R.E. Smart

In a distant part of the Universe in a Galaxy forgotten by time a cosmic struggle unfolds between two ancient powers. In an unthinkable act of annihilation the League destroys the Zarr home world, believing they have achieved total victory. In a final act of vindictiveness the Dread Sovereign Liege of the League, Con’rad Blake abducts the twin young sons of the Zarr Emperor to raise them in his retinue as his own.
The two brothers soon embark on different journeys, one of exploitation, scheming for power and plotting for domination; and the other of self-exploration, struggling to forge an identity and discover his place in the Universe. Hieff has a single purpose, a sole objective…to rule at all costs. He is cold, calculating and cruel. He works behind the scenes to manipulate situations and events to rapidly rise through the ranks until he becomes the Con’rad’s right hand man. Brus is a free spirit, easily making friends, and sometimes enemies, with a variety of people. He’s curious, compassionate and at times a little mischievous. His greatest passion is to be an Infiltrator pilot and he works hard to become the best pilot the League has ever seen. He achieves victory after victory in countless engagements with the enemies of the League; but soon begins to question many aspects of his life, especially after an encounter with a mysterious stranger on a secluded planet in a forbidden area of space.
The rivalry between the brothers culminates in murder charges against Brus, who is sent to the prison planet Cio Helkon. After years of forced and grueling labor Con’rad Blake summons Brus one last time to his Throne Room, arranging for one final, lethal fight between these brothers, with the winner to be named as his successor. Brus manages to escape the cruelty of the League and assumes a new identity, Captain Bruce Bronzeson, as he acquires a ship of his own, the Bronzestar. Bruce and his crew attack the League in bold acts of piracy; pillaging and plundering valuable cargo while they work to undermine the League in any way possible.
As Bruce becomes a reluctant hero, more and more people fleeing from the League join him. Meanwhile, his brother has become the new Dread Sovereign Liege of the League, Con’rad Hieff, and begins a desperate search to eradicate his brother and permanently secure his hold over the League. In the process he wreaks havoc on countless worlds in an attempt to flush Bruce out of the shadows. With growing frustration Bruce finally seeks out a remnant of his people who escaped the devastation of their world. As Bruce makes contact with the last of the Zarr Imperial Fleets. Will this remnant accept him as one of their own or will they execute him for treason? Only with their help can Bruce hope to defeat the League once and for all, but it will take the legacy of a long dead civilization to help him discover who he really is and reclaim his rightful place in the Universe.