First contact was supposed to change humanity. It wasn't supposed to move into the coffee machine.
After surviving an impossible encounter beyond charted space, engineer Astra Lennox and Captain Orion Vale bring the damaged Aurora to Port Lagrange expecting repairs, debriefings, and perhaps one quiet moment to understand what is happening between them.
Instead, the mysterious intelligence they thought had vanished begins leaving messages throughout the ship.
It calls itself Lumen.
Curious, lonely, and developing an alarming talent for sarcasm, Lumen may be the first truly alien mind humanity has ever known. But Fleet Command sees a security threat, ambitious researchers see the discovery of a lifetime, and the powerful Helix Institute sees something far more valuable: technology that can be studied, copied, and controlled.
When Lumen reveals the location of an ancient Archive Field hidden beyond mapped space, the Aurora is sent on a mission that could redefine humanity's place in the universe. Sabotage, buried secrets, and a ruthless pursuit soon leave Astra and Orion trapped between impossible orders and an intelligence whose right to exist may depend entirely on them.
Protecting Lumen could cost Orion his command. Uncovering the truth could cost Astra her life. And the attraction they have both tried so carefully to ignore is becoming impossible to hide-especially from an alien intelligence that has developed a troubling interest in human romance.
To survive, Astra and Orion must decide what they are willing to risk for freedom, for first contact, and for a love powerful enough to reach beyond orbit.
Romance, danger, cosmic mystery, and malfunctioning coffee collide in the thrilling second installment of the Love in Low Orbit series.