Last Hunter

Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Two centuries after the Confederation staved off an invasion by the robotic Locusts, Captain Jack Romanoff faces mandatory retirement from an ever-shrinking navy. Actions speak louder than words. The Confederation doesn't think the Locusts are coming back. But what if the politicians are wrong? Snared in a scheme he doesn't fully understand or trust, Jack gets his promotion, but it comes with a catch. With a crew of rejects, he must restore the most powerful warship humanity has ever built, after centuries of neglect and decay, before time runs out. If he fails, humanity might not need to worry about history repeating itself ever again.

"Be where your enemy is not." (Sun Tzu) The time has come for Commodore Jack Romanoff and the crew of the battleship Delta Orionis to strike back at the robotic Locusts. He's outgunned, outnumbered, and commands a battleship flown by battered and bloodied reenactors and trainees. Yet they must win. The Locusts control New Copenhagen, but that's the only place they can get nuclear warheads for their missiles. They must launch an alpha strike to take the system and hold it against all comers. If they fail, they lose their most potent offensive weapons and leave billions trapped under the invaders' robotic heels. They must not fail.

Victory belongs to the strong and cunning warrior. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his crew have turned two enemies against one another via misdirection and timing. That gives them the breathing room to get back to their feet, but as any savvy commander knows, the footing on any battlefield is treacherous. One misstep could cost a warrior everything. Blood is the only coin that can buy victory. With things falling apart in the Confederation proper, the future looks grim. All that can change for the worse in an instant, and only vigilance and courage can stop the enemies of humanity from extinguishing the flickering candle of the human species. Backed into a corner, he will pay the price for victory. Let whoever wants to die first test their resolve.

Aliens invaders hold human worlds. That cannot stand. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his crew have defeated the Locusts once and for all, but they are far from the only invaders infesting the Confederation. The time to go after the xenophobic Novarites and free those worlds has come, and nothing will stand in his way. If words aren't enough, show them your teeth and bite deep. There are times in war when quarter is neither asked for nor given. The only thing that can slake the combatants' thirst is their enemy's lifeblood. Then it's war to the knife that doesn't end until one side is dead. That time has now come, and humanity's enemies must bleed.

Only one world in the cluster remains in enemy hands. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his crew have one remaining nut to crack before they can turn their attention to the people that overthrew the Confederation. The Vesuvius system has become a fortress, so it won't be an easy fight, but it is one they cannot lose and survive. When force alone won't do the trick, add guile. Since brute force won't work, Jack must turn to guile to exploit the enemy's weaknesses. Only then can he achieve victory without a tremendous loss of human life. And that's before an unexpected complication threatens to undo everything they've accomplished and plunge the cluster back into brutal war with an enemy determined to exterminate or enslave them. Confronted by stronger enemies, Jack has to turn their strength against them. Somehow.

In war, even the simplest things are hard. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his people have begun the liberation of Vesuvius from the xenophobic Novarites, but even something that straightforward is difficult. The enemy outnumbers them, and removing the threat won't be easy. Worse, they are killing humans in job lots, so time is of the essence. When retreat isn't an option, you must advance. Jack wants to spare as many Novarite civilians as he can, but the killing must end. With them on a planet and him in space, that limits his options, but he will compel their surrender by any means necessary. It will be a delicate dance, but he won't stop until they admit defeat or die. In the face of overwhelming odds, never let your resolve waver.

When things are going to plan, check to see what you're missing. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his crew are trapped inside the Confederation proper and facing an unknown number of alien attack ships. They'd thought the Tardan military was defeated, but they'd been wrong. Now they were trapped in a fight they couldn't lose. When everything seems exactly as you'd hoped, figure out what you've missed. Not only do they need to stop the Locusts, but they still have to defeat the Poseidon Group and overturn the coup they'd staged. They only have two battleships and a spy ship to make that happen. Their only advantage is that no one knows they're there. They'll have one chance to get things right, or humanity is screwed. When everything goes to hell and your back is against the wall, fight.

If you can't hide the game, conceal the pieces. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his people have located the system the Tardans are using as their command post for the invasion of the Confederation. Only they can't simply attack militarily because of the stellar terrain, so they need to improvise. When the stakes are high, leave no option unexplored. With direct action off the table, they must infiltrate the system and get the information they need to defeat the Tardans and their Locust minions. For something this important, it's an all-hands-on-deck exercise, and everyone must pitch in. With everything at stake, they need to throw a few jokers into the deck for the enemy and hope for some wildcards of their own. Second place means death, so they must win at all costs.

The clock has run out. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his people have beaten the Tardans at DuPont, but they failed to get the master control codes that could have ended the invasion without bloodshed. Now, they have no choice but to confront the enemy at the heart of the Confederation: Earth. One last battle for everything they hold dear. The midnight hour is upon them. While the battle for supremacy is fought in space, Lisa Gane and Tina Chen will battle the Poseidon Group on the ground. If they can't overthrow the traitors, humanity will be trapped under their heels. They will do anything to stop their enemies, but will it be enough? One chance for victory. With no room for error, they can't afford to leave anything on the table. This is it. The endgame is upon them, and they will either win or perish, and humanity might go along with them. Will they save the Confederation or doom it to oppression and death? This is the day that they must win, or everything they sacrificed will be for nothing. A single toss of the dice to win everything or fail humanity at the last moment.

Victory, but at what cost? Commodore Jack Romanoff and his crew won the battle for New Copenhagen but lost their quantum drive in the fight. Now they must free the human prisoners and strengthen their defenses before the Locusts trap them. If it's not already too late. Only the alien hyperdrive they recovered offers a chance to get a new quantum drive and more missiles before time runs out. To master it and solve the mystery of the invasion, they must open a dialog with the aliens and get their willing cooperation. Somehow. With no time to waste, they'd best be persuasive.

Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his crew have fought the invaders to a standstill, and have plans to strike them even harder, but that won't be easy. The Novarites know about them and will be ready, the Locusts are too strong to beat in a head-on fight, and the Poseidon Group has evaded them. War is the realm of uncertainty. A new enemy might be on the horizon, but Jack couldn't afford to be distracted at a critical juncture like this. Everyone's plans were shrouded in the fog of war, and no one knew what to expect in the cauldron of battle. Even so, his ship would fight. Humanity demanded no less than victory. Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.

When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Commodore Jack Romanoff and his merry band of ragtag navy rejects-skilled yet young war reenactors, a rescued navy crew, and a Confederation spy-have rescued more than two hundred civilian ships and escaped a massacre in a battleship over two centuries old. Too bad they blew a fusion plant doing it. Trapped in a deserted system with the Locusts after them, they have a hard deadline to sort out the mess. Standing in the way is an arrogant navy captain unwilling to bend his stiff neck, and the man's unexpected-and unwelcome-allies. Yet clever friends and shocking secrets may still turn the tide. Jack and his crew have only one chance to get it right. To do that, he must bind them all together with bonds of blood.

Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat. Commodore Jack Romanoff and his ragtag crew have repaired their ancient battleship, scattered their adversaries at New Copenhagen, and discovered what was really behind the invasion. Now they must make the enemy bleed and begin liberating the cluster. Betrayal from the shadows. When someone unexpected conspires against him, Jack must keep his ship and crew united and safe. If he fails, someone powerful that should have had his back will stick a knife into it, and the aliens will enslave or exterminate them all. Honor or victory? Can he have both?

With time, plan and build contingencies. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his ragtag crew had paid in blood for breathing room to repair their ship and resupply. With that done, they could track down the Poseidon Group conspirators and kick the Locusts out of the cluster. Their fortunes seemed to be on the rise. With enemies all around, seek to maneuver. Only after examining the intelligence gathered during the invasion, it became clear a fresh storm was brewing on the horizon, and his ancient battleship would be battered like never before. In a battle of titans, there were only the victors and the dead, so triumph they would, no matter the cost. When backed into a corner, always come out fighting.

Keep your friends close. After successfully striking back at the alien invaders, Commodore Jack Romanoff and his crew have liberated the cluster capital at Argent. For the first time, it seems like they might be getting their feet back underneath them. Keep your enemies closer. When the secretive Poseidon Group-the people behind the conspiracy that threatened the very security of the Confederation-attacks, Jack and his allies must stand back to back against the traitors. Can they unmask the traitors before a knife in the dark leaves them defenseless? Trust no one.

In combat, speed is life. Admiral Jack Romanoff and his people have seized control of Faust and now have a base of operations, though the people of that world aren't completely pleased by his presence or actions. That's okay because he doesn't have time to worry about them. He needs to strike the Locusts before they spread even more than they already have in the wreck everything humanity has built. If you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough. With everything on the line, he can't afford to leave anything on the table. All his weapons and tricks have to be brought to bear now if they intend to save the Confederation. If they fail, humanity will be enslaved or worse. The time for victory is now. He who hesitates is lost.