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Chapters (44)
  1. The Crimson Worlds Series
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  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
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Epilogue

He paused, staring at his hand for a few seconds before he pulled off his glove. The cold was biting, and his fingers were quivering, almost uncontrollably. He managed to get the card from his pocket, and to finally swipe it through the small track.

He held his breath for what felt like ages, but he knew was less than a second. Then he heard a click, and the door slid open.

Warmth. Heat. The climate-controlled nirvana of the refinery’s innards beckoned. He leapt inside, not looking, almost not caring what might be there. But there was nothing. Nothing but a smooth, sterile hallway…and a level of warmth he hadn’t felt in more than a week.

His companions ran in, as drawn to the heat as he was. He just stood for a moment, and then he turned toward the entrance and pressed a small button. The door slid shut, and the last traces of the frigid cold were gone.

The three of them stood where they were, silent, savoring the precious warmth.

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

CFS Dauntless

At the Krillus Transwarp Link

307 AC

“We’re coming through, Captain.” Atara Travis stood on the bridge, her hands on the back of her chair, eyes focused on her workstation screen. “Passive scanners activated.”

“Very well, Commander.” Barron sat, staring at the main display, waiting for the scanner data to flow in. He almost gave the order to commence active scans, but that would give Dauntless’s position away…and the more he’d thought about it, the more convinced he’d become that he would find the invader near the planet Santis.

The trip through the transwarp link had been interminable, almost three hours with nothing but the strange pale blue glow of the portal as Dauntless moved along at thousands of times lightspeed…and as its captain tried to decide what he expected to find.

“Passive scans negative, Captain. Nothing out of the ordinary.” Travis’s voice was hard, and Barron thought he heard skepticism there, even as she told him there was nothing. Barron was inclined to agree. He didn’t necessarily expect the enemy to be waiting just beyond the transwarp line. But he did expect a fight somewhere in the system.

“Let’s not take any chances. Yellow alert. Activate all primary and secondary batteries. Duty patrol to the launch bay.”

“Initiating yellow alert, Captain. Duty patrol to…” Travis’s voice changed to the stone cold tone she used in battle. “Energy readings, Captain. Straight ahead.” She dropped down into her chair, her face buried in her console. “It could be scanner buoys, or…”

“Battlestations. Engines on full power, Commander. Bring us around immediately.” Barron didn’t know what was waiting ahead of his ship, but he had a bad feeling. And his instincts usually served him well.