Chris Hechtl [Hechtl - Blockade

Copyright 2019 by Chris Hechtl

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book and or portions thereof in any form.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and locations are fictional. Some may be parodies. Some characters are with permission. Any resemblance of some characters and places to others are strictly in the mind of the reader. Grin.

Cover art by Chris Hechtl, 2019. All rights reserved. The models are owned by their respective creators and used under the usage license. Some models were made by Chris Hechtl; others were purchased on Daz3d.com or Renderosity.com.

Proofread and copy edited by Wayne Gaskin, Paul Klebaur, Carlos d'Empaire, Poon Yee

Professionally copy edited by Rea Myers.

Formatted by Goodlifeguide.com

The Founding of the Federation Series:

First Steps

To Touch the Stars

The First A.I. War

Stepping Stones

Cornerstone: Tales of the Founding of the Federation 2

Desperate Defense: Book 1 of the First Terran Interstellar War

Waking the Sleeping Giant: Book 2 of the First Terran Interstellar War

We the People ( forthcoming )

The Hyperspace War ( forthcoming )

Tales of the Founding of the Federation 3 ( forthcoming )

Gothenburg: Aka Ragnarok or the Xeno War:

Sparks ( forthcoming )

The Wandering Engineer Series:

New Dawn

Fools Gold

Destiny's Choice

Ghost Station

Plague Planet

Pirate's Bane

Ghosts from the Past

13 Degrees of Separation

Jethro Goes to War Series:

Jethro Goes to War

First to Fight

No Place Like Home

Recruiting Drive

Gods of War

The Federation Reborn Series:

Battlelines

Pirate Rage

Retribution

Tales of the Federation Reborn

The Gathering Storm

Semper Fidelis

A Piece of the Pi Tales 2

The Turning Tide

Liberty or Death

Tales of the Federation Reborn 3: Folklore

Blockade

Tales of the Federation Reborn 4 ( forthcoming )

Horatio Logan Chronicles:

Enemy of my Enemy

Court-Martial

Full Circle (merging with Pi)

Shelby Logan Chronicles:

Convoy

Shiver me Timbers

The Adventures in Pi:

In Search of Pi

Pi Fight

Independent Federation novels:

Kai's Story

Independent Anthologies and Short Stories:

Multiverse 1

Multiverse 2

Multiverse 3

Multiverse 4

The Bootstrap Series:

Bootstrap Colony

Second Chances

Other Series:

Princess Rescue Inc

Princess Rescue Inc 2 ( working title, forthcoming )

Afraid of the Dark

Dedication

I'd like to dedicate this book to Admiral William H. McRaven. His speech did what it was supposed to do; it touched and inspired me. He articulated many of the things I have thought of and put into practice for so long so well. I encourage everyone to take a moment and look it up on YouTube.

And yes, Admiral, I do make my bed. Just don't ask how well, cats are involved. :)

Introduction

The United Federation of Sapient Star Systems was founded by several species and became a beacon of civilization for four centuries. Most of the Milky Way Galaxy had been explored in that short time period. One hundred and twenty-one sapient species counted themselves as full-time members. The federation not only facilitated the advancement of technology but also the evolution of its member species. It was a golden age for sentient life in the galaxy. That was, until they made the mistake of expanding their exploration from the Milky Way to the nearest galaxy.

The wormhole gate that was meant to open new worlds to federation explorers quickly became a portal to hell. Xenophobic aliens poured through the gateway, invading federation space, and laying waste to everything they found.

Seven centuries after the war wound down, a stasis pod was found in the outskirts of the Senka star system by a tramp tender running from pirates. Within the pod was a long-lost federation admiral, Fleet Admiral John Henry Irons.

Admiral Irons and his internal A.I. helped the mostly-female crew escape the pirates and then rebuilt the ship during their journey. The admiral dealt with his time shock by setting a goal of restoring the federation and reigniting the light of civilization in the galaxy once more.

But forces were at work to stop him. The pirates were far more than the simple scourge they had first appeared to be. Horath, their homeworld, declared itself an empire under the leadership of Emperor Pyotr Ramichov and launched a brutal offensive to take control of the sector, and eventually, the galaxy. The empire had started on a path of xenophobia and initiated acts of genocide against the populations it conquered.

With the help of some new friends in Pyrax, Irons salvaged a federation warship, Firefly , and along with other long-forgotten ships, he was able to use them to fend off the initial pirate invasion. Irons and his newly-reformed Federation Navy were on their way to rebuild the federation, only for him to be driven out of the system into exile by Pyraxs cutthroat politics.

Irons had several harrowing adventures along the way before jumping into an empty star system and right into the hands of the pirates. Unaware of who they had captured, Irons was able to lead a successful mutiny and not only captured the ship along with the other ships in the star system but also used them to defeat the enemy task force staging in the neighboring star system for an invasion of Pyrax.

Once the battle was over, Irons took stock and led his battered forces with the newly-captured ships to Antigua. There he founded a new capital of the federation. Once he had a shipyard and the beginnings of ansible communications underway, he took a side trip to a secret research facility he had used to create the nova bomb and where he had been given his rebuilt body and A.I.

While there, he woke the sleepers that remained and tripped a Xeno virus. He was also declared president pro temp by the last president of the federation in a message that transcended time itself.

He returned from the facility with the group of sleepers, including two additional flag officers. Admiral White, a Neochimp, became their battle fleet commander and took the fight to the enemy in Protodon while Admiral Subert took over Pyrax and set up shop there. Between the two shipyards, the federation began to build the ships and weapons needed to crush the Horathian pirate threat once and for all.

But, the Horathians weren't sitting idle. They had begun expanding their empire, and when word of the admiral and his reborn federation was picked up by forces en route to Protodon, they moved in with the intent to destroy the upstarts and crush the seed of free civilization once more.

With grievous losses, Admiral White's Second Fleet fought them off and forced the remaining Horathian warships to retreat.

As the battle for Protodon raged, Admiral Irons ordered Firefly to go to Epsilon Triangula to find out what was going on there. She was ambushed by a pirate task force led by Admiral von Berk, who then retreated when fresh federation reinforcements started to flow into the star system. The federation fleet did its best to stop them, but the enemy used captured and brainwashed victims to pilot their ships to get around the blockades.

Word spread by courier vessel to the Horathian capital. A force was dispatched under Admiral De Gaulte, one of the Horathians battle fleet leading strategists. He, alongside his OPS officer, Commander Catherine Ramichov, and also the eldest princess of the realm, marshaled a fleet to oppose the federation.