Michelle Henke, Queen Elizabeth of Manticore's first cousin, Honor Harrington's best friend, and the commanding officer of Manticore's Tenth Fleet, is just a bit surprised when a messenger arrives from the Mobius System to inform her that the Mobius Liberation Front is prepared to rise in rebellion against the hated regime President Svein Lombroso. She has no orders from her government to assist any rebellions or liberation movements, she's short on ships ... but she doesn't care. No one is going to send thousands of patriots to their deaths on her watch.