Cutlass Drawn & Quartered
Escort duty is the safest assignment in the Solano Navy—provided no one shoots at you.
Twelve days into a routine patrol through the Aurelia Kuiper Belt, the frigate SNS-FE6 Cutlass answers a late distress call from a freighter that arrives exactly where it shouldn’t and precisely when it’s least convenient. David Carter—contracted Marine advisor, professional skeptic, and owner of zero actual authority—knows a trap when he sees one. Unfortunately, recognizing a mistake and being allowed to prevent it are two very different things.
Sure enough, missiles are inbound. Point-defense howls. Compartments rupture. And the debate over whether pirates can be reasoned with ends the way such debates usually do: violently and on camera. As command fractures and hesitation costs lives, Carter does what professionals always do when leadership falters—he fights the problem in front of him and worries about the politics later. Deck by deck. Hatch by hatch. Body by body.
But repelling the boarders isn’t the same as surviving the engagement. Because somewhere beyond the hull, the pirate still lurks—and it has more lasers than patience.
Set years before the events of Perrin Miller’s Out of the Cold, this hard-edged military SF prequel delivers brutal boarding actions, command decisions under fire, and one escort mission that will be studied for years—mostly as a warning.
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Chapter 92026-03-06 16:42
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