Peace Company

Peace Company (1985) is the first SF novel in this series. Since the invention of the Jarvic drive, Terra had spread its people to 75 solar systems before the Collapse War. Five billion people had died in that war and most of the colonies had reverted to barbarism. Now the Peace Union ruled Earth and claimed superior jurisdiction over all the colonies. This claim was enforced by the Peace Force. In this novel, in 2715, the Gamemaster has inserted a Team on Bayard to disrupt its peace. The Team is nominally working for the Ranchers and against the Fishermen. Their first task is the sinking of a ship, the Celestine Auphan. The Team uses a rocket propelled torpedo to assault the vessel. After the first strike, the survivors of the temporary transfer crew flee on a rubber raft, but the permanent crew tries to beach the ship. Another torpedo hits a reef and explodes prematurely, but the hydraulic shock causes the ship to sink faster and it goes down in a depth of thirty meters. The Team tries to kill the survivors, but Air-Sea Rescue is already on the scene, so the Team flees to the other side of the strait. In this story, the helmsman Paul Rebenc starts planning recovery of the Celestine Auphan. He is assisted by the boatswain Nils Bergstrom and crew members Julian Geesink, Roman Talgas, and Joseph Vasi. The engineer Katie Holloran is recovering from electrical burns in the hospital run by the Sisters of Mercy in Havre des Dames. Back on Earth, Sergeant Major John B. Parkes is reporting to Company Group Fourteen, Seventh (New Frontier) Brigade, Peace Force. Parkes is the senior enlisted man in the Field Squadron. His equivalent in the Support Squadron is Sergeant Major Maria Camilla "Dozer" di Leone, an old friend. The Group Sergeant Major is Hatcher, who is within two years of retirement. Lieutenant Katherine Forbes-Brandon is the Naval Liaison for Company Group Fourteen. Parkes meets Forbes-Brandon when he reports for duty. She is the Officer of the Day and neither is impressed with the other on first acquaintance. She is handsome, although her jaw is a little too broad, and she is obviously British. Dozer says that she has a good grasp of the book knowledge for her duties and is learning the rest fairly rapidly. Still, Parkes is puzzled by her incongruities. Lieutenant-Colonel David MacLean is commanding officer of Company Group Fourteen. He is a former enlisted man who worked his way up. MacLean gets along with his troops and isn't afraid of higher command. He should be a good man to work for. Major Jesus Desiderio Vela is the commander of the Field Squadron, the man for whom Parkes works. Vela is a genuine legend in the Peace Force. He had commanded a battalion of Hrothmi -- an alien species -- before joining the Peace Force. The Mediator Arthur Goff is the only civilian in Company Group Fourteen. He is responsible for dealing with the governments on Bayard. He is aware of his lack of knowledge of military af