Publisher's blurb: In the fires of the Jihad, a handful of brave souls placed honor before duty, service before survival, and the people of their shattered nation before all others. Considered traitors by some but heroes by those they watch over, the First Marik Protectors rose from the ashes of the Free Worlds League to protect worlds at the far-flung edge of their fallen nation. An elite cadre of warriors, the Protectors’ dedication to safeguarding the lives of their countrymen is nearly unmatched in the Inner Sphere. The Marik Protectors exist to offer a single hope to the citizens of these outcast worlds: that when darkness closes in, there will be a light shining for them, a hammer and anvil to smite any who would disrupt their peace, a shield against all the ills the Periphery holds. Protectors, behind whom they may rest.