The Challenge

This futuristic science fiction by Tom Rothschild; picks up where The Neptune Expedition left off. The novels narrator is again a crewman aboard a space craft which has a mission with a shroud of secrecy around it. All, the narrator can determine is, there is definitely a military urgency to it, as four of his five, fellow crew members are expertly trained in combat skills. Also, instead of mining equipment, their vessel is loaded with weapons and explosives. As he is trained to be a part of this combat squad, their true reason for being adrift in Space is revealed to him.

What happens next is the result of two opposing forces coming into contact with each other, as each rises to The Challenge.