Book summaries

The first novel in the series – “The Lightning War: Rising Storm” was set in a future where humanity had discovered a wormhole leading to the Hyades Cluster, a region of space filled with potentially habitable worlds. The story began with the discovery of an alien ship by a modest Polish colony, Polonia Prime, located in the Theta² Tauri system. The ship contained advanced technology that elevated Polonia Prime from a minor colony to a power capable of influencing the destiny of human space.

The narrative followed Lieutenant Maria Roszak, a young officer aboard the destroyer Błyskawica, as she participated in the discovery and investigation of the alien vessel. The alien technology, particularly the advanced propulsion system known as the bubble drive, transformed Polonia Prime’s military capabilities and placed them in a precarious position among the established powers of human space.

Polonia Prime faced challenges from various factions, including the expansionist Caliphate, which sought to acquire their technology through espionage and military force. The Anglo-Saxon Coalition, while nominally an ally, also exerted pressure on Polonia Prime to share its technological advantage.

Maria rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the captain of Błyskawica. She navigated the complexities of coalition politics, balancing the need to maintain their technological edge against the pressure to share it with their allies.

The climax involved a confrontation with a Caliphate dreadnought, a massive warship built using stolen Polonia Prime technology. Maria and her crew, along with their coalition allies, engaged in a desperate battle against the dreadnought, using their combined skills and tactical innovations to overcome its overwhelming power.

The battle resulted in significant losses for all sides, including the destruction of Błyskawica and the death of many of its crew. However, their sacrifice proved the effectiveness of their tactics and strengthened the coalition’s resolve against the Caliphate threat.

In the aftermath, Maria was recognized for her leadership and tactical acumen. She was assigned to command the first of a new class of light cruisers named after her fallen ship, ensuring that Błyskawica‘s legacy would continue to inspire Polonia Prime’s defense forces.

The second novel – “The Lightning War: Shadow of the Storm” followed Captain Maria Roszak, now commander of the advanced warship Błyskawica, as she navigated political intrigue, corporate espionage, and the threat of a devastating new weapon that could tear apart the fragile peace in the Hyades Cluster.

The story began with a seemingly routine technology demonstration at Europa Crown station, where the powerful corporation Aurora Systems unveiled what they claimed to be a revolutionary new faster-than-light drive. Captain Roszak and her crew discovered that the prototype drive was dangerously unstable and based on stolen Polonia Prime technology. She confronted Dr. Matilde Berger, CEO of Aurora Systems, and managed to shut down the prototype before it caused a catastrophic containment failure. But Aurora Systems had used the demonstration as a cover to scan Błyskawica‘s advanced systems, gaining valuable intelligence on Polonia Prime’s most closely guarded military secrets.

While approaching Concordia Station, a joint research facility operated by Polonia Prime and the Anglo-Saxon Coalition, Błyskawica‘s systems were infiltrated by a sophisticated cyberattack targeting a specific research module and attempting to seize control of the ship’s weapons and drive. The attack bore the hallmarks of Aurora Systems but suggested a deeper conspiracy with access to classified Polonia Prime protocols.

Forced to make an impossible choice, Captain Roszak sacrificed ship systems to prevent a catastrophic drive detonation. The incident triggered a political crisis, as the ASC accused Polonia Prime of negligence and demanded access to Błyskawica‘s systems for investigation.

A tribunal was convened aboard the Neo-Russian battlecruiser Suvorov to determine responsibility. During the proceedings, it became clear that the ASC was using the incident to try and seize control of Polonia Prime’s advanced drive technology. General Antonov, the Neo-Russian commander, warned Captain Roszak that the tribunal was a trap.

Faced with losing her ship and her nation’s technological independence, Captain Roszak made a daring escape from the tribunal with the help of her loyal crew and the tacit support of General Antonov. They fled into the treacherous Crucible, a dense asteroid field, with ASC ships in pursuit.

During their escape, Captain Roszak and her crew uncovered deeper layers of the conspiracy against them, discovering that Aurora Systems was attempting to weaponize Polonia Prime’s technology, creating unstable drive units that could tear apart the fabric of space-time.

With ASC forces closing in and Błyskawica‘s drive sustaining critical damage, they accepted an alliance with the Neo-Russians. General Antonov revealed that his intelligence services had been monitoring Aurora Systems and had evidence of their weapons development program. He proposed a joint operation to strike at Aurora’s facilities before they could complete their research.

The alliance between Polonia Prime and the Neo-Russians proved effective, as they launched coordinated attacks against Aurora’s research and manufacturing centers across three star systems. The successful strikes exposed Aurora’s treachery and revealed the ASC’s complicity in their weapons program, triggering a political earthquake throughout the Hyades Cluster.

Faced with the prospect of open conflict, Polonia Prime and the Neo-Russians deepened their alliance, establishing joint command structures and initiating development of a new corvette-class warship designed to protect independent trade routes.

The novel concluded with Błyskawica returning to patrol, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. The conflict was far from over, as the Caliphate remained a threat and the ASC’s ambitions for control hadn’t been extinguished.

The novella – “The Lightning War: New Warsaw Gambit” followed Chief of Security Anna Kowalska as she defended Polonia Prime’s technological sovereignty from multiple interstellar powers. The narrative began when Anna detected sophisticated infiltration attempts targeting the Polonia Prime Research Institute, home to revolutionary quantum AI technology derived from alien computational matrices.

As Anna investigated these security breaches, she discovered evidence pointing to the Anglo-Saxon Coalition, corporate giant Aurora Systems, and the Zenith Caliphate – each seemingly working independently yet focusing on the same target. The coordinated nature of these intrusions suggested a conspiracy far larger than standard corporate espionage.

The stakes escalated when infiltrators attacked the Institute’s market square, injuring civilians in a diversionary tactic while attempting to steal Dr. Wisniewski’s quantum AI research. This technology, capable of creating true machine consciousness, threatened to overturn the ASC’s longstanding dominance in computational systems throughout the Hyades Cluster.

Anna worked closely with Captain Nowak aboard the light cruiser Burza to counter threats both orbital and terrestrial. Their investigation uncovered ASC Colonel Walsh’s central role in orchestrating attacks against Polonia Prime while creating false evidence implicating the Caliphate. Walsh’s deception extended to Lieutenant Harris, who attempted unauthorized access to secure research facilities during the crisis.

The conflict reached its climax when Aurora Systems vessels launched a coordinated orbital assault while infiltration teams targeted the Institute’s underground infrastructure. Anna led security teams through maintenance tunnels beneath Nowa Warszawa, eventually capturing several infiltrators and recovering a quantum transmission device designed to extract Wisniewski’s research.

Through careful countermeasures, Anna and Dr. Wisniewski managed to corrupt the stolen data, ensuring any implementation would result in catastrophic failures. Following the attack, Colonel Walsh was confronted with evidence of his involvement and expelled from Polonia Prime territory.

Despite the ASC’s duplicity, Walsh delivered a troubling warning about unprecedented Caliphate activity in distant systems. Their months of silence and massive resource allocation suggested preparation for significant military action against multiple powers in the Hyades Cluster.

The novel concluded with Anna recommending strategic realignment to President Wojnar as Neo-Russian General Antonov requested participation in security discussions. The confrontation transformed Polonia Prime’s understanding of interstellar politics, pushing them toward new alliances based on mutual interests rather than historical ties.

The third novel in the Lightning War series – “The Lightning War: Wrath of the Storm” continued the saga of Captain Maria Roszak and the advanced warship Błyskawica as they faced an unprecedented threat from the Zenith Caliphate. The story began with Błyskawica arriving at New Volga, a Neo-Russian border world, only to find it devastated by a massive Caliphate attack that claimed over a million civilian lives.

This attack marked a turning point in the ongoing conflict, revealing that the Caliphate had been secretly building a massive fleet while Polonia Prime and Neo-Russia were distracted by corporate threats. In response to this crisis, General Antonov requested Captain Victor Petrov as liaison to Błyskawica, facilitating deeper tactical integration between their forces.

Maria and Victor developed a unique command synthesis, creating hybrid tactical approaches and technology integration that proved remarkably effective against Caliphate forces. As they worked together to counter the growing Caliphate threat, Maria and Victor’s professional relationship evolved into something deeper. Their complementary tactical approaches and mutual respect laid the foundation for a personal connection neither had anticipated.

The Caliphate launched a systematic offensive against Neo-Russian border systems, using tactics stolen from Polonia Prime’s classified war games. When civilian evacuation corridors came under attack, Victor made the ultimate sacrifice, transferring his flag to the Volk and positioning the ship to defend the civilian convoy against overwhelming odds. His final words to Maria—”It was worth it, Maria. All of it”—became both a personal loss and a rallying cry.

In the aftermath, Maria channeled her grief into action, using Victor’s final intelligence discovery about a critical vulnerability in the Caliphate’s command and control network. She coordinated an unprecedented joint operation combining Polonia Prime and Neo-Russian forces to strike at the heart of Caliphate communications infrastructure.

The daring assault succeeded, destroying seven Caliphate dreadnoughts and their central communications hub, crippling their ability to coordinate fleet actions across multiple systems. During the operation, joint boarding teams captured the Caliphate’s strategic database, providing invaluable intelligence on their future plans.

The novel culminated with the signing of the “Accord of Sovereigns,” a formal alliance between Polonia Prime and the Neo-Russian Empire, built upon the tactical integration Maria and Victor pioneered. The agreement not only transformed the political landscape of the Hyades Cluster but also honored Victor’s sacrifice by ensuring it led to lasting change.

Throughout the narrative, Maria confronted the balance between duty and personal connection, ultimately finding that true strength came not from emotional isolation but from embracing vulnerability. The integration of their forces served as both tactical advantage and metaphor for their personal journey—different systems becoming stronger when combined.

Military historians later identified this period as the turning point when the integration of disparate systems—both technological and political—demonstrated that strength emerged not from isolation but from strategic connection and cooperation.