Lt. Leary / RCN, book 2: Lt. Leary, Commanding
David Drake2000

Lt. Daniel Leary of the Republic of Cinnabar Navy (RCN) commands the corvette Princess Cecile (aka " the sissy") and he and his crew are flush with the rewards of defeating a enemy battleship despite the overwhelming odds against them. His friend, Signals Officer Adele Mundy, has the latest in spy apparatus and the skills to prowl the most tightly guarded database. Now, all they lack are enemies, and fate is about to supply that need in abundance. Lt. Leary is assigned to be part of a task force sent to a neighboring star system to quell the start of a revolt in the making. A hostage uses the Princess Cecile to regain his freedom and his throne; an ally plots with enemies of Cinnabar, knowing the plan can only be safeguarded by destroying the Princess Cecile; a pirate chief joins in a cutthroat battle with a rival, and the Princess Cecile is a pawn. Daniel, Adele, and their crack crew must battle bureaucrats and traitors, the winds of a barren desert, and the strains of a voyage never before attempted. If they succeed at every stage, their reward will be the chance to fight another enemy: one which can blow them and a hundred ships like theirs to vapor.