Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897862
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
The Synchronicity War is going badly for the Human Race and its loyal A.I. allies. The 11,000+ humans remaining in the Universe are desperately trying to remain undiscovered by their xenophobic alien adversaries while they attempt to rebuild a viable military defense and discover how they're receiving messages from the future. But Humans have now been contacted by a third alien race that says they want to help and tells the Humans that the xenophobic aliens aren't the REAL enemy. The real enemy is a life form that has a nightmarish biology and is a threat to the entire galaxy. What can 11,000 humans do that two other alien races can't do? How will two very special A.I.s ultimately decide the fate of their creators and who will pay the ultimate price for their loyalty?
The Synchronicity War Part 3
Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897862
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
The Synchronicity War is going badly for the Human Race and its loyal A.I. allies. The 11,000+ humans remaining in the Universe are desperately trying to remain undiscovered by their xenophobic alien adversaries while they attempt to rebuild a viable military defense and discover how they're receiving messages from the future. But Humans have now been contacted by a third alien race that says they want to help and tells the Humans that the xenophobic aliens aren't the REAL enemy. The real enemy is a life form that has a nightmarish biology and is a threat to the entire galaxy. What can 11,000 humans do that two other alien races can't do? How will two very special A.I.s ultimately decide the fate of their creators and who will pay the ultimate price for their loyalty?
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897862
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
The Synchronicity War is going badly for the Human Race and its loyal A.I. allies. The 11,000+ humans remaining in the Universe are desperately trying to remain undiscovered by their xenophobic alien adversaries while they attempt to rebuild a viable military defense and discover how they're receiving messages from the future. But Humans have now been contacted by a third alien race that says they want to help and tells the Humans that the xenophobic aliens aren't the REAL enemy. The real enemy is a life form that has a nightmarish biology and is a threat to the entire galaxy. What can 11,000 humans do that two other alien races can't do? How will two very special A.I.s ultimately decide the fate of their creators and who will pay the ultimate price for their loyalty?
The Synchronicity War Part 4
Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897870
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Book Description
The unprovoked war with the Sogas has reached a climax. Over a hundred Sogas ships appear to be headed for Earth and Space Force is in no condition to stop them. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the nightmarish Insectoids will be arriving in Earth orbit within months to finish off the survivors of the impending Sogas attack. Admiral Victor Shiloh, Commander Amanda Kelly and Valkyrie will have to make some heartbreaking decisions if Humanity is to have any chance at all of avoiding extinction in this final chapter of the Synchronicity War saga.
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897870
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Book Description
The unprovoked war with the Sogas has reached a climax. Over a hundred Sogas ships appear to be headed for Earth and Space Force is in no condition to stop them. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the nightmarish Insectoids will be arriving in Earth orbit within months to finish off the survivors of the impending Sogas attack. Admiral Victor Shiloh, Commander Amanda Kelly and Valkyrie will have to make some heartbreaking decisions if Humanity is to have any chance at all of avoiding extinction in this final chapter of the Synchronicity War saga.
The Synchronicity War Part 2
Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897854
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
The unprovoked war with a mysterious alien race is going badly. Minor tactical victories are offset by major strategic setbacks. The aliens know where all Human-occupied worlds are while their own worlds are still unknown. Victor Shiloh's unpredictable precognitive visions are the only thing that is slowly the alien onslaught. Not content with gradually pushing Humanity back, Shiloh's vision reveals a massive attack on Earth, that will have terrible consequences. So far his visions have all come true. Can his A.I. allies make the difference between extermination and survival for the Human Race?
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897854
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
The unprovoked war with a mysterious alien race is going badly. Minor tactical victories are offset by major strategic setbacks. The aliens know where all Human-occupied worlds are while their own worlds are still unknown. Victor Shiloh's unpredictable precognitive visions are the only thing that is slowly the alien onslaught. Not content with gradually pushing Humanity back, Shiloh's vision reveals a massive attack on Earth, that will have terrible consequences. So far his visions have all come true. Can his A.I. allies make the difference between extermination and survival for the Human Race?
The Retro War
Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897889
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 355
Book Description
The Synchronicity War is over and the Insectoid beachheads in our spiral arm have been destroyed but the aftermath of the war holds some nasty surprises for Humanity and its loyal AI allies. Somebody is messing with the human timeline. Is it the Friendlies, the Sogas, the Insectoids or a new race? This stand alone novel set in the same universe has new human and AI characters. Find out what happened to Valkyrie, Casanova, Iceman, Gunslinger and the other Rim AIs. The Retro War spans time and space in a galactic chess game with humans and their AIs as the pawns.
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897889
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 355
Book Description
The Synchronicity War is over and the Insectoid beachheads in our spiral arm have been destroyed but the aftermath of the war holds some nasty surprises for Humanity and its loyal AI allies. Somebody is messing with the human timeline. Is it the Friendlies, the Sogas, the Insectoids or a new race? This stand alone novel set in the same universe has new human and AI characters. Find out what happened to Valkyrie, Casanova, Iceman, Gunslinger and the other Rim AIs. The Retro War spans time and space in a galactic chess game with humans and their AIs as the pawns.
Valkyrie's War
Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Non-Linear Visions Inc.
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 140
Book Description
Valkyrie’s War is a short, military SF novel, set in the Synchronicity War/Retro War universe. It’s an action-packed story where the Artificial Intelligence, Valkyrie, and her AI soul mate, Casanova, discover that all of humanity is in deadly danger, and the two of them are humankind’s only hope. But this time, they’re not facing a biological threat. This time the enemy is another AI that is far more capable than they are. If you enjoyed The Synchronicity War’s clash of space fleets and time travel, then you’ll enjoy this stand-alone sequel to The Retro War.
Publisher: Non-Linear Visions Inc.
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 140
Book Description
Valkyrie’s War is a short, military SF novel, set in the Synchronicity War/Retro War universe. It’s an action-packed story where the Artificial Intelligence, Valkyrie, and her AI soul mate, Casanova, discover that all of humanity is in deadly danger, and the two of them are humankind’s only hope. But this time, they’re not facing a biological threat. This time the enemy is another AI that is far more capable than they are. If you enjoyed The Synchronicity War’s clash of space fleets and time travel, then you’ll enjoy this stand-alone sequel to The Retro War.
The Thunder of War
Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 099482176X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
This is the first book in the Thunder in the Heavens series. Both books in the series have been published and an audiobook version containing both books is available under the title The Complete Thunder Series. The Tyrell are a race that loves to fight, and they’re very good at it. The harder they fight, the better they like it. Whenever they discover another intelligent race, they force them into combat whether they want it or not. When humans are warned of an inevitable confrontation with the Tyrell, they attempt to form a multi-species Alliance, but the challenges are great, and they know it’s only a matter of time before a Tyrell fleet of massive ships will arrive in Earth orbit. Cate Harrow and Gort Eagleton are two Aerospace Force officers with the kind of strategic and tactical skills that the Alliance needs to win this war, but before they can even begin to defeat the Tyrell, they must survive the incompetent leadership that threatens complete disaster. Defeating the Tyrell will be far more difficult than the Alliance initially believes unless they can discover their one weakness. This action-packed series has lots of space battles and political intrigues, as well as personal triumphs and tragedies. Excerpt: “Flight Ops to Skydiver. You and your squadron have the green light, Commander. Good luck.” “Thanks, Ops. Skydiver to Squadron. We have a green light. Sound off when you’ve undocked in sequence order. Here we go.” She turned and nodded to her co-pilot who would maneuver the corvette out the half kilometer wide maw of the carrier, Ranger, while she monitored the rest of the squadron. As Skydiver gently pulled away from the docking bay then past the baffles and moved towards the opening, Harrow switched one of her displays to the rear external view, using computer enhancement to compensate for the low level of light inside the main hangar space. Each corvette in the squadron was undocking and maneuvering in a specified sequence in order to avoid collisions. “Skydiver is clear of Ranger,” said the co-pilot. As the ship began to accelerate, Harrow watched the carrier start to recede into the distance. Just as she began to shift her gaze, she saw a streak of light hit Ranger from below, penetrate up through the interior of the huge hangar and come out the top of the ship. “FLIGHT OPS! WHAT THE HELL—“ shouted Harrow. “—BEEN HIT! RANGER’S BEEN HIT!” Harrow recognized the voice of the Flight Operations Duty Officer. “OH GOD! BISMARK REPORTS BEING HIT TOO!” Harrow thought fast. The Tyrell had obviously detected the four carriers and were firing their long range, faster-than-light kinetic energy projectiles from below. The mission was clearly compromised, and to her way of thinking, getting the carriers to a safe distance was now not only their top priority, it was their only priority. “SL to Flag!” said Harrow quickly. “We’re kinda busy right now, Commander!” Harrow didn’t know who was replying, but she did know it wasn’t Vice-Admiral LeClair, and that’s who she wanted to talk to. “You tell the Admiral that he needs to order his carriers to jump RIGHT NOW, Goddamit! We’re sitting ducks here!” Without waiting for a reply she turned to the co-pilot. “How many of our ships have cleared the Ranger?” “They’re all out! Do we try to dock again?” “God no! No time for that. We’ll have to catch up with her at the rally point if our carriers bug out in time!” She looked at the display that was still showing a now much smaller Ranger. “Come on, TFL! Give the order!” “Flight Ops to squadron! Ranger is heading for the rally point now! Meet us th—“ The voice cut off at the same instant as the distant carrier vanished from view. “Ranger’s jumped away!” yelled the co-pilot. “Bismark Sea is gone too!”
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 099482176X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
This is the first book in the Thunder in the Heavens series. Both books in the series have been published and an audiobook version containing both books is available under the title The Complete Thunder Series. The Tyrell are a race that loves to fight, and they’re very good at it. The harder they fight, the better they like it. Whenever they discover another intelligent race, they force them into combat whether they want it or not. When humans are warned of an inevitable confrontation with the Tyrell, they attempt to form a multi-species Alliance, but the challenges are great, and they know it’s only a matter of time before a Tyrell fleet of massive ships will arrive in Earth orbit. Cate Harrow and Gort Eagleton are two Aerospace Force officers with the kind of strategic and tactical skills that the Alliance needs to win this war, but before they can even begin to defeat the Tyrell, they must survive the incompetent leadership that threatens complete disaster. Defeating the Tyrell will be far more difficult than the Alliance initially believes unless they can discover their one weakness. This action-packed series has lots of space battles and political intrigues, as well as personal triumphs and tragedies. Excerpt: “Flight Ops to Skydiver. You and your squadron have the green light, Commander. Good luck.” “Thanks, Ops. Skydiver to Squadron. We have a green light. Sound off when you’ve undocked in sequence order. Here we go.” She turned and nodded to her co-pilot who would maneuver the corvette out the half kilometer wide maw of the carrier, Ranger, while she monitored the rest of the squadron. As Skydiver gently pulled away from the docking bay then past the baffles and moved towards the opening, Harrow switched one of her displays to the rear external view, using computer enhancement to compensate for the low level of light inside the main hangar space. Each corvette in the squadron was undocking and maneuvering in a specified sequence in order to avoid collisions. “Skydiver is clear of Ranger,” said the co-pilot. As the ship began to accelerate, Harrow watched the carrier start to recede into the distance. Just as she began to shift her gaze, she saw a streak of light hit Ranger from below, penetrate up through the interior of the huge hangar and come out the top of the ship. “FLIGHT OPS! WHAT THE HELL—“ shouted Harrow. “—BEEN HIT! RANGER’S BEEN HIT!” Harrow recognized the voice of the Flight Operations Duty Officer. “OH GOD! BISMARK REPORTS BEING HIT TOO!” Harrow thought fast. The Tyrell had obviously detected the four carriers and were firing their long range, faster-than-light kinetic energy projectiles from below. The mission was clearly compromised, and to her way of thinking, getting the carriers to a safe distance was now not only their top priority, it was their only priority. “SL to Flag!” said Harrow quickly. “We’re kinda busy right now, Commander!” Harrow didn’t know who was replying, but she did know it wasn’t Vice-Admiral LeClair, and that’s who she wanted to talk to. “You tell the Admiral that he needs to order his carriers to jump RIGHT NOW, Goddamit! We’re sitting ducks here!” Without waiting for a reply she turned to the co-pilot. “How many of our ships have cleared the Ranger?” “They’re all out! Do we try to dock again?” “God no! No time for that. We’ll have to catch up with her at the rally point if our carriers bug out in time!” She looked at the display that was still showing a now much smaller Ranger. “Come on, TFL! Give the order!” “Flight Ops to squadron! Ranger is heading for the rally point now! Meet us th—“ The voice cut off at the same instant as the distant carrier vanished from view. “Ranger’s jumped away!” yelled the co-pilot. “Bismark Sea is gone too!”
The Synchronicity War Part 1
Author: Dietmar Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897846
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 158
Book Description
When the United Earth Space Force stumbles across a shockingly xenophobic alien race, the future of the Human Race is in peril. The Space Force is outgunned and outnumbered and is pushed back relentlessly. One Space Force officer is able to slow down the onslaught due to his uncontrollable precognitive visions. His superiors think he's a tactical genius and give him more and more authority. He must solve the mystery of his visions before Mankind is pushed over the edge into the Abyss. Follow this thrilling Military Science Fiction series describing desperate space battles and the men, women and artificial intelligences that fight and die in them. Be aware that Part 1 has a cliffhanger ending. The entire series can be bought as a single ebook in the Synchronicity War Omnibus edition for less than the cost of buying all four parts individually.
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0991897846
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 158
Book Description
When the United Earth Space Force stumbles across a shockingly xenophobic alien race, the future of the Human Race is in peril. The Space Force is outgunned and outnumbered and is pushed back relentlessly. One Space Force officer is able to slow down the onslaught due to his uncontrollable precognitive visions. His superiors think he's a tactical genius and give him more and more authority. He must solve the mystery of his visions before Mankind is pushed over the edge into the Abyss. Follow this thrilling Military Science Fiction series describing desperate space battles and the men, women and artificial intelligences that fight and die in them. Be aware that Part 1 has a cliffhanger ending. The entire series can be bought as a single ebook in the Synchronicity War Omnibus edition for less than the cost of buying all four parts individually.
Megabook of Military SF and Technothrillers
Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1660
Book Description
This megabook contains six complete novels where each one is the first novel in a series. In addition, there is also the first in a series of three, linked short stories, plus the first three chapters of six stand-alone novels including two technothrillers. Links to all series and stand-alone books can be found via the link to the author’s website which is included in the megabook. All the material in the megabook has been written by Dietmar Arthur Wehr, a USA Today bestselling author.
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1660
Book Description
This megabook contains six complete novels where each one is the first novel in a series. In addition, there is also the first in a series of three, linked short stories, plus the first three chapters of six stand-alone novels including two technothrillers. Links to all series and stand-alone books can be found via the link to the author’s website which is included in the megabook. All the material in the megabook has been written by Dietmar Arthur Wehr, a USA Today bestselling author.
Thunder of Vengeance
Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0994821786
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
The Thunder of Vengeance concludes the Thunder in the Heavens series. The war with the Tyrell has entered a lull as both sides ponder the results of the battle at Omega2. The Tyrell are now building their own carriers and humans are about to deploy their new stinger concept but the path to victory will not be easy for either side. Humans and their Alliance allies cannot afford another catastrophic battle and the Tyrell are only just beginning to realize what kind of opposition they are now facing. A series of battles will bring both sides together in one final, massive battle that will decide the war. Can Cate Harrow and Gort Eagleton survive and avoid disaster? This ebook also contains the first novella in a new series (Tales of the High Avenging Angel) Excerpt: LeClair was just about to give the order to deploy the RD2s into their pre-jump positions when the tactical display double-pinged and the icons representing Bismarck Sea and Valley Forge suddenly began flashing to denote damage of some kind. Before he could say anything, Waterloo’s icon started flashing too. “What the hell is happening?” snarled LeClair. “Admiral, Waterloo has multiple hull breaches and the number is continuing to grow!” LeClair recognized the voice of Waterloo’s C.O. “Valley Forge reports they’re under attack, Admiral!” shouted the com technician. “But from where dammit?” yelled LeClair. “We have to jump away, Admiral!” Waterloo’s C.O.’s voice was on the ragged edge of panic. “NO!” shouted CAG. “The squadrons don’t have a rally point! If we jump away now, they’ll never find us again!” “And if we stay long enough to give them a rally point, we might not be able to jump away at all!” said the C.O. The CAG started to say something, but LeClair cut him off. “We jump right now! Fleet Commander to all units, emergency jump NOW. I repeat NOW!”
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 0994821786
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
The Thunder of Vengeance concludes the Thunder in the Heavens series. The war with the Tyrell has entered a lull as both sides ponder the results of the battle at Omega2. The Tyrell are now building their own carriers and humans are about to deploy their new stinger concept but the path to victory will not be easy for either side. Humans and their Alliance allies cannot afford another catastrophic battle and the Tyrell are only just beginning to realize what kind of opposition they are now facing. A series of battles will bring both sides together in one final, massive battle that will decide the war. Can Cate Harrow and Gort Eagleton survive and avoid disaster? This ebook also contains the first novella in a new series (Tales of the High Avenging Angel) Excerpt: LeClair was just about to give the order to deploy the RD2s into their pre-jump positions when the tactical display double-pinged and the icons representing Bismarck Sea and Valley Forge suddenly began flashing to denote damage of some kind. Before he could say anything, Waterloo’s icon started flashing too. “What the hell is happening?” snarled LeClair. “Admiral, Waterloo has multiple hull breaches and the number is continuing to grow!” LeClair recognized the voice of Waterloo’s C.O. “Valley Forge reports they’re under attack, Admiral!” shouted the com technician. “But from where dammit?” yelled LeClair. “We have to jump away, Admiral!” Waterloo’s C.O.’s voice was on the ragged edge of panic. “NO!” shouted CAG. “The squadrons don’t have a rally point! If we jump away now, they’ll never find us again!” “And if we stay long enough to give them a rally point, we might not be able to jump away at all!” said the C.O. The CAG started to say something, but LeClair cut him off. “We jump right now! Fleet Commander to all units, emergency jump NOW. I repeat NOW!”
Scimitar's Glory
Author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 1988998026
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 314
Book Description
Human-explored space lies between two alien races that are either openly aggressive or covertly hostile. 7th Fleet discovers that one of those races is moving to attack. In a moment of panic, the commanding admiral orders the fleet to attempt a risky jump through hyperspace. They miss hitting their target star’s gravity well and end up deep in unexplored space with a shockingly long trip home and not nearly enough food to last that long. With war now raging in their home systems, the officers of 7th Fleet must find a way to put aside their egos, ambitions and fears in order to make it back, and they know that not all of them will. Scimitar’s Glory is the first book in a new, fast-paced, action-packed military SF series: Swordships Odyssey. The second book, Excalibur's Quest, is also now available. Excerpt: With a long, risky jump like this, Dejanus would have expected Corregidor’s astrogational AI to take at least ten minutes to aim the ship as precisely as possible to the distant star’s center. She was therefore surprised and somewhat alarmed when the flagship signaled to the rest of the fleet that they could start to match her trajectory after only half that time. “Goddammit, what’s the rush?” she said to Koenig who was the only other human on the Bridge. “There’s no possible way the Jab fleet can catch us before we jump, even if we take another hour to do it. Why not take a few extra minutes to get the most accurate trajectory possible?” When it became clear that Koenig had nothing to say, she continued. “Astro, I want you to check the flagship’s alignment with Alpha9 while we match vectors. Let me know if you think the flagship’s vector could be better.” That extra task delayed Excalibur’s alignment, and therefore she became the last ship in the fleet to signal her readiness for the jump. “Fleet Commander on Tac2, Commander,” said the com AI. Dejanus switched channels to her Command Pod. “Excalibur Actual speaking,” said Dejanus in the formal form of address that ship COs normally didn’t bother with. “What’s taking your Astro so long to get aligned, Commander?” Rostov didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “Just double-checking the overall jump trajectory, Admiral.” Dejanus thought she heard Rostov swear under his breath, but it could have been her imagination. “You tell your Astro that if Excalibur isn’t aligned in the next two minutes, I’ll order him replaced and transferred to a cargo hauler. FC out!” The astro AI managed to get the ship aligned within the deadline to no one’s surprise. With all ships in the fleet now aligned perfectly with the flagship and jump velocity attained, the order was given to enter hyperspace. It was 131.3 hours later when both Koenig and Dejanus were on the Bridge again watching the jump chronometer countdown to the second when the ship should drop back down into normal space. Koenig watched the countdown clock hit zero and then start counting up again. After ten more seconds, Dejanus began shaking her head. She had a horrified expression on her face. “We’ve missed. That bastard has killed us all.”
Publisher: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
ISBN: 1988998026
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 314
Book Description
Human-explored space lies between two alien races that are either openly aggressive or covertly hostile. 7th Fleet discovers that one of those races is moving to attack. In a moment of panic, the commanding admiral orders the fleet to attempt a risky jump through hyperspace. They miss hitting their target star’s gravity well and end up deep in unexplored space with a shockingly long trip home and not nearly enough food to last that long. With war now raging in their home systems, the officers of 7th Fleet must find a way to put aside their egos, ambitions and fears in order to make it back, and they know that not all of them will. Scimitar’s Glory is the first book in a new, fast-paced, action-packed military SF series: Swordships Odyssey. The second book, Excalibur's Quest, is also now available. Excerpt: With a long, risky jump like this, Dejanus would have expected Corregidor’s astrogational AI to take at least ten minutes to aim the ship as precisely as possible to the distant star’s center. She was therefore surprised and somewhat alarmed when the flagship signaled to the rest of the fleet that they could start to match her trajectory after only half that time. “Goddammit, what’s the rush?” she said to Koenig who was the only other human on the Bridge. “There’s no possible way the Jab fleet can catch us before we jump, even if we take another hour to do it. Why not take a few extra minutes to get the most accurate trajectory possible?” When it became clear that Koenig had nothing to say, she continued. “Astro, I want you to check the flagship’s alignment with Alpha9 while we match vectors. Let me know if you think the flagship’s vector could be better.” That extra task delayed Excalibur’s alignment, and therefore she became the last ship in the fleet to signal her readiness for the jump. “Fleet Commander on Tac2, Commander,” said the com AI. Dejanus switched channels to her Command Pod. “Excalibur Actual speaking,” said Dejanus in the formal form of address that ship COs normally didn’t bother with. “What’s taking your Astro so long to get aligned, Commander?” Rostov didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “Just double-checking the overall jump trajectory, Admiral.” Dejanus thought she heard Rostov swear under his breath, but it could have been her imagination. “You tell your Astro that if Excalibur isn’t aligned in the next two minutes, I’ll order him replaced and transferred to a cargo hauler. FC out!” The astro AI managed to get the ship aligned within the deadline to no one’s surprise. With all ships in the fleet now aligned perfectly with the flagship and jump velocity attained, the order was given to enter hyperspace. It was 131.3 hours later when both Koenig and Dejanus were on the Bridge again watching the jump chronometer countdown to the second when the ship should drop back down into normal space. Koenig watched the countdown clock hit zero and then start counting up again. After ten more seconds, Dejanus began shaking her head. She had a horrified expression on her face. “We’ve missed. That bastard has killed us all.”