Star Corps

Star Corps
Ian Douglas

In the future, earth's warriors have conquered the heavens. But on a distant world, humanity is in chains…Many millennia ago, the human race was enslaved by the An – a fearsome alien people whose cruel empire once spanned the galaxies, until they were defeated and consigned to oblivion. But a research mission to the planet Ishtar has made a terrifying – and fatal – discovery: the Ahanu, ancestors of the former masters, live on, far from the reach of Earth – born weapons and technology … and tens of thousands of captive human souls still bow to their iron will.Now Earth's Interstellar Marine Expeditionary Unit must undertake a rescue operation as improbable as it is essential to humankind's future, embarking on a ten-year voyage to a hostile world to face an entrenched enemy driven by dreams of past glory and intent once more on domination. For those who, for countless generations, have known nothing but toil and subjugation must be granted, at all costs, the precious gift entitled to all of their star-traveling kind: freedom!

Table of Contents

Title Page (#ue4b97c6d-aab3-50cd-bb06-9377a71a6583)

Eight Light Years From Home (#u99d10621-37e8-51fa-80df-f8dcb3170877)

Prologue (#u9be99400-d987-5ec9-a1cc-98bd2fe85a26)

Chapter 1 (#ua7186861-da64-5a9c-a27c-f9b7bb1f3484)

Chapter 2 (#uc5662cdf-74ee-5c6e-85dd-047c42e45dcc)

Chapter 3 (#ube58ee9b-0111-591a-8a88-b1fc6aa9b436)

Chapter 4 (#u5ee5e70d-b12a-5aa0-8166-bbda9e0aa799)

Chapter 5 (#ufed1a171-84ad-5fdb-88c6-d6c55127d861)

Chapter 6 (#ubefe974b-8a45-5b14-af53-ade2c96dedb9)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Books in the Legacy Trilogy by Ian Douglas (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

EIGHT LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME

“All is quiet on the perimeter, Captain,” Aiken said. “Sounds like the Frogs’re pretty riled up in the ’ville, though. Do you think they’ll attack us?”

“It could happen,” Pearson replied. “The ambassador still hasn’t answered Geremelet’s ultimatum.”

“They’re not talking about … surrendering, are they?”

“Not that I’ve heard, Master Sergeant. Don’t worry, it won’t come to that.”

“Yeah. The Marines never surrender.”

“That’s what they say. Keep a sharp watch.”

“Aye aye, sir.”

Aiken turned and looked into the southern sky, where the first stars were beginning to appear. Eight light-years from home had not much altered the familiar constellations, though the dome of the sky was strangely canted against the cardinal directions. There was a bright star, however, in the otherwise dim and unremarkable constellation Scutum, not far from the white beacon of Fomalhaut.

Sol. Earth’s sun. As always, the sight of that star sent a shiver down Aiken’s spine. So far away, in both space and time.

Eight point three light-years. Help from home could not possibly arrive in time …

Prologue

12 MAY 2138

Firebase Frog