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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 stared intently at the scope, tapping one way, then the other. He could see the countdown clock…five…four…

He gripped the firing control and sucked in a deep breath.

Two…one…

He tapped the control again. Then once more, just a tiny adjustment. The bridge was silent, and he knew his officers were staring at him, watching to see if he would hit the enemy, and do enough damage to give them a chance in the fight. Or if their hopes would vanish with another missed shot.

Barron closed everything out of his mind. There was nothing but the enemy ship, and his guns. He felt his finger moving, slowly, deliberately. Almost there. Then, at the last instant, he moved the controls over, adjusting the shot one last time and firing. He felt the vibration under his feet as the big guns fired, and his eyes caught the flashing red light, the overload warning. He’d gotten two shots from his tortured main guns, but there wouldn’t be a third. Not this side of a space dock.

He leaned back, his body aching, exhausted, drained. And then he heard the cheers.

His turned and looked back at the main display. The enemy ship’s icon was flashing. He’d scored a direct hit with both primaries. It was too early for significant damage assessments, but he could see the enemy power levels dropping. Hard. Their fire stopped too—much of it, at least. There were three batteries left firing. All the rest were silent now.

He felt a rush of excitement, but he bit down on it. The battle wasn’t over. Not yet.

“I want full thrust toward the enemy, Lieutenant. Immediately. All functional secondaries…open fire.”

It was time to end this.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

CFS Dauntless

Krillus Asteroid Belt

40, 500,000 kilometers from Santis, Krillus IV

307 AC

Barron stared at the main display, at the woman standing amid the smoke and wreckage of her ship’s shattered bridge. She wore a uniform that looked as if it had once been spotless and perfectly-tailored. But it was torn now, half a dozen rips cutting across at different spots. It was filthy too, covered with all sorts of soot and debris…and if Barron wasn’t mistaken, some blood too.

He’d called off his gunners when the scanning reports showed the enemy’s reactors were down, the last of its guns silenced. Confederation ships did not destroy helpless opponents. The navy adhered to a strict code of honor, the precepts of which had been laid down by none other than his grandfather. And apart from honor, he felt something for this mysterious enemy captain. Anger, of course, rage at the losses his people had suffered. But more than that. Respect.

“This is Captain Tyler Barron, commanding CFS Dauntless. Identify yourself.”

The woman stood at something that resembled attention, though Barron could see that her leg was badly injured.