Cat's Gambit — Leslie Gadallah

Book 2 in Leslie Gadallah's trilogy of interstellar intrigue, The Empire of Kaz

The world of Orian has been overrun by the Kaz, who are bent on exterminating the Oriani. Only a few Oriani have escaped and struggle to eke out an existence on alien planets.

One of them, Ayyah, thinks she has found the key to defeating the Kaz and returning her people to their homeworld, the only place they can thrive. Through sheer stubborness and determination, she manages to overcome all the daunting obstacles in her path, even recruiting a couple of human pirates and a few Lleveci warriors to aid her in the task.

But no one involved suspects just how much her scheme will cost them all . . .