Impersonations by Walter Jon Williams

Having offended her superiors by winning a battle without permission, Caroline Sula has been posted to the planet Earth, a dismal backwater where careers go to die. But Sula has always been fascinated by Earth history, and she plans to reward herself with a long, happy vacation amid the ancient monuments of humanity's home world. Sula may be an Earth history buff, but there are aspects of her own history she doesn't want known. Exposure is threatened when an old acquaintance turns up unexpectedly. Someone seems to be forging evidence that would send her to prison. And all that is before someone tries to kill her. If she's going to survive, Sula has no choice but to make some history of her own.

Some years back [a:Walter Jon Williams 48960 Walter Jon Williams https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1275489992p2/48960.jpg] gave us his engrossing Dread Empire's Fall trilogy. It was about a despotic, hierarchical, multi-species star empire that fell into a very nasty civil war. One of the main characters in that trilogy was one Captain the Lady Caroline Sula – a very tough-minded hero with a dark past.[b:Impersonations: A Story of the Praxis 30199338 Impersonations A Story of the Praxis Walter Jon Williams https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464007521s/30199338.jpg 50650415] follows Lady Sula's story after the end of the war. She has been rewarded for achieving victory by being posted to a backwater planet called Earth. (Best not to win a battle against orders, you know.) That doesn't bother her because she has always been fascinated by the histories of her species' birth planet. For her, it is almost a vacation posting.Of course things don't go smoothly. Multiple problems soon raise their nasty heads. A local company is doing something mysterious. An old “friend” from a forgotten past makes an appearance. And, it seems that Sula herself is being targeted by by person or persons unknown. Toss in some active geology, and you have the ingredients for an exciting action-filled tale.A short but quite good read.(Note: Walter Jon Williams gives sufficient background; so, you don't need to have read the Dread Empire's Fall trilogy to enjoy this story.)