Fugitives

This is probably my favourite of the series so far. We left Steven and his ship dying, hidden away on a hostile planet and the crew at the mercy of an Alien Princess. Stuck in the middle of imperial space, they face some hard choices and a long lonely road home. The choices that Charlie makes can either make or break their attempt at escape. Home on Earth tension rises as the crews go weeks then months without any communication. In the Federation, The Grand Commander is becoming frantic with the loss of his new ship designer while Jean Wilson finds herself on the bridge of a new fleet carrier. To her horror, she discovers that it has been designed by the man whose heart she broke just months before. The struggle for survival and to get home takes many turns and twists. The Empire has technology capable of detecting the ships even when cloaked and vast resources at its disposal. When a data mining expert and a crew of trained assassins are put on their trail, their chances of surviving become slimmer.