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Cally's War


SHE WANTED TO QUIT BEING HER WORLD'S BEST ASSASSIN—
BUT THE ONLY WAY TO QUIT WAS TO DIE!

Look into the abyss—

For as long as Cally O'Neal could remember, she had lived in danger. While her father was off fighting the invading Posleen she had been raised by her grandfather, practically on the front-lines of a war that had erased five billion humans from the face of the earth.

The abyss looks back—

In the final stages of the war she had officially "died" and been recruited into the elite ranks of the Bane Sidhe, a group of underground warriors dedicated to breaking the stranglehold of the elf-like Darhel. A stranglehold the Darhel held on the Galactic Confederation before the war

and now were extending to their human "allies."

And you become the abyss—

For forty years she has led a life of unremittent, unrecognized, unhallowed slaughter, wearing a constant stream of disguises, sending humans who support the Darhel off to meet their Maker, with her body, mind and soul twisted and "improved" to serve the needs of her own "allies."

Now, on the most important mission of her career, at odds with her superiors, hunting a mole that could destroy her at any moment, and inexorably falling in love with the enemy, for the first time in her life she has to wonder if it's worth it. If being a dragon is the best way to fight the dragon. And if there will be a morning after for the little girl who liked to play with guns and swim with the dolphins.

Cally had been fighting for the future of the human race, but now she is in a war for survival: the survival of her soul.

Science Fiction Adventure Co-authored by a New York Times Best-Selling Author.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

John Ringo is author of the New York Times best-selling Posleen War series which so far includes A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, When the Devil Dances (New York Times best seller), and Hell's Faire (New York Times best seller), and is the hottest new science fiction writer since David Weber. A veteran of the 82nd Airborne, Ringo brings first-hand knowledge of military operations to his fiction. He had visited 23 countries and attended 14 schools by the time he graduated high school.

Julie Cochrane has degrees and training in chemistry, psychology and computer science, and her hobbies include pistol marksmanship, history, criminology and folk music. She puts all of her wide and varied expertise to good use in this fast-paced novel of interplanetary adventure.

Illustration by Clyde Caldwell
Cover design by Jennie Faries


ORDER Hardcover

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, October 2004

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ringo, John, 1963-

Cally's war / John Ringo & Julie Cochrane.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-7434-8845-8
1. Women murderers--Fiction. 2. Assassins--Fiction. I. Cochrane, Julie. II. Title.

PS3568.I577C35 2004
813'.6--dc22
2004014348

ISBN: 0-7434-8845-8

Copyright 2004 by John Ringo & Julie Cochrane

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com

Production by Windhaven Press
Auburn, NH

Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webwrights.com


DEDICATION

To my husband, James, for feedback and help
above and beyond the call of duty, and to Katie for her

patience in sharing her Mom.

 

BAEN BOOKS by JOHN RINGO

A Hymn Before Battle
Gust Front
When the Devil Dances
Hell's Faire

The Hero (with Michael Z. Williamson)
Cally's War (with Julie Cochrane)

There Will Be Dragons
Emerald Sea
Through the Looking Glass (forthcoming)

The Road to Damascus (with Linda Evans)

with David Weber:

March Upcountry
March to the Sea
March to the Stars

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