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Chapters (42)
  1. Cover Blurb
  2. Contents
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty

He scowled at the thought.  While they were crawling towards New Russia, the aliens might well have launched their fleets towards Britannia, Washington, Ghandi or even Confucius, targeting humanity’s shipyards and industrial nodes away from Earth.  The thought of Britannia being ravaged by the aliens was horrifying – and he knew the other spacefaring powers would feel the same.  They’d invested literally trillions of pounds in the out-system colonisation program.

The console chimed.  “Sir,” Farley said, “we’ve found the alien fleet.”

“Show me,” Ted ordered.

One by one, the alien fleet came into view.  It wasn't in orbit around New Russia – apart from a handful of frigate-sized craft that seemed to be in low orbit – but lurking some distance from the planet.  Ted puzzled over it for a long moment, then decided that the aliens were clearly preparing an offensive.  As alien as their craft were, they seemed to fall into roles comparable to humanity’s fleets.

“Fourteen carriers, of two different types,” Farley said.  “Fifty-two smaller craft, mainly frigate-sized, and thirty-five freighters.  The latter seem to be transhipping supplies to the carriers.”

Ted cursed their luck.  If they’d arrived in time to take advantage of the alien distraction ... he shook his head.  They’d just have to work with what they had.

“Keep expanding the recon network,” he ordered.  A direct assault on the alien fleet would be suicidal, but there were always options.  “And then let me see what happened when the system fell.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

“It doesn't look too different from Earth,” Barbie said.

James rolled his eyes.  New Russia was Earth-like, right down to an ecosystem that could support human settlement, even if it hadn't produced any form of intelligent life form.  The existence of worlds like New Russia had once been used to confirm the theory that humanity was alone in the universe, the sole race to pass through the bottlenecks that led to intelligence and spacefaring status.  That theory, he suspected, wouldn't be heard in future.  God alone knew how many other intelligent races there were out there.

“Yes,” he said.  None of the reporters struck him as particularly intelligent, but Barbie took the cake.  “It is, in fact, a remarkably habitable world.”

He allowed himself a moment of relief as his terminal buzzed, calling him back to the CIC.  Leaving the reporters in the tender care of the PR officers, he stepped through the airlock and walked down the corridor to the CIC.  The Marines on duty nodded as he walked past them, keeping their weapons in plain view.  James rather doubted the aliens would try to board the carrier, but the Marines could and did keep the reporters away from the CIC.  They didn't want to be interrupted by stupid questions in the middle of a battle.