Carl Obermeier, a cadet at the Time Corps Academy, discovers he has been admitted to his second year on Conditional status. This is due to his high “emotional liability.” He is advised to mediate and study the precepts and disciplines of the Corps. But on his first day back, his class is shown an example of Temporal Crime committed by the Time Pirates, enemy of the Ordered Society, and he is smitten by the pirate Armand’s beauty. Troubled, Carl remains true to the Corps when he is kidnapped by the pirates and meets Armand face to face.<br><br>Armand lives a free and easy life with the pirates ... until he sees Carl, and realizes the cadet has fallen for him.<br><br>As the pirates deprogram Carl from the rigid tenets of the Ordered Society, the two men fall in love. But a pirate’s life is never safe, and when Armand fails to return from an Action against the OS Marines, Carl steps up to save him. Unfortunately the men are caught on either side of the Time War. Can they find their way out?

Renegades from the Time War

Carl didn’t listen, the word “degenerate” echoing through his mind. He felt slightly sick—and horrified.


The cadets left the hall in silence, returning to their respective study rooms. But, during their evening meal, there was some tentative, subdued discussion of what they had seen. For some reason, Ben joined their little group, and he was the one who asked questions that the others would not have dared express.


“I don’t quite get it,” he said. “The guy was being executed. I mean, sure, what that pirate did was disgusting to watch. But getting fellatio right before you die, what’s the big problem with that? I mean, you’re going to go to your Maker, so why not go with some final moment of physical pleasure?”


Chapter 9