Eight years ago, when Nick Walker was a twenty year-old Star Marine, his unit was deployed to Alpha Centauri 2 to put down an insurrection by the Rebel Coalition. Eighteen months of hard fighting led to a dramatic showdown in the little mountain town of Trimmer Springs, where Nick's unit-cut off, surrounded, and outnumbered-held out for two days until relief arrived. With most of his comrades dead or wounded, Nick took a sniper rifle into the church...