The Alliance has surrendered. The Navy is disbanded. But for Sandy Pike, the real war is just beginning.

Commander Alexander “Sandy” Pike was a decorated hero of the Planetary Alliance, a man who survived the destruction of his own ship and nine days in an escape pod. But when political cowardice leads the Alliance to a total, unconditional surrender to the Hegemony of United Worlds, Sandy finds himself traded for a desk and a “sh*t sandwich” of a career in logistics.

He isn’t built to command a desk. He was born to command a starship.

With the Hegemony fracturing into a brutal civil war and trade lanes crawling with pirates and slavers, the galaxy has never been more lawless. Sandy sees an opportunity where others see ruin. His plan? Salvage the Alice May, an over-engineered, century-old fast transport left for dead in an asteroid belt.

Recruiting an elite crew of “liberated” Navy veterans—including a Master Chief who knows how to make military hardware “disappear” and a pair of legendary gunners known as Stick and Puss—Sandy transforms a rusty relic into the most lethal freighter in the sector.

Equipped with a “liberated” 105mm photon cannon and EMP missiles, the Alice May is no longer just a cargo ship. It’s a message.

From hunting human traffickers to outmaneuvering rogue frigates, Sandy and his crew carve out a reputation for being efficient, reliable, and untouchable. But as the Alliance Navy secretly begins to rise from its own ashes, Sandy is faced with an impossible choice: stay a free captain of a priceless ship, or answer the call to lead a new battle group against the rogue fleets threatening to burn civilized space to the ground.

In a galaxy of shifting allegiances and political betrayal, one man is determined to hold the line.

If you enjoy classic space opera with tactical ship combat, compelling characters, and intricate world-building, you’ll be captivated by book two of Lieutenant Commander Pike, Pike’s Passage.