Empty Caskets

An inquiry into the death of Specialist Granger Shelton has concluded and Skipper Allen Paul is officially cleared of culpability in the Spaceman's death. He is also promoted to Commander and placed back in command of the Navy's oldest, and in his opinion, finest space cruiser, the United Earth Ship, Dawn Rising. Now, as he wrestles with his grief over the loss of Granger Shelton, he is also troubled by a discovery made while escorting Granger's body home to Texas. While transferring shuttles in Houston, Paul observes three caskets returning from the asteroid belt's mining colonies. That, in itself, is not unusual as working in the asteroid belt is inherently dangerous, but his curiosity peaks when he realizes the caskets contain no bodies!Before he can investigate farther, the Navy sends him on a secret mission for the Planetary Defense Agency who tasks him with locating members of an alien species thought to be hiding in the asteroid belt. Never one to let sleeping dogs lie, Paul uses his mission as an excuse to open three of the mining company's unoccupied caskets and discovers a direct link to the alien species he is tasked with finding. A conspiracy is now afoot, and the search broadens as he teams up with a veteran Texas lawman, a Navy Seals team, and his protege, the newly minted Skipper of the Navy's newest ship, Lieutenant Commander, Gail Ann Schmidt of the Crimson Moon. Together, they uncover a decades-old conspiracy whose fruition is at hand.