The Way to Glory

Lieutenant Leary and Adele Mundy are Back in
This Blazing Sequel to The Far Side of the Stars.

Riots blaze in the streets of Cinnabar, threatening not only the Government but the Republic of Cinnabar Navy. The forces of the tyrannical Alliance are probing outnumbered Cinnabar garrisons among the distant stars, using guile and treachery as well as brute strength.

Lt. Daniel Leary has earned promotion, but politics have put him under an officer whose paranoia has already led him to execute men out of hand.

Signals Officer Adele Mundy has repeatedly proved her loyalty as Cinnabar's most accomplished intelligence agent, but now elements within the Republic want to draw her into a conspiracy like the one that led to her rich and powerful family’s massacre.

Leary and Mundy must face riot-torn streets, spies in an outlying base, and an anarchic planet where violence is the only law. Only if they succeed at every stage will they reach the final test: a space battle against an overwhelming Alliance force. Even for Daniel Leary it will be a difficult fight to win--and almost impossible to survive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vietnam veteran, former lawyer, former bus driver, and now famous author, David Drake tells a military story like no other. His readers recognize that he can take them where no one else can, with gut-wrenching description that puts them face-to-face with the enemy, and in the midst of the action right on the battlefield. He helped create the audience for mercenary military science fiction with his bestselling “Hammer’s Slammers” books. Drake graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, majoring in history (with honors) and Latin. His stint at Duke University Law School was interrupted for two years by the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drake has a wife, a son, and various pets. In addition to his celebrated novels of Hammer’s Slammers, his works for Baen include the previous three novels in the Lt. Leary series, With the Lightnings, Lt. Leary, Commanding, and The Far Side of the Stars as well as Starliner, Ranks of Bronze, Redliners, the “General” series (with S.M. Stirling) and the “Belisarius” series (with Eric Flint), the latest of which is The Tide of Victory, and many more.

Cover art by Stephen Hickman

Hardcover

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, May 2005

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 0-7434-9882-8

Copyright 2005 by David Drake

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com

Production by Windhaven Press
Auburn, NH

Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webwrights.com

DEDICATION

For Gina Massel-Castater
With respect and affection

BAEN BOOKS by DAVID DRAKE

The RCN Series

With the Lightnings
Lt. Leary, Commanding
The Far Side of the Stars
The Way to Glory

Hammer's Slammers

The Tank Lords
Caught in the Crossfire
The Butcher's Bill
The Sharp End
Paying the Piper

Independent Novels &
Collections

The Reaches Trilogy
Seas of Venus

Foreign Legions,
edited by David Drake

Ranks of Bronze
Cross the Stars
The Dragon Lord
Birds of Prey
Northworld Trilogy
Redliners
Starliner
All the Way to the Gallows
Grimmer Than Hell

The Undesired Princess and The
Enchanted Bunny
(with L. Sprague de Camp)

Lest Darkness Fall and To Bring the Light
(with L. Sprague de Camp)

Killer
(with Karl Edward Wagner)

The General Series

Warlord with S.M. Stirling
Conqueror with S.M. Stirling
The Chosen with S.M. Stirling
The Reformer with S.M. Stirling
The Tyrant with Eric Flint

The Belisarius Series
with Eric Flint

An Oblique Approach
In the Heart of Darkness
Destiny's Shield
Fortune's Stroke
The Tide of Victory

Edited by David Drake

Armageddon
(with Billie Sue Mosiman)

The World Turned
Upside Down
(with Jim Baen & Eric Flint)