Note: The eleventh book written, this is chronologically the third novel in the Skolian Web series. Takes Place mostly during 2228 ad.

Synopsis: The rest of the story of what was going in the Asaro/Skolian universe during the time that Soz finished up at The Academy on Diesha and the psiberweb became better balanced with a fist (Imperator, Kurj), a mind (Pharaoh, Dehya) and now a heart (Eldrinson entered the Dyad to make it a Triad). From the front flap of the Tor first edition: "The Final Key is the second and concluding part of the story known as Triad, which began with Schism. Schism ended with the Skolian Empire torn asunder by personal conflict within the royal family, as Sauscony defied her father and joined the Skolian military. With The Final Key, the Skolian Empire comes under all-out assault from its nemesis, the Euban Concord, who have undermined the Skolians via subterfuge and assassination, leaving them ripe for conquest. The Skolian Empire's only hope? Sauscony, a young woman barely out of her teens who hasn't even completed her training as a cadet. The fate of a vast interstellar empire rests in her untested hands."