The Queen's Hammer

Wars are never fought solely on the battlefield. They have economic, diplomatic, informational, and industrial facets. Battles are waged through ambassadors, assassins, the media, and allies. A warrior must tie all these efforts together in support of his campaign. Attack where the enemy is weakest. Often that weakness is not found on the battlefield but in other aspects of the enemy's effort. It is time to be going home. The ships of Pirate Flotilla One have completed their mission within the Aurora Empire. The Battle of the Electra System resulted in the loss of two Flot 1 ships but the Aurora Empire has replaced them. In addition to the obvious aid of ships, supplies, and munitions, the Queen of the Aurora Empire has supplied the new Duke of Black Hallow with legal protection and a Royal Navy squadron as allies for his ongoing struggle in the Badlands. A different challenge awaits Raferty Hawkins and his people back home. The recent addition of Llewellyn Terrant and her ship, Cottonmouth, to Flot 1 has brought a new enemy to the Badlands. A Commonwealth squadron is searching for Terrant and Shane Delacruz for war crimes committed in their civil war on their home planet of Rialta. Hawkins knows his captains will not fight this intruder for the sake of Terrant. She has an agenda of her own and her trustworthiness is suspect. No, Raferty will have to devise another method for dealing with this threat. If you can't attack the ships, attack the people commanding them. In addition to this new menace, the Sunrise Grange is still in business. The pirates must correct that situation. Rafe has a plan to use the Grange's own investors against them. Mason Reed, Tactical, Baby Doll, and Killian O'Hare will make this all work. Blondie has joined Predator as chief engineer and Dylan Whitlock and his small crew will embark on a different mission in support of Raferty. With these dedicated people, Flot 1 returns to the struggle for their quadrant.