The distant battlefields of the future are often strewn with the bodies of good men and women, and just as many bad. Sometimes the good ones manage to get out, and sometimes they don't. The crew of the IS Mortifying Command were never given the chance to find out for themselves. When they were given an untenable order they took the third option and left the war and all its troubles behind. The desertion was swift, the Captain of the ship changing its name and designation before they struck it out on their own, free from the war and its harsh realities. But what job could the crew of a deserted military vessel expect to find on the dark fringes of colonised space where terrors lurk in the dark and the whims of warlords hold more power than the government? The crew of the ISMC will have to find their own path towards prosperity, one day at a time. And each new day feels like a battle.