Charles E. Gannon - Trial by Fire (Terran Republic #2) (epub)

When reluctant interstellar diplomat and intelligence operative Caine Riordan returns from
humanity's first encounter with alien races, sudden war clouds burst. With Earth's fleet
shattered by a sneak attack and its survivors fighting for their lives, Caine must rely upon
both his first contact and weaponry skills to contend with the non-humanoid enemy. And
when the technologically-superior attackers sweep aside the solar system's last defenses,
and traitorous corporations invite the invaders to land 'security forces,' humanity fights
back with its best weapons: cunning, inventiveness, and guts.

But as Earth hurtles towards a final trial by fire that is certain to scar its collective
memory, Caine discovers that there may also be large and disturbing gaps in that
memory. Clues point to a much earlier inter-species apocalypse, buried in humanity's
own prehistory. Which raises a terrifying possibility: what if the aliens' invasion of Earth
is not one of conquest, but preemption? And what if their harrowing memories of a
long-past cataclysmic war makes them willing to do anything to keep it from reigniting?

Even if that means exterminating the human race.

Title: Trial By Fire
Author: Charles E. Gannon
Published August 5, 2014 by Baen
ISBN: 978-1476736648
Language: English
Length: Paperback, 640 pages