For the rest of the Conflux, the War ended. For Grand Admiral Nazzaretes, commander of the First Fleet, this was a coward’s peace imposed by illegitimate rulers: She and her soldiers refused to lay down their arms, and they’ve been waging a private war as the Phalanx ever since. With the great powers in retreat, the Phalanx’s main competition in plundering the Conflux are now just pirates and smugglers who lack the training, discipline, and will of the Feron’s most elite warriors.