There are a lot of Crimson Worlds stories. They never seem to end, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Still, sometimes it’s kind of hard to remember the back-story about the characters you read about in books long gone. This one is no exception. We’re now reading about Erik Cain’s sons. Yes, if you’ll remember, he and Sarah had twins, Darius and Elias. They are now grown men and about as different as two people can be.
Darius has his father’s military genes which, unfortunately, have driven him to find war anywhere he can. Since the Galaxy has calmed down after the Second Incursion of the First Imperium, there were no real enemies to fight. The Alliance Navy and Marine Corps found itself with nothing to do. And with the fall of Earth, there was no centralized government willing to foot the gigantic defense bill these two organizations represented. So, they were downsized considerably. And that’s where Darius Cain comes in. He is the Commanding Officer, General, of the Black Eagles, a mercenary army equal to no one. Only they don’t downright call themselves Mercenaries, but Companies, very successful Companies. He and his men fight for whomever puts up the right amount of money regardless of the reason they want to hire the Black Eagles. They never fail to fulfill a contact.
The other brother, Elias, is just the opposite. Whereas he doesn’t have much use for the military, he is in law enforcement on the planet Atlantia. This is where he grew up along with his famous Mother and Father. He has the discipline of his Father to an extreme. He enforces the laws of Atlantia with the rigor of a military commander. He never sees anything in shades of gray, but black or white, you either broke the law or you didn’t. He doesn’t ponder on such things as whether the actual law is just or not, just that it’s enforced.
Neither brother can stand the other. While Elias sees Darius as a blood-thirsty killer, Darius sees his brother as a tool of a tyrant, taking freedoms away from the people he’s supposed to be protecting. Neither has seen each other in years, and while Elias has seen his Mother, Sarah, on occasions, Darius is considered a criminal on Atlantia so he can’t go home.
But, something is going on in the Galaxy. Something or some one has just caused Darius’ elite forces sever damage unlike any other recent battle. And, when they are fulfilling a minor contract on a planet, his forces meet up with another force that appears to be just as good as the Black Eagles. Where these guys came from is a mystery. Elias also finds a remote Atlantian mining colony wiped out for seemingly no reason. All the workers are gone, disappeared while the entire mining operation was destroyed. And on Earth, the last remaining pockets of humans are slowly being rounded up and taken away by force.
Now, Roderick Vance, the Intelligence Chief of Mars, has noticed the activities on Earth and he’s worried. With out the Alliance Navy and Marines, there isn’t anyone around to really protect Mars or the Colony planets. He needs to find out what is happening and who’s doing these things. So he enlist the help of his friends and there now adult children. He calls for a meeting of Sarah, Elias and Darius as well as the renowned retired Admiral Augustus Garret. Yeah, he’s still alive although Erick Cane is not (or is he?).
Ok, this appears to be another series that I’m going to get hooked on. Some good reading familiar characters. I think you’ll like it.