Rebels and Patriots (Imperium Cicernus Book 3)

A standalone novel in the Imperium Cicernus Universe

The Imperium isn’t what it once was.

In a realm of constant intrigue, backstabbing and economic decline, the saying holds true at any given moment.
Inspector Paul Grimm’s best friend has been framed for a murder that, technically, he did commit. Paul must follow the trail before it goes cold to find out who’s behind this latest attack on the powerful Nathaniel family.
To clear his friend’s name, Paul heads out to the Rim where Imperial colonies sit uncomfortably close to territory claimed by the Gray Quorum. In his desperate race to unravel the plot, he’s pulled into a web of intrigue along with Colonel Julia Urbica of the Imperial Marines. Julia's local, irregular troops prefer to enforce the Emperor's peace by finding trouble before it finds them and they adopt Paul's task for reasons of their own.
Events escalate at every step, and Paul’s mission to help a friend is dwarfed by a threat to the very fabric of Imperial life. He must walk the knife’s edge between peace and outright war with an advanced alien species.
But then, perhaps war is just what the Imperium needs. The current peace has a stench of decay about it.
Approximately 73,000 words