Graham Sharp Paul Bücher

The Hammer Worlds, the most brutal and oppressive interstellar government in the universe, have hijacked the Federated Worlds cruise ship Mumtaz, seizing its valuable terraforming cargo and damning its passengers to mining the moons of the prison planet known as Hell. For Junior Lieutenant Michael Helfort and the crew aboard deep space scout vessel 387, the mission is clear: infiltrate enemy territory, locate the Mumtaz, and rescue the prisoners.The odds are appalling, and the damage will probably be fatal, but victory is nonnegotiable–especially for Helfort, whose mother and sister were on the Mumtaz. And Michael Helfort will be damned if he’ll let his family rot on the moons of Hell.

If he survives, hell just may freeze over.The savage Hammer Worlds are not only near invincible but almost certain to win their war to crush the Federated Worlds and control humanspace–unless the Feds can find and destroy their secret antimatter warhead facility.Only dreadnoughts, the lone Federated ships able to withstand antimatter missile attacks, can do the job, and only Lieutenant Michael Helfort has the skill to lead them. But skill may not be enough, because Helfort is more than the newly appointed captain: He’s a hero, and this means that his own senior officers want him to fail–and that the enemy’s kingpin wants him dead.Helfort’s early victories merely intensify everyone’s determination. No action is too low, no price too high, to bring him down–with treachery, or betrayal, or an offer he can’t refuse, even if it means selling out his own side.

He thought Hell was the worst they could throw at him.He was wrong.Back from tangling with the Hammer of Kraa, the most brutal, trigger-happy tyrants in humanspace, Junior Lieutenant Michael Helfort is assigned to the Federated Worlds heavy cruiser Ishaq, which is struggling to rise to the threat posed by a newly resurgent Hammer. Aboard the floundering ship, Helfort is coming to grips with a painful injury and the unpleasant truth that nobody likes a young hero–least of all senior officers.Without warning, the Ishaq and twenty-seven Fed merchant ships are blown apart in a horrific ambush, the first step in the Hammer’s master strategy to destroy the hated Federated Worlds. Michael and a pitiful remnant of the Ishaq’s crew escape the inferno. The Feds have no idea who’s behind the heinous attack, and the Hammer are determined to keep it that way, consigning the Ishaq’s survivors to a prison camp deep in the wilderness of the Hammer’s home planet.No one’s getting out alive to derail the Hammer’s lethal master plan–especially not the FedWorlds hero who so humiliated them on the battlefield. It’s payback time, and the Hammers intend to throw their entire space fleet into destroying Michael Helfort and the Federated Worlds.Too bad it won’t be enough.

Set against a backdrop of America's declining global influence and rising Chinese dominance, a group of ultra-nationalists believes it must take drastic measures to counteract China's ambitions. With vast resources and a determination to act, they are prepared to pay any price, even if it means mass destruction. However, Joe Lessart emerges as a lone figure opposing their deadly conspiracy, tasked with the challenge of preventing catastrophic violence and safeguarding the future of America.

Ladaki-6 is a dystopian planet dominated by a fundamentalist cult that prioritizes faith over science, leading to a harsh and oppressive environment. Kal Kariuki, a struggling marine with personal demons, reluctantly arrives seeking employment. However, she soon finds herself at the center of a vast conspiracy threatening all of humanspace. Faced with a choice between her past of avoidance and the urgent need to confront her fears, Kal must decide whether to embrace her destiny and take a stand against impending chaos.

A groundbreaking collection of writings on the growing phenomenon of single-parent families in the United States, and how it impacts society as a whole.Focus on Single-Parent Past, Present, and Future brings together in one volume a range of cutting-edge research articles and essays on what has become the most dynamic change in family structure in U.S. history. It is the only resource to make the most insightful and important work being done on the single-parent family phenomena accessible to general readers.Focus on Single-Parent Families helps readers go beyond the stereotypes and look closely at the complexity of families with one parent and consider their place in society. It encompasses the wide variety of households with a single parent―a family structure that promises to continue to grow and diversify. Throughout, the book gauges the impact of the increasing number of single-parent families on the nation as a whole, particularly in regard to policies concerning family welfare, children's services and health care, schools, and other essential social institutions.

Presenting complex ideas, concepts and arguments in a straightforward and conversational way, this textbook explains international relations from a diplomatic perspective, emphasizing co-existence in the absence of agreement, and developing students' ability to make sense of the current conditions of international uncertainty.

Nelítostné Kovářské světy jsou prakticky neporazitelné. Vítězství ve válce s Federací planet a ovládnutí celého vesmíru mají na dosah ruky. Zastavit je lze jediným způsobem: je potřeba najít a zničit jejich tajné zařízení na výrobu bojových hlavic obsahujících antihmotu. A to mohou dokázat jen dreadnoughty, jediné federální lodě schopné přežít útok antihmotových torpéd. A jen poručík Michael Helfort má dost zkušeností na to, aby jim mohl velet. Ale zkušenosti nejsou vše. Mladý Helfort je víc než jen čerstvě povýšený kapitán. Je to národní hrdina, díky čemuž je mnoha lidem trnem v oku. Jeho vlastní nadřízení doufají, že ve svém úkolu selže – a nepřátelský vůdce ho chce vidět za každou cenu mrtvého. I přes to Michael slaví první úspěchy, ale to jeho odpůrce jen ještě víc povzbudí. Jsou odhodlaní zničit ho za každou cenu a nezastaví se před ničím: před zradou, před podvodem... Nebo před podlou nabídkou, která se prostě nedá odmítnout.

Mysleli si, že ho mají v hrsti. To se ale šeredně spletli… Vládci Kovářských světů se konečně podařilo to, po čem dlouho toužil. Mladý poručík Michael Helfort, hrdina Federace planet a strůjce většiny jejich vítězství v probíhající válce, je mu konečně vydán na milost. Postavil ho totiž před tvrdé ultimátum: pokud se sám dobrovolně neodevzdá do rukou nejzkorumpovanější říše v dějinách lidstva, dá jeho životní lásku na jako hračku svým poskokům. Jenže jak se říká, když ji zaženete do kouta, dokáže být i obyčejná krysa nebezpečná. Takže když do kouta zaženete geniálního taktika a stratéga, který má k dispozici tři nejsilnější válečné křižníky v celém vesmíru…

Podporučík Michael Helfort je přidělen na těžký křižník Ishaq, který se má postavit nové kovářské hrozbě. Michael se musí smířit s krutou pravdou: Nikdo nemá rád mladé hrdiny - a jejich nadřízení dvojnásob. Pak je Ishaq bez jediného varování napadena a rozstřílena. A spolu s ní dalších dvacet sedm lodí plujících pod vlajkou Federace. Z Ishaq se zachrání jen hrstka lidí, mezi nimi i Michael. Přišel čas zúčtování a Kováři mají v úmyslu vyslat všechny své válečné lodě, aby zabily Helforta a spolu s ním i celou Federaci planet. Bohužel pro ně se ale ukáže, že ani celá jejich Flotila na tenhle úkol nestačí.