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 stared, open-mouthed. Tom put an arm on his shoulder.


“It’s a factory and research facility. One of many, I would add.”


“But—who? What—what are they for?”


“Technology, including spaceships, and other devices—everything to do with the technology of detection—and defense.”


“Defense?” Carl shook his head. “This is the OS? Surely it’s not the pirates!”


Tom shook his head. “Neither—or both. Come on. I’ll explain.”


He led Carl back through the doors and along the corridor, in a side-corridor there was a door, and through this what looked like a lounge. There was no one there, but Tom fixed drinks for them at a bar, and they carried these to a pair of armchairs that were next to an enormous picture window that overlooked the cavern.


Carl, who felt himself bursting with curiosity, leaned forward.


“What’s all this, Tom? And how did you end up here?”


Chapter 35