King David's Spaceship — Jerry Pournelle

THE YEAR IS 3013
THE IMPERIAL NAVY HAS INVADED PRINCE SAMUAL'S WORLD...

After years of civil war, the superior weaponry of the CoDominium empire has brought peace and unity to the Samualans -- at the cost of their liberty.

Their last bid for freedom is to create a space program proving themselves worthy of statehood. But the knowledge to build a starship is extinct.

Colonel Nathan MacKinnie, soldier of fortune, leads a daring raid to steal these secrets from the primitive planet of Makassar, where the key to space technology is jealously guarded by Temple priests.

Valiantly leading his fierce commandos, MacKinnie battles across the universe, trying to wrest away from Makassar the knowledge left there by the first settlers who traversed the void of space from a planet called Old Earth.

To live in peace they must fight for ancient secrets. To gain their freedom they must build ... KING DAVID'S SPACESHIP