Hour of Judgment

As Chief Medical Officer aboard the Jurisdiction Fleet Ship Ragnarok, Andrej Koscuisko's duty is to care for his shipmates; as Inquisitor, to extract confessions and administer punishment. But while the doctor takes pride in his healing skills, the torturer knows only guilt and self-loathing. For years, Andrej has walked the razor's edge, struggling to hold the two sides of his nature apart--and himself together.

As the Ragnarok's crew readies the planet Burkhayden for the arrival of its new governor, the brutal attack on a Nurail slave woman by a ship's officer sets in motion a chain of events that culminates in murder. Summoned at first to minister to the injured woman, Andrej is soon pressed into duty as Inquisitor of the prime murder suspect: a gentle and unassuming Nurail gardener who had both motive and means to avenge his kinswoman. But Andrej is surrounded by powerful enemies, including two intelligence specialists who take a most unwelcome interest in his private affairs. In this minefield of intrigue and deception, where a single misstep means death, Andrei's always precarious equilibrium will be strained to the breaking point--and beyond.