Juggernaut: Sten Omnibus 2

DIPLOMACY IS OVERRATED Soldier, Imperial bodyguard, Fleet Captain, Prisoner of War - Sten has been many things in his long career, but there's one thing he's never been - a diplomat. But when the Emperor sends Sten to the Altaic Cluster to support its dictator in quelling a civil war, a diplomat is exactly what Sten must be. As the war intensifies, he begins to suspect he's up against something more than a local disturbance. Someone - operating in deep cover and seemingly backed by the highest authorities - is working behind the scenes to escalate disaster. And that someone wants nothing more than to see Sten dead . . . This omnibus contains the novels VORTEX and EMPIRE'S END.

The Eternal Emperor had returned at last from the dead, to pick up the pieces of his crumbling Empire. But even that great leader could not halt the Empire's decline alone. And so Sten, master spy, military strategist, and assassin, found himself appointed Ambassador Plenipotentiary to the Altaic Cluster, where a brewing civil war threatened the stability of the Empire itself. Quelling a civil war was nothing new for Sten. But as one thing after another went wrong, he began to suspect that he was up against more than a mere local disturbance. Someone - operating in deepest cover, with the highest authority - was working behind the scenes to manipulate events and escalate disaster. And that someone wanted nothing more than to see Sten dead . . . For more information on this or any other Orbit book, visit the Orbit website at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

The Eternal Emperor ruled countless worlds across the galaxy. Vast armies and huge fleets awaited his command. But when the Emperor needed to pacify The Wolf Worlds, the planets of an insignificant cluster that had raised space piracy to a low art, he turned to Mantis Team and its small band of militant problem solvers...Look out for more information on this book and others on the Orbit website at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

Ten years ago, General Damastes pledged eternal loyalty to the wizard Tenedos, and to the seer's vision of a unified, peaceful Numantia. Tenedos became emperor, but peace never came. Now Tenedos has amassed an army of millions, preparing for war against a kingdom far larger, more powerful, more magical than Numantia. And when Damastes tries to stop the apocalypse, he will uncover the dark truth about the bargain the Seer King made to gain an empire.Find out more about this title and others at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

The land between the volatile kingdoms of Deraine, Sagene and Roche is ruled by the sword and by the outlaw. But the schemes of men and nations hold scant interest for Hal Kailas. For him the only true power in the world as that of the dragons ...As a child he loved to climb the high cliffs around his village and watch the dragons nesting there - huge, savage beasts with wings that blackened the sun. His only dream was to grow wings - or learn to ride a dragon.But when the uneasy peace of the kingdoms is threatened by war, Hal's dream becomes reality. For this is a conflict such as the world has never seen. For the first time, the fearsome wild dragons have become living weapons, ridden by men of cold daring and ruthless ambition.And the greatest of them is Hal Kailas. Dragonmaster.Look out for more information about this book and others at www.orbitbooks co.uk

For 39 years the Australian Defence force strenuously denied a unit called the 2nd Defence and Employment platoon existed during the Vietnam war. The platoon was a makeshift rapid deployment force of 38 men, all regular troops, based at the Australian Task Force HQ at Nui Dat in 1969 from late April to June. The ragtag unit was thrown together with diggers left behind in Vietnam when their regiment returned to Australia. It was so slapdash it didn't even have an officer or sergeant in charge. However, a rugged ex-Royal Marine stepped forward to take the lead. Jim Riddle was 10 years older than most of the young diggers and only an acting corporal as he'd been in too many bar fights and insulted too many officers to keep his stripes but he knew enough of war to keep these young diggers alive.The young Aussies respected Riddle and his battle experience. When the platoon was thrown into one of the biggest firefights of the Vietnam War against hundreds of enemy, Riddle proved his leadership, bringing all his men through unscathed and leaving a battlefield scattered with bodies. It was a highly successful operation but immediately afterwards Riddle's platoon was mysteriously disbanded, the team broken up and scattered throughout the army. There were no official records and it was as hough the platoon never existed. It was a Ghost Platoon. Something happened at that ambush that compelled the army to bury the platoon's existence and the secrets that went with it.Three decades later the men of the platoon set out to prove teir unit had existed. They ran into bureacratic brick walls and official denials from the tp brass and official historians. What's more, the army strongly denied darker deeds done after the fighting, deeds which some of the men allege were war crime atrocities. Proving their unit existed required diligent detective work until they broke through and beat the system. After an investigation the government finally acknowledged the unit had existed and praised the brave leadership of Jim Riddle but the long battle caused immense psychological damage to the veterans. They'd fought for their country but then had to fight their own country.Frank Walker traces what happened to the men of the Ghost Platoon, the impact the war had on them and their long battle to prove their unit existed. His findings are a shocking indictment of the long term effects of war: a private who murdered his senior officer still doesn't know why he did it; some are still afraid to speak 40 years after the war; veterans of the platoon alleging they have been beaten up for speaking out; and there are still demands for a Royal Commission.This is the story of the men of The Ghost Platoon