Among The Kestrel
Read the storyIt's the 23rd Century. Earth has colonized several other planets. A group of colonies, The Kestrel Imperium, broke away from the earth government about a century before and has built an extremely efficient and militaristic society. Think the Empire from Star Wars or Prussia. They have been fighting border skirmishes with Earth, but not a full blown war. Earth maintains a cadet program, similar to Starfleet academy from Star Trek. Frederick (Freddie) Haldane is a young rising star in the engineering program. He has dark floppy hair, blue eyes, and is on the small side for his age, but athletically slim. During his sophomore year at the academy, he accompanies one of his professors on a trip toward the border skirmish area. On their way back to Earth, the ship is attacked and boarded by Kestrel forces. Everyone is killed in the firefight except for Freddie. He is taken back to a Kestrel command ship.