Elite: The Dark Wheel

A BOY WITH STARS IN HIS EYES
SHOOTING THE RAPIDS OF HEAVEN

On his inaugural flight as a 'harmless' combateer, Alex Ryder experienced the sharp divide between Sim-combat and live action in the fast lane of Witch-Space. Seated next to his father, the occasion (a celebration!) was suddenly jarred by the fatal laser fire of a fellow trader...

Emerging from unconsciousness aboard a Moray hospital ship, Alex's first impression was conditioned by a sleazy holoFac of Rafe Zetter (a friend of Ale's father who has blotted his legal status by trading in slaves). As Alex's mind grappled with his senses, his desperate questions seemed to provoke still more perplexing riddles from the old warrior.

What had the trader hoped to gain (their cargo had been almost worthless)? Why had Jason Ryder stayed to engage the attacked, when he could have bailed out with Alex? What had eh meant by 'Raxxla! Remember Raxxla!', as Alex slid into his escape pod?

But gradually, with Zetter's help, Alex began to assemble some pieces of the jigsaw. His father was no simple trader, far from it; he had been one of the few – an élite combateer. The marauding trader was no bounty hunter, but an assassin programmed to kill.

As a thirst for revenge spurred the fury of Alex's emotions, he understood that Jason's mission must now become his. To succeed, he too would have to prove himself worty of –

THE ORDER OF ELITE
a fighting quality beyond
courage, macho and cool precision