Sergeant-Major, First Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Sergeant, Lance-Sergeant, Corporal, Lance-Corporal, Private, Recruit
If this looks like the US Marines, its meant to – but I drew in an additional tweak to reflect the 'combined' nature of the services by incorporating the European rank of 'Lance-Sergeant', which I first saw in the Polish armed forces. I actually rather like the sound of it, if I'm honest! And Ensign? Well, that was originally an Army rank; it seemed an interesting alternative to 'First' and 'Second' Lieutenants...especially as there were going to be a lot of Lieutenants running around anyway! The other new rank, Lieutenant-Major, I humbly submit as my answer to the age-old 'two Captain ranks' problem; evidently someone in the service decided to end it once and for all be eliminating the rank of 'Captain' and replacing it with 'Lieutenant-Major' instead; it goes well with 'Lieutenant-Captain', I think, and you can expect to see this one cropping up...
Appendix C: Further Reading...
This book is the second series set in the 'Triplanetary Universe', a 22nd-century setting where humanity is on the threshold of exploring deep space, and all the terrors and wonders that lie therein. I've been developing this setting, on and off, for twenty years, and three years ago I launched the first series in this universe, the 'Battlecruiser Alamo' series, which as I write this numbers nineteen novels and a spin-off.
If you enjoyed this book, then I think you might also like these other books, but I'm aware that launching into a series of that length could be daunting; I know I've felt that way myself about long series in the past! Naturally, you can simply jump in at the first book, Price of Admiralty, which is set five years before the events depicted in 'Starfighter', but if you'd like to start a little deeper into the series, I did write some of them specifically with new readers in mind.
Typically, I've written the Alamo sequence as an ongoing epic, with multi-novel story arcs. The latest of these began with 'Triple-Edged Sword', number seventeen, which takes place contemporaneously with the events of this novel, and would be a good starting point for those wishing to jump into the series. While naturally there are references to earlier books – and if you want to start a little earlier, number thirteen, Aces High, is another good starting point – starting with 'Triple-Edged Sword' will not require any knowledge of previous books. The complete list of works in this setting is given below, in the recommended reading order, with the start of new story arcs in bold.
Alamo 1: Price of Admiralty
Alamo 2: Fermi's War
Alamo 3: Victory or Death
Alamo 4: Tip of the Spear
Alamo 5: Not One Step Back
Spitfire Station: Triple-Cross
Alamo 6: Battle of Hercules
Alamo 8: Stars in the Sand
Alamo 9: The First Duty
Alamo 10: Ghost Ship
Alamo 11: Take and Hold
Alamo 12: Traitor's Duty
Alamo 13: Aces High
Alamo 14: Not In My Name
Alamo 15: Cage of Gold
Alamo 16: Malware Blues
Alamo 17: Triple-Edged Sword
Alamo 18: Forbidden Seas
Alamo 19: Final Testament
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Appendix A: The Triplanetary Confederation
Appendix B: Triplanetary Rank Structure
Appendix C: Further Reading...