Paperback of book 3 in the Softwire series.

It’s not a good sign: before Johnny Turnbull and his fellow knudniks even land on Orbis 3, a band of wormhole pirates invades their shuttle and deliver a cryptic threat to JT. And even though JT and his friends are thrilled to find out that they’ll get a reprieve from work this rotation (except for going to school with a bunch of bullying Citizens), JT senses something sinister in the air. Could that be a wormhole pirate he keeps spotting, with an alien skull and crossbones on his arm? Why is Max acting strangely whenever she’s around JT? Who is luring JT into a deadly competitive game? And why is his telepathic sister, Ketheria, suddenly getting sick? Prime your neural implant for some nonstop action and intrigue in a new episode starring the first human softwire.