Kestrel Saga Series by Stephen A. Fender
Kestrel Saga #2
Icarus
Stephen A. Fender
Intelligence reports have begun to filter in from the former Outer Sphere: the Kafaran hordes are rearming, aligning themselves and their past allies into a new force known as The Army of Light. Half a decade ago, the Unified Collaboration of Systems barely managed to defeat them, and the cost had been grievously high. With Unified Sector Command fleet strength down to perilous levels, it is anyone’s guess who will come out the victor this time. Shawn Kestrel, former civilian cargo pilot, has been mysteriously recruited back into Sector Command. Even more baffling is that he is ordered to take command of an elite squadron of advanced starfighters, incorporating technological improvements beyond anything he’s ever seen before. However, before Shawn has a chance to immerse himself in his new role, a derelict ship from a missing fleet suddenly appears, and the questions it raises have dire consequences that will reverberate throughout the entire galaxy. Working alongside the striking intelligence agent Melissa Graves, Shawn must uncover the truth behind the fate of the Icarus before it’s too late.
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Kestrel Saga #3
Second Earth
Stephen A. Fender
"It was the beginning...of the end." Second Earth, the site of the worst massacre of the Great Galactic War half a decade ago, loomed large before the supercarrier Rhea. A beautiful gemstone against the backdrop of the endless, star-filled void, the planet beckoned the Sector Command carrier and her intrepid crew as a parent would to its long-departed child. But all was not as it seemed. What was expected to be a barren, war-ravaged planet was in fact a life-sustaining body, with far less damage than both the Office of Special Intelligence and the Unified Council had previously reported. Adding to the mystery was the fact that the orbiting defensive satellites--put in place to protect the riddles of the world--were mysteriously missing. Ordered to bring a contingent of Unified Marines down to the surface to investigate, Lieutenant Commander Shawn Kestrel is about to uncover the very secret that the Unified Government tried so desperately to hide. Unfortunately, it may already be too late. When a mysterious and powerful alien vessel appears in orbit around Second Earth, it heralds the one thing Shawn and Melissa Graves hoped they would never experience again... War.
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