Vorpal Blade — John Ringo; Travis S. Taylor

TO THE STARS -- WITH BUNS AND DUCT TAPE

William Weaver, Ph.D., and Chief Miller, SEAL, are back -- and they got themselves a ship! The former USSN Nebraska has been jerry-rigged, using alien technology and good ol' American know-how, into a warp ship ready to visit strange new worlds. But as everyone knows, the people who really are going to bear the brunt of the "exploratory" mission are the poor Security guys, Force Recon Marines who are, according to their own lore, "kept in the dark and fed manure all day." That is, until the Vorpal Blade lands on an alien planet -- Security will get partially wiped out and then load back up again, to protect the scientists and crew another day, another world.