The Lost Swarm (Lost Starship Series by Vaughn Heppner Part 1

Humanity desperately needs peace so Star Watch can rebuild and regroup. Unfortunately, Lord Drakos is searching the Beyond for a splinter Swarm colony world. The New Man believes he is a Napoleon of the stars. But he needs a fleet to prove it. Star Watch is reeling. The service has beaten New Men, massed bug fleets and hideous android attackers, but at a grim cost in men, starships and radioactive planets.

The human worlds face starvation, increased space piracy and insurrections.

Star Watch needs a break. It needs time to regroup, rebuild and reunite star systems.

But Lord Drakos--the perfect soldier--knows this is the time to strike. With a fleet of renegade New Men and hybrid Swarm creatures, and a unique Builder weapon, he will smash Star Watch and rule the premen as emperor supreme.

Plan A has Captain Maddox capturing Drakos before the New Man can find the Swarm splinter colony world. Plan B means Star Watch will have to risk sending its last fleet into the Beyond.

For Maddox this is also a troubled time, as he closes in on the identities of his mother and father.