Arianrhod's War

Arianrhod's War is the second book in The Pirates' Web series. This is still war, but this time it's personal... The PSS Arianrhod is one of a fleet of independent trading starships operated by motley crews of merchant spacers that fly under the common flag of the Trades Alliance and tend to drop anchor in the Web, the vast network of docking, repair and marketing facilities that form Merkat Three Free Port in galactic zone Alpha. The crew of the huge private trading vessel thought they had done with the galactic conflict into which they had reluctantly been drafted some months before and which almost tore the charted galaxy apart. But it seems that groups of hostile aliens are still out there with more tech than sense and a ruthless grudge against Arianrhod's captain, her crew and her associates. The Web is no longer the semi-safe home away from hell that it once was and even a quiet drink in the Half Moon in a Puddle is becoming dangerous. There are obviously breaches in Merkat security and in the Dockers Guild, and they are leading to potentially deadly situations, with spies that seem able to follow every move of Arianrhod's crew. Captain Cinnabar Ahxenta finds herself with several mysteries to solve: who or what are targeting her crew and why? And how do they know when and where to strike? The mighty starship and her maverick personnel find themselves the targets of some very nasty individuals and weaponry in the Web itself and it's beginning to look like there are breaches in every major galactic body, including the almighty Interstellar Systems Protectorate.There are new faces and old ones causing concern, not least the renegade band of ex-raiders first met at the battle for Skyrtek that are now claiming to be good guys and whose aloof commander is waging his own bitter war against the aliens and their agents. How did the renegades manage to amass such a fleet and where are they hiding their ships? How did the mysterious Commander Thal gain control of that fleet and what is his personal grievance against the hostiles? And Captain Ahxenta faces cares much closer to home that begin with the theft of her favourite shuttle, a serious assault on her senior science officer and encounters with the irritating Kerrix and her strange Berzic friend Vetta, both of whom are far more than they appear on the surface. Everyone thought the war was over, but it's now clear that it's not - trouble is out there and it's spreading into every zone of the charted galaxy - and beyond, if the sightings of strange ships out by the Enigma Nebula are to be believed. As old annoyances in the form of the devious trader Bick Micklemouse and Colonel Ellin Myrtleberry of the ISP resurface, and new hotshot on the block Captain Nat Holdspan ...