Science fiction

World Engine

A decade after government cuts ended his naval commission, Captain William Nagy is called back into service. With an unconventional crew and a worn-out ship, he investigates disturbing intelligence—and discovers that the mission is larger than it first appeared.

Type: Fiction
Form: Novel

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Beyond the book

A return to service in World Engine ↗

Why choose this book?

Choose this standalone for a return to duty that begins with a captain, an unfamiliar crew, and a ship with limitations. The investigation offers an entry point into a larger speculative situation.

What to expect

A former naval officer is recalled after a long interruption in his service. His new assignment begins with disturbing intelligence.

Before you begin

It does not require the Peacekeeper reading sequence. Similar naval settings do not establish that the books share a continuity.

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Before you begin

No series prerequisite is recorded. Choose by the premise and themes.

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Questions for your reading

What expectations does a decade away from naval service create?

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Where to read next

Peacekeeper: 2nd Edition
A shared reading question connects these books.
Peacekeeper: Prequel
A shared reading question connects these books.
Rising Tide
A shared reading question connects these books.

Questions for your reading · Reader’s glossary

Plan your reading

Supplied manuscript: 57,642 extracted words. This describes the supplied text, not a verified count for every retail edition.

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Planning estimate: about 4–7 hours at 150–300 words per minute. Poetry, rereading and note-taking can take longer; this is not a retail-edition length claim.

Is this part of a collection?

No series prerequisite is recorded for this work.

Also included in Sci-Fi Novel Mega Pack: 5 Standalone Stories. Check your existing books before choosing a collected edition.

Chapter Two — selected excerpt

Author-supplied manuscript; opening selection beginning at paragraph 90. Paragraph numbering follows non-empty body paragraphs in the supplied file. © Paul Haedo. This is a short excerpt, not the complete chapter.

Chapter Two

The Commodore and the Captain did not speak for the rest of the trip. It did not take long to arrive at their destination; after all, the Admiralty for the 89th reserve fleet, which was the fleet that Captain Nagy’s ship was assigned to, was within an hour or so of Captain Nagy’s apartment by public transportation. By air, the trip took less than ten minutes, and the journey from The Shiny Moon bar to the Admiralty building felt like a blink of time.

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