Sam Bitka Series

This space opera saga follows an unlikely hero thrust back into military service amidst rising interstellar tensions. As Earth faces a formidable alien threat, a reluctant officer must navigate treacherous command decisions and uncover a vast conspiracy. The series blends thrilling space combat with strategic challenges, exploring themes of leadership, duty, and humanity's struggle for survival on a galactic stage. Prepare for an epic journey where courage is tested and the fate of worlds hangs in the balance.

Recommended Reading Order

1
Chain of Command
Frank Chadwick
544 pages
20 hours of reading
3.6(5)Add rating
"Lieutenant Sam Bitka, U.S. Naval Reserve, is getting used to civilian life when he is called back to active duty. Tensions between Earth and the alien Varoki are on the rise, and Sam is assiged as tactical officer aboard the deep space destroyer USS Puebla. Dispatched to the distant world of K'tok to protect human colonists, he wants nothing more than to serve out his active duty time and get back to his civilian life. But when the Varoki launch a crippling surprise attack against the Earth coalition fleet, Sam finds himself suddenly in command of the USS Puebla, a job he is far from certain he can discharge successfully. What's more, mounting evidence points to a much larger and more sinister alien plan. Now, Sam must deal with faltering leadership in the human task force and an alien enemy who always seems one step ahead of them. Time for Sam to step up and rise to the challenge of command"-- Amazon
2
Ship of Destiny
Various authors
320 pages
12 hours of reading
4.2(53)Add rating
"Sam Bitka, a naval reserve officer, is recalled to wartime service and soon earns a reputation for aggressive tactics and insufficient deference to his academy-graduated superiors. His latest run-in with authority earns him a transfer to command of an armed transport, USS Cam Ranh Bay. When a mysterious alien probe materializes from Jump Space and remotely reprograms The Bay's star drive, Sam and his crew begin an involuntary voyage that takes them three thousand light years out of known space, across the galactic rift to the Sagittarius Spiral Arm, and into the heart of an ancient, previously unknown civilization-the first encountered by Humans and the other five races of the Cottohazz-Stellar Commonwealth-in over a century. The genetically altered immortals known as The Guardians, a race so old they do not remember their own origins, soon turn murderously violent. Now Sam and his crew must elude capture by the Guardians, find some means of reprograming their own star drive, and then return to the Cottohazz with the news of a powerful new civilization bent on their destruction. But they may also be carrying the secrets of the origin of their own star drive and of the path to immortality"-- Provided by publisher

Recommended Reading Order

Chain of Command

Ship of Destiny