Ark Royal

Seventy years ago, the interstellar supercarrier Ark Royal was the pride of the Royal Navy. But now, her weapons are outdated and her solid-state armour nothing more than a burden on her colossal hull. She floats in permanent orbit near Earth, a dumping ground for the officers and crew the Royal Navy wishes to keep out of the public eye. But when a deadly alien threat appears, the modern starships built by humanity are no match for the powerful alien weapons.

Ark Royal - the Royal Navy’s outdated space carrier - has won a smashing victory against the enigmatic aliens, capturing one of their starships and returning to Earth. Now, Admiral Theodore Smith and his crew are assigned to command a fleet charged with making a deep-penetration raid into alien territory, a fleet made up of carriers from four different nations. But with a crewman who isn't what he seems, untested pilots and international friction - and a new and dangerous alien plan - can Ted and his crew survive their mission?

Humanity is losing the war. The once-mighty space navies have been crippled, officers and crew have been stretched to the limit and Earth herself has come under heavy attack. The end cannot be long delayed. For Admiral Smith and the crew of HMS Ark Royal, the stakes have never been so high. The one hope is to make contact with alien factions that might oppose the war.

The First Interstellar War is over, but the Royal Navy still has plenty of work to do. As Earth struggles to recover from the bombardment, Captain John Naiser is placed in command of HMS Warspite - an experimental heavy cruiser - and ordered to escort a squadron of colony ships to a star system of immense strategic importance. But as the crew struggle to survive hundreds of light years from Earth, they find themselves dealing with the legacy of the war.

On her maiden voyage, HMS Warspite discovered Vesy, a world populated by primitive aliens, aliens whose culture had already been twisted and warped by human refugees from the First Interstellar War. Now Captain John Naiser and his crew spearhead a diplomat mission to the alien homeworld, hoping to ease them into the galactic mainstream.

A new war has broken out.... Indian ships have invaded three British-held systems, and Indian troops have occupied British colonies, forcing Britain to choose between war and shame. The Royal Navy, battered by the fires of the First Interstellar War and desperately trying to recover from the terrifying casualties, must launch a counterattack and recover the colonies. For HMS Warspite - and a task force of British warships - the stakes have never been so high.

HMS Vanguard is the most powerful battleship ever to be commissioned by the Royal Navy, but she is not a happy ship. Her commanding officer is eccentric, rarely seen on the bridge; her former XO has deserted his post; and her first middy is resentful because he hasn't been promoted as he deserves.... But when a first contact mission goes badly wrong, HMS Vanguard and her crew are plunged into an interstellar war against a new and deadly alien threat.

On her last cruise, HMS Vanguard - the most powerful battleship in the Royal Navy - barely survived her encounter with a deadly new enemy. Now, with her commanding officer accused of everything from mutiny to dereliction of duty and her crew under a cloud, the Royal Navy doesn't quite know what to do with her. But there's still a war on. And Vanguard must return to the front lines. Assigned to a task force heading to assist humanity's alien allies, Vanguard and her crew find themselves caught in a deadly alien trap.

The Second Interstellar War - pitting humans and their Tadpole allies against an enigmatic alien empire - appears to have stalemated. Neither side can push through to the other's core systems without risking substantial losses, neither side can gain a decisive advantage. But when a brilliant human scientist invents a way to jump across the stars without a gravity tramline, an opportunity arises to strike the enemy in their undefended rear. It is an opportunity that cannot be allowed to pass.

The first major alien offensive against Earth has been blunted, winning humanity time to deploy new weapons and prepare new tactics as Earth's space navies prepare to take the offensive. But the enigmatic aliens have plans of their own - a full-scale attack on Earth that will either win the war in a single stroke or lose it. The stakes have never been so high. The fate of humanity itself is in the balance.

The Royal Navy never expected to fight a full-scale interstellar war. Everyone knew the Great Powers would never risk everything on armed conflict when there was plenty of room for everyone in outer space. But when a hostile alien force stumbles across humanity's handful of colony worlds, the Great Powers must set aside their differences and fight to preserve humanity from utter destruction.

The alliance between the Great Powers is starting to fall apart, the human economy cannot keep up with the urgent need for newer and better starships, and politicians are demanding an end to military spending. When a generation starship is detected approaching a British colony world, HMS Invincible is dispatched to intercept the aliens before they can make landfall. But the newcomers bring with them tidings of a new and deadly threat, an expansionist alien race far too close to the Human Sphere for comfort...and a sinister horror beyond human understanding.

On her last mission, HMS Invincible discovered an alien threat beyond human understanding. Defeat means the end of everything, the end of existence as nothing more than mindless host-bodies, the end of humanity and its alien allies alike. The stakes could not be higher. As a deeply divided humanity struggles to prepare a defense, with enemies inside and outside the human sphere just lurking to strike, Invincible is sent deep into alien space on what should have been a simple reconnaissance mission. 

The alien virus has begun its offensive, punching through the human defences and sending advance elements to threaten Earth itself. HMS Invincible and her crew, having barely returned from their last mission, are thrown into a desperate mission to strengthen the inner line of defences before the virus can smash them too and destroy the human race. The stakes have never been so high. Defeat means the end of everything.

The war isn’t going well. In five years of heavy fighting, humanity and its alien allies have steadily been pushed back toward Earth, toward the very heart of humanity itself. The virus is steadily wearing the defences down, mounting campaign after campaign to infect and enslave every other alien race. The only hope rests with newer and better weapons, with technology that may turn the tide, but can the weapons and starships be deployed in time?

HMS Lion and HMS Unicorn have made it home from their first mission against the alien virus, opening the way for humanity to take the offensive. Now, a major fleet is readying itself to depart into enemy space, intent on smashing the virus’ ability to wage war and destroy the threat once and for all. And Captains Hammond and Campbell will take the lead. But humanity itself is buckling under the strain of endless war. 

Humanity is on the ropes. Despite military victories, the sheer grinding power of the alien virus is taking its toll. The space navies are pushed to the limit, the colony worlds are fighting a desperate war against the infected, the economy is on the brink of utter collapse and Earth herself has come under attack. But there is one ray of hope. If a small force can penetrate to the heart of the alien empire and tear it apart, it might just win humanity enough time to save itself and win the war once and for all.