The crew of the elite warship, Albatross, and the newfound Union they belong to, have been gravely injured. First contact with the mysterious alien enemy, known as the Forsaken, was more devastating than they could have imagined. The cost of the Union's historic rescue mission on the planet Stormwater has left the few remaining survivors picking up the pieces and questioning what hell lies ahead.A new face and another one of the eight original human bright eyes, Elora Bhele, joins Will Reach and Sarah Li in the fight to conquer an objective long-coveted by the Lumenarians - taking back lost ground. However, as the conflict rages on, the Forsaken might not be the only ones they have to worry about. A requiem is a mass or song for the dead . . . and this hymn has just begun.