Checkmate is a pivotal installment in the Suicide Arc, plunging JT Austin, Suicide, and Mitsuko Yamato into a crisis that begins with a routine ground operation and erupts into full-scale betrayal. As the CNV Queen Maria Sophia is boarded by unknown forces and the Marcus Aurelius is destroyed by sabotage, political and personal fault lines are exposed. The sudden death of Bonaparte’s monarch thrustsEdward Windsor onto the throne, forcing Mitsuko to confront a future she never wanted—and Suicide to face an enemy who moves in shadows deeper than any Realm conspiracy.
Preceded by Suicide Run
Followed by Royal Orders
The novella Winter Games occurs between Checkmate and Royal Orders