Author Kevin J. Anderson brings us the tale of a man who during an intense battle lost most of his body and the enemy who became his friend. Rader had been a normal infantry officer when he had been shot up to the point where the higher ups saw him as the next in their Deathguard line and one that would make the program shine. But on a mission out after he had been turned into a Deathguard, Rader came across an enemy combatant that didn't want to fight and who had been an artist among his people. But as the two became friends and both decided to desert their armies their commanding officers who knew how to contact each other did so. Sobel and Kiltik sent their commandos after the two while subtly becoming friends themselves. This is a great novella with a good ironic twist and one that I highly recommed.