Fred Hughes Publishing
Military Science Fiction
Hazard King had always wanted to be an Imperial Fleet officer, just like his father.
But he’s a Prince of the Realm, which make things a bit more… complicated. And when Hazard’s parents tell him that they don’t trust his older brother and want Hazard to be the Crown Prince—the heir to the throne—things go from bad to worse.
And just when they can’t get any worse, the Empress is attacked.
What is a simple fleet lieutenant supposed to do with his mother in a coma, a seemingly invincible enemy on the offensive, a darkness from the past stirring, and his paranoid older brother trying to assassinate him?
What Naval officers do best—improvise. And he’s going to need all his skills, as well as the help of a former spy, a handful of Marines, and a few close relatives, if he’s to defend the Empire against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Hazard King was ready to get back to a normal life…
Well, as normal a life as the next emperor of the Brittania Empire could expect, anyway. Hazard wanted to continue his naval career—to grow and take on positions of higher responsibility—because he knew the Swarm would be back, and he intended to be there to fight them when they returned.
He had learned how to delegate, though, and while he was training, the rest of Team Hazard was tasked with eliminating the Marxist spy network which they had discovered was mostly made up of rogue Imperial spies.
And somewhere along the way, Hazard needed to find time to get married and produce an heir. But at least that shouldn’t be dangerous, right?
The final battle approaches!
Awakening from cryo sleep after barely surviving the Tarrant System Battle, Captain Hazard King begins working on restoring the wrecked Imperial Fleet, but the Swarm forces smell blood and press their victory, sending a strike fleet to attack the Fleet base at Icarus. In the past, the Empire had ten years between attacks. This time, they’ll only have two.
Even worse, the Empire doesn’t have the forces or the technology needed to stop the massive Swarm fleet, and Hazard is stymied at every turn by an entrenched bureaucracy that is unable to give Hazard the resources required to win the war. Unable to put together the force necessary to stop the Swarm, Hazard is compelled to send an old friend forward to buy him the time he needs… knowing he is likely sending her—and all her forces—to their doom.
The final battle is fast approaching, and Hazard is aware the fleet he is assembling must win at all costs, or the Empire will surely fall. It’s a battle he must personally lead… not as Hazard King but as Prince Henry, War Leader. Can Henry put his alter ego behind him and become the leader he was destined to be, or will the Empire lose everything to the Swarm?
Hazard survived the war… but can he survive the peace?
The empire defeated the Swarm at the Battle of Iris, but it came at a great cost. To win, Hazard King needed to reveal he was Crown Prince Henry and take command of the Imperial Fleet as War Leader. Now their enemy is suing for peace, something many in the empire don’t want to give.
There are even officers in his own fleet that wish to restart the war and eradicate the Swarm.
Hazard and his mother, Empress Elizabeth, face not only issues in the Isis System but across the empire. A rebellious system government decides the time is right to secede from the realm and takes hostages to ensure their success. As if things aren’t bad enough, their old foe, the Marxist Federation, loses control of a biological weapon that threatens the planet Lenin and the Empire of Britannia.
Hazard won the war, but winning the peace will be even more complicated. To do that, he’ll need to become… Prince Peacemaker.
Hazard King finally managed to win the peace with the Swarm, and he’s stabilized the Marxist Federation and helped create a new, more democratic government on Lenin.
The Black Dragon virus, though, continues to kill thousands there, and Imperial Scientists have finally admitted that antidotes are beyond their ability. Worse, it is only a matter of time before the virus makes it off planet, an event that is sure to kill billions and bring down the empire.
But there is hope. If they can find the original virus, the creation of a vaccine may be possible. Unfortunately, there’s only one source: Earth, the birthplace of humanity. There is a problem, though. Fearing for the safety of their new worlds after the Exodus, early emperors banned all travel there.
When continued attempts by blockade runners to break the quarantine force Hazard’s hand, though, to protect the Empire, he’ll have to defy the edict and travel to Earth. In order to save the Empire, Hazard will need to become… a prince renegade.
Alone and unafraid...
The former Earth colony of Serenity is safe from the Mordorian Horde… for the moment. Hazard King’s expeditionary force, battered and bruised, stands guard, protecting the system. But to complete his original mission—to get to Earth and obtain the Black Dragon information he needs to save the kingdom—Hazard will need reinforcements. His mother, Empress Elizabeth, is willing to organize that help, but it will take time.
For the moment, Hazard is on his own.
When Imperial scouts discover a major enemy base in the MT Pegasi System, Hazard’s plans change. The former colony, 90 light years from Earth, is home to a large Mordorian Fleet, a fleet that Hazard must defeat. They not only block the way forward but have enslaved two million humans.
With the majority of reinforcements yet to arrive, and against the advice of his commanders, Hazard attacks the system to open the way to Earth and free the subjugated colony. He is the man the colony needs.
He is… Prince Liberator.