R. M. Meluch - Wolf Star (Tour of the Merrimack #2)

Table of Contents

Raves for Wolf Star:

The American and Roman interstellar empires are still at war in Meluchs rousing far-future SF novel, set in a universe slightly altered from that of its predecessor, The Myriad (2005). Captain John Farragut and the intrepid crew of the starship USS Merrimack take on the Romans with the skill, flair and foul-mouthed witticisms one would expect from space-faring sailors and marines, escaping one trap after another as they seek a hidden space station. Meluch has tightened up her prose and fleshed out her characters, and the parallel-universe twist renders this a perfectly good starting point. This is grand old-fashioned space opera, so toss your disbelief out the nearest airlock and dive in.

Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

A fast-paced, space-action novel... Meluchs zany streak and slightly barbed wit help her round out the characters. Just how many Merrimack books Meluch and DAW plan hasnt been specified. Let us hope that it is a good many. Booklist

Like Myriad, this one is grand space opera. You will enjoy it. Analog

And for its prequel, The Myriad:

Vaguely reminiscent of Robert A. Heinleins Starship Troopers (specifically, the relentless alien antagonists and the over-the-top, gung-ho characters), The Myriad is lighthearted, fast-paced fun. This novel will prove thoroughly enjoyable to fans of military science fiction authors like David Weber and David Drake.

The Barnes & Noble Review

An action-packed space opera. For readers who like romps through outer space, lots of battles with gooey horrific insects, and character sexplotation, The Myriad delivers. The novel is full of action, tough military talk, and space-opera war.SciFi.com

R. M. Meluchs
Tour of the Merrimack:

THE MYRIAD
WOLF STAR
SAGITTARIUS COMMAND*

*Coming soon in hardcover from DAW Books

Copyright 2005 by R. M. Meluch.

All rights reserved.

DAW Books Collectors No. 1349.

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All characters and events in this book are fictitious.
All resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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eISBN : 978-1-101-08721-3

First paperback printing, January 2007

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To Jim, of course.

PART ONE

Scorpion Sting

OCCULTATION, NINE BY TWENTY-FIVE by eighty- eight, the tech at the sensor station sang out. Vector twelve. Velocity five c.

Which brought the command deck to a coffee-spilling scramble at stations for confirmation. A bogey. An FTL bogey.

Lieutenant Glenn Hamilton was Officer of the Watch for the middle watch. She instantly ordered, Go dark.

Dark mode locked down the battleships gunports, took the force field to complete opacity, and adjusted the deflectors round the engines to mask the ships hot stern from the bogey.

In moments came the report from the systems specialist, We are dark, sir.

Glenn Hamilton gave a single small nod, to herself more than anyone, and ordered, Sound general quarters, dark mode. Then she opened her direct com. Before she could speak his name, Captain Farraguts voice sounded from the open com, Hamster, what are you doing to my boat?

Captain, we have company, Glenn answered. FTL bogey at fifty-nine light-seconds. Looks like we saw him first.

Them! the tactical specialist loud-whispered a correction at her. Its a them !

Them, Hamster amended her report to the captain. We have multiple bogeys.

Im coming up, said Farragut. Sounded pleased.

Glenn clicked off. She turned to the specialist at the tactical station, Marcander Vincent, a man really too old to be there. Most of the specialists and techs on board Merrimack were baby-faced youths paying off their college educations. Who have we got scheduled out here, Mr. Vincent? Any authorized traffic?

None, sir. Target is in the no-fly corridor.

That could not be an accident. No one meets anyone out here by accident. Even when ships were actively hunting, chances of finding were long. Astronomically long.

The battleship Merrimack had been patrolling deep Scorpion space to the galactic west of Fort Ike for weeks now, scouring the vastness between stars for just such a bogeya needle of uncertain existence in this most vast of haystacks. Actually tripping over it took the hunters by surprise.

The only thing not unexpected was that it happened during the middle of ships night. It was a saying on board Merrimack : if something was going to happen, it would happen on the Hamster watch.

Sir, shall I request IFF? the com tech asked.

Negative, said Lieutenant Glenn Hamilton as she passed the log to the XO, just arrived on the command deck with a silent signal for Glenn to carry on. Maintain dark. Move us into shadow vector.

Shadow vector, aye, the helm acknowledged.

Captain Farragut arrived on deck like a weather front, all bright crackling bluster, still buttoning his sky-blue uniform jacket. Waved down the call to attention. Thanks, Hamster, he acknowledged little Glenn Hamilton. The captain stood a full foot taller than his lieutenant.

He moved to the tactical station and landed a hand on the shoulder of the man seated there. Mr. Vincent, what am I looking at?

Multiple-body FTL bogey, Captain. Conga line of them. Quick and dark.

John Farraguts blue eyes flickered back and forth across the readings on the tactical display. He could only see what the sensors interpreted for him. At FTL no one saw anything. Farragut glanced to his tall, striking XO, Commander Calli Carmel. Stalker?

Calli, who had not been on deck long enough to know, deferred to the Officer of the Watch.

Lieutenant Glenn Hamilton hesitated on a twinge of doubt. I like to think were the stalker, Captain. Commander. We picked them up on the skew. We are shadowing them .

The tac spec had all parts of the bogey plotted now. The plots appeared on the display strung out like beads on a necklace, spaced two light-minutes apart.

Look up here. Callis long forefinger landed on a plot far ahead of the rest.

That would be the point man, said the tac spec.

John Farragut nodded. Has that look.

The look of ships sneaking through space they ought not be in.

Farragut tapped the screen. Can we get any better picture than this without bouncing something off em?

Negative, Mr. Vincent reported. Theyre buttoned up real tight. Not much in the way of emissions. Unless we get closer, this is as good as it gets.