The Jupiter-Three Dilemma
Len Cooke
- Former
- star
- ship
- commander,
- Captain
- Benjamin
- David
- Grayling,
- is
- in
- trouble.
- His
- outspoken
- views
- on
- the
- criminally
- despotic
- leadership
- of
- the
- United
- Coalition
- of
- Planets
- have
- resulted
- in
- his
- life-exile
- to
- Draxos-III,
- the
- planetary
- home
- of
- an
- infamous
- penal
- colony
- where
- a
- prisoner’s
- life
- is
- no
- longer
- his
- or
- her
- own
- and
- where
- life
- or
- death
- can
- depend
- on
- the
- whim
- or
- fancy
- of
- the
- completely
- unaccountable
- and
- seriously
- dysfunctional
- colony
- guards,
- some
- of
- whom
- are
- not
- even
- human.Enter
- the
- Forlorn
- Hope,
- once
- the
- very
- last
- hope
- of
- freedom
- for
- the
- former
- native
- inhabitants
- of
- Draxos-III
- and
- which
- has
- now
- been
- rescued
- from
- its
- century-long
- abandonment
- in
- deep
- space
- and
- refurbished
- by
- military
- engineers
- and
- archaeologists
- to
- its
- original,
- awesomely
- powerful,
- specification.
- Now,
- with
- the
- rebuild
- complete,
- can
- the
- highly-skilled
- and
- brilliantly
- capable
- former
- star
- ship
- commander
- steal
- the
- ancient
- vessel
- and
- use
- it
- to
- turn
- the
- tables
- on
- his
- universally
- feared
- and
- loathed
- captors?
- Further,
- if
- he
- can,
- could
- it
- then
- be
- possible
- for
- him
- to
- assist
- the
- return
- of
- a
- more
- decent
- and
- humane
- system
- of
- government
- to
- the
- long-since
- subjugated
- peoples
- of
- the
- many
- planets
- of
- the,
- hitherto,
- much-feared Coalition?
