Iron Scepter — Andrew M. Seddon

It is the year 2495 on the rediscovered, independence-minded colony world of Lenore.Embittered Political Officer Major Karel Novacek, haunted by ghosts from his past, seeks to resurrect his career by integrating the planet into the splintering Terran Hegemony.All is proceeding according to plan until a young colonial woman confronts his beliefs and assumptions. And when first contact is made with an alien race, will they - and Lenore - become the first casualties of an interstellar war?This tale from the history of the Terran Hegemony precedes and sets the stage for the events of the novels Farhope and Wreaths of Empire.