Starcruiser Polaris

It is the year fifty of the New Calendar, dated from the Revolution – the middle twenty-third century according to the old way of counting time. During the twenty-first century, Earth's nations coalesced, first into supranational power blocs, later into the 'Federated Nations', an alliance that theoretically held together for almost a hundred and fifty years, democracy rapidly turning into oligarchy, the 'Hundred Families', leading political, business and in a few occasions former dynastic houses taking the lead, as well as the bulk of the wealth. They launched humanity into the stars, settling worlds scattered all over local space, often involved in Byzantine politics against each other.

All that finally changed. The ordinary people grew poorer, more and more liberties were stripped, and at last, the people were pushed too far and a series of violent riots turned into a wide-scale uprising, which liberated Earth in less than two months – most of the remnant military forces switching sides, either at the beginning of the revolt or as soon as they realized who was going to win. That left the Federated Nations fleeing into space, and led to the construction of the Starcruisers, sixteen custom warships, arrayed against the old national space forces, all loyal to the Federates, fighting in a three-year civil war.

It was a stalemate, at best. Many of the colonies rebelled, and the military force was not present to suppress them, forcing the forces of the Federated Nations to withdraw, pulling to the frontier, to uncharted space. Hundreds of thousands fled Earth to the new colonies, those who feared reprisals as a new generation of Robespierres rose up, corrupting the new regime right from the beginning, though initially these acts of terror were limited. Finally, a ceasefire took effect, the Federated Nations became the Confederation of Stars, led by the Exilarchy, a collection of surviving political and military leaders, a self-appointed council that governs the Confederation to this day.

The Revolutionary leaders declared the Terrestrial People's Republic, and free elections were held for the first time in centuries. This state didn't last for long. Earth was the priority, not the colonies, and they were ignored and suppressed in a bid to keep the Terran population content. Gradually, it became clear that the freedoms that had been promised would not materialize outside cislunar space, and the result was the Uprising, a terrorist revolt that wracked Known Space for three years, finally suppressed when the rebel fleet was corned by the Republic at Ross 154.

Then came the Purge. The leadership of the Republic, fearing further revolt, arrested and killed millions, as many thrown into political prisons, more shipped to the outer colonies to replace those killed in the fighting, and the concept of free elections was locked down, the wealth of humanity increasingly absorbed by an ever-harsher security and surveillance regime. Even on Earth, rumblings began to rise about the tyranny of the leaders of the Republic, and the surviving rebels withdrew into the shadows.

Twenty years have passed, an in a bar on Titan, the rebels are about to launch a Second Revolution, pinning their hopes on a broken-down space commander and a long-lost starcruiser...Polaris...

Blood of Patriots
Twenty years ago, a group of freedom fighters launched a desperate uprising, a bid to free humanity from the clutches of the tyrannous Federation. They failed. And millions died as a result. After decades of oppression, the rebels are getting ready to move again, to succeed where their predecessors could not. Their last hopes lie with the Federation's greatest space commander, now a drunken derelict, and a ship that was lost in deep space at the end of the war.

The Starcruiser Polaris. Once the flagship of the Federation Fleet. And if the rebellion can find her before the dreaded Political Directorate, the key to a new rebellion, one that might accomplish the near-impossible. But they are not the only ones to seek her, and the future of all humanity depends on the winner of a desperate race, to find the lost starship, and bring her back into the fight...

Nothing Left to Lose
Commander Edward Curtis, leading a rag-tag group of rebel commandos, has successfully recaptured his old ship, the Starcruiser Polaris, fighting his way through the Federation Fleet to escape to uncharted space. Hunted across the galaxy, he elects to launch one devastating strike, an attack that, if successful, will trigger the collapse of the corrupt leadership of the Terrestrial Federation, and finally free the Colonies from oppression and tyranny.

On Earth, the forces of the Federation Parliament are preparing a counter-strike, forming a task force with orders to seek and destroy Polaris, whatever the cost or collateral damage. That force is commanded by the best tactician in the fleet, Commander Michael Curtis. Edward's son. Two of them will go into the battle. Only one of them can survive. And the winner will determine the fate of the galaxy for the next hundred years….

Terrible Swift Sword
The Rebel Fleet has won its first victories over the forces of the Federation, defeating the frontier forces and securing control of Sinaloa Station. Now Commander Curtis and the crew of the Starcruiser Polaris must consolidate their gains, and launch a new strike into the heart of enemy territory before the Federation Fleet can gather its forces against them. The battle for the future of humanity beckons, over the ice-locked world of Hyperborea, with the fate of billions resting on the outcome…

He Never Died
Edward Curtis and the crew of the Starcruiser Polaris have been waging their desperate war with the Federation, a battle that takes them to the treacherous heart of the enemy, Sol System, and Earth itself. Forces gather over Titan to fight the last battle of the war, and treachery lurks on every side as the rebellion comes to its final conclusion. Can the rebels still win the battle for freedom, and what price must they pay for victory?

The Starcruiser Polaris series is also available in a collected Omnibus edition.