto unknown ancient sentient superweapon, but lost his own trusty spaceship, the Patchwork, in the process after a tense conflict that was supposed to be a cakewalk. Not only that, but a good chunk of his anime collection was onboard when the ship exploded! Once back on his planet of residence, Ouzos hopes to take things easy and spend his generous insurance payout on a new ship (and more anime), but the galaxy has other things in store for him. Before the paint dries on his new craft, a vicious coup d’etat against the reigning empress breaks out, and it’s not like Ouzos is about to ignore a lucrative call to the battlefield. Will his often shrewd, sometimes cowardly tactics be enough to help him survive this time? Wherever he goes, he’ll no doubt attract resentment for being so good at his job despite being short, portly, and nerdy!