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Pirates of the Milky Way #3
Condor Rising
The Republic has a new type of ship. The Condor-class is huge, deadly, and carries a secret weapon.
One spy has all the details, but he's trapped and unable to share with his handler. She sets the wheels in motion to get him to Lute, the pirate stronghold, where they can meet and freely transfer information.
As the League gathers an overwhelming force to take Gotha Mu, the tiny golden planet in the Seychar system, Captain Christopher Raleigh and his crew race to prevent League spies from leaking the surprise in store for them.
Action, thrills, spies, gadgets, and deception await in this third installment of the Pirates of the Milky Way saga!
One spy has all the details, but he's trapped and unable to share with his handler. She sets the wheels in motion to get him to Lute, the pirate stronghold, where they can meet and freely transfer information.
As the League gathers an overwhelming force to take Gotha Mu, the tiny golden planet in the Seychar system, Captain Christopher Raleigh and his crew race to prevent League spies from leaking the surprise in store for them.
Action, thrills, spies, gadgets, and deception await in this third installment of the Pirates of the Milky Way saga!
- GenresScience Fiction
228 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 19, 2019
61 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Jaxon Reed
98 books179 followersJaxon Reed is a speculative fiction author and two-time winner of Amazon's Kindle Scout program.
Jaxon is an Aggie, living in Texas on a ranch with his wife and boys, several cats, and one pound dog.
Sign up for new release alerts, sales and freebies at https://jaxonreed.substack.com
Jaxon is an Aggie, living in Texas on a ranch with his wife and boys, several cats, and one pound dog.
Sign up for new release alerts, sales and freebies at https://jaxonreed.substack.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 22, 2019
Fast paced action, thrilling and exciting, a new Republican spaceship carrying a deadly weapon, spies, pirates, deceptive follies.. an edge of the seat read, a roller coaster! Things are getting more complicated in this installment, two AI governments on the brink of an imminent war, how some characters’ lives interact and intertwine to reach an explosive moment. Captain Raleigh to the rescue, again! A fantastic journey, riddled with edge of the seat scenes, twisted outcomes, the story building makes it an excellent read. Yet another thrilling installment! I highly recommend the series!
June 17, 2025
Book 3 in the series
The Republic and the League are at war. The Republic is developing a new Condor class of war ship that is bigger than anything else. The League attacks the Republic and we learn just what the new ship can do. A great story.
The Republic and the League are at war. The Republic is developing a new Condor class of war ship that is bigger than anything else. The League attacks the Republic and we learn just what the new ship can do. A great story.
April 28, 2019
Biffender Jones was trying to get to Lute where his wife, Andi, the prime suspect in Tetrarch Lopez’s murder, would be held. The only way he could get to Lute was through Petra Roe, but there were no departures for Lute listed at the spaceport. He spotted a holosign for a bar down the street and headed there to get information. He asked the android bartender how to get a ship to Lute and the bar went dead silent. The android told him that was pirate territory, a restricted area, and only one ship went there once a week. He asked if any unofficial ships were going that way. A big ugly guy stepped up and snarled about why he would want to go there. Then the rest of the guys in the bar also stepped up and surrounded him. He started to tell them he was affiliated with law enforcement, but one of the men threw a punch at the ugly guy and a brawl erupted. A young woman grabbed Biff’s arm and told him they had to get out of there. She introduced herself as Melanie Polansky from the Salamander, an independent freighter flagged as a League ship, and told him they would pay her bar friends’ fines before they left. Smugglers he figured, but he had to get to Andi and Captain Estes agreed to take him there.
Collin Todd waited in line with other employees leaving the corporate office of Republican Shipworks in San Saba, Diego. He hadn’t had much opportunity to pass stolen secrets in the last several months. In pre-war days, the AI’s did not pay close attention to the game worlds online, so he could easily pass information. When a dispute over a planet set the League and the Republic at war, as a senior-level programmer for Republican Shipworks, Collin would now be watched very closely. So his handler, Natasha, has to get him to Lute, the pirate stronghold, where they can meet in person and freely transfer information. With his mother living in Lute, he had a plausible excuse to go there and all he had to do was use a code word when he talked to her to alert Natasha’s people he had something for them. He set things in motion with a call.
At the Petra Rose embassy, a virtual diplomatic pouch appeared on the corner of Ambassador Huntington’s desk. With intricate and secure messaging, he passed instructions to “Cool Hand” saying, “One target inside. An older lady. Five thousand now, five when it’s done. Make it look natural.” Cool Hand responded, “I always do”. Had Collin’s mother just been targeted? Were Collin’s spy days coming to an end?
Julia was meeting with Captain Raleigh and some of the others. She was, after all, Tetrarch Thrall’s oldest daughter. He had a well-deserved reputation as the most vicious Tetrarch in the League. He was fully committed to fighting the Republic. Julia felt she could serve their cause better if she returned back behind the lines and closer to her father. She could get a ride on the Salamander that was due to arrive soon. The Salamander was able to travel to Lute because the pilots plotted courses using the ship’s computer rather than relying on StarCen to port them. The manual calculations took them much longer, but it kept the AI unaware of their going off track and wandering away from the prescribed areas.
Melanie was a new crewmember on Salamander. With the captain spending all of his days drunk in his cabin, she cut off the bottom of her t-shirt and flirted with the crew. She played one against the other so, by the end of the trip, the two pilots and half the crew had resigned. As the Salamander landed on Lute, Biff noticed a group of people all dressed in black. Of the 3 women, one seemed familiar. As she tugged at her ear, he recognized the gesture – Andi! Captain Raleigh realized immediately Captain Estes would need at least one pilot who understood how to program interstellar jumps by hand before he could leave Lute. He also recognized that Biff, Estes’ passenger, was Julia’s husband while she was pretending to be someone else. This was going to require a change of plans.
There is so much more going on in this book from multiple sources. The action quickly escalates! How will Captain Christopher Raleigh deal with this potential crisis? What is Biff intending to do about Andi/Julia? Is Collin in the sights of the League now? Grab your copy and don’t miss the excitement!
Collin Todd waited in line with other employees leaving the corporate office of Republican Shipworks in San Saba, Diego. He hadn’t had much opportunity to pass stolen secrets in the last several months. In pre-war days, the AI’s did not pay close attention to the game worlds online, so he could easily pass information. When a dispute over a planet set the League and the Republic at war, as a senior-level programmer for Republican Shipworks, Collin would now be watched very closely. So his handler, Natasha, has to get him to Lute, the pirate stronghold, where they can meet in person and freely transfer information. With his mother living in Lute, he had a plausible excuse to go there and all he had to do was use a code word when he talked to her to alert Natasha’s people he had something for them. He set things in motion with a call.
At the Petra Rose embassy, a virtual diplomatic pouch appeared on the corner of Ambassador Huntington’s desk. With intricate and secure messaging, he passed instructions to “Cool Hand” saying, “One target inside. An older lady. Five thousand now, five when it’s done. Make it look natural.” Cool Hand responded, “I always do”. Had Collin’s mother just been targeted? Were Collin’s spy days coming to an end?
Julia was meeting with Captain Raleigh and some of the others. She was, after all, Tetrarch Thrall’s oldest daughter. He had a well-deserved reputation as the most vicious Tetrarch in the League. He was fully committed to fighting the Republic. Julia felt she could serve their cause better if she returned back behind the lines and closer to her father. She could get a ride on the Salamander that was due to arrive soon. The Salamander was able to travel to Lute because the pilots plotted courses using the ship’s computer rather than relying on StarCen to port them. The manual calculations took them much longer, but it kept the AI unaware of their going off track and wandering away from the prescribed areas.
Melanie was a new crewmember on Salamander. With the captain spending all of his days drunk in his cabin, she cut off the bottom of her t-shirt and flirted with the crew. She played one against the other so, by the end of the trip, the two pilots and half the crew had resigned. As the Salamander landed on Lute, Biff noticed a group of people all dressed in black. Of the 3 women, one seemed familiar. As she tugged at her ear, he recognized the gesture – Andi! Captain Raleigh realized immediately Captain Estes would need at least one pilot who understood how to program interstellar jumps by hand before he could leave Lute. He also recognized that Biff, Estes’ passenger, was Julia’s husband while she was pretending to be someone else. This was going to require a change of plans.
There is so much more going on in this book from multiple sources. The action quickly escalates! How will Captain Christopher Raleigh deal with this potential crisis? What is Biff intending to do about Andi/Julia? Is Collin in the sights of the League now? Grab your copy and don’t miss the excitement!
June 18, 2019
Pirates and Space Winning Combinations
I am enjoying this series. A fun adventure read. I love a good space adventure with pirates, planets and conspiracies and you get that in this series. Definitely, recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I am enjoying this series. A fun adventure read. I love a good space adventure with pirates, planets and conspiracies and you get that in this series. Definitely, recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 19, 2025
More pirates!
Alternate universe, SF advanced technology, space opera, ultra capitalism, space pirates
The Planetary Republic enlists the aid of the space pirates against the numerically stronger Star League, before deploying their version of a space dreadnaught, the Condor class. Excellent editing. If you ignore the darker side of laissez faire economics, like thirteen being the age of majority and indentured servitude as cultural norms, it's rip roaring adventure. Enjoyed.
Alternate universe, SF advanced technology, space opera, ultra capitalism, space pirates
The Planetary Republic enlists the aid of the space pirates against the numerically stronger Star League, before deploying their version of a space dreadnaught, the Condor class. Excellent editing. If you ignore the darker side of laissez faire economics, like thirteen being the age of majority and indentured servitude as cultural norms, it's rip roaring adventure. Enjoyed.
January 14, 2023
Really enjoying this series. The books are short and so are the chapters so make for easy quick reading. The world building and growing cast of characters are ticking the boxes for a fun action packed read.
November 14, 2022
4.25 / 5
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews