Storm Clouds - Nathan B. Dodge

Cal, Letty, Tony, Opi, and Sasha were kidnapped by the Molethian civilization and trained to become a fighter crew to battle against The Horde, the most dangerous enemy in all the Milky Way galaxy. As they have continued to fight battles against The Horde, they have risen in the ranks of the Molethian space service, and now each has special responsibilities related to their talents.

Opi is the chief strategist for the Molethian fleet, assisted by Letty, who is often spokesperson for both Opi and the fleet admiral. Cal is the fleet attack leader, Tony is in charge of navigation training, and Sasha, in addition to schooling weapons officers, now stands in for Cal and leads many battle sorties.

In the last titanic engagement with The Horde on the opposite side of the galaxy, Alliance forces, led by Molethan, were attacked by a second enemy, which is now besieging members of the Alliance, and have substantially destroyed two planetary civilizations. Now, in addition to facing more attacks from The Horde, Molethan and the Alliance must search for and try to control this new enemy.

Eventually discovering that Horde forces and this new enemy might be forming an alliance, Cal is able to provoke a war between these two entities. In addition, at the behests of Opi and the Molethian High Command, Cal and Sasha lead a major exploration of The Horde's home galaxy, attempting to scope the size and danger of their largest enemy.

At the same time, Letty is called to Earth to assist in convincing the many countries in the UN to join the Alliance. The five crew members are being pulled apart, and relations are beginning to fracture. As his major force explores the dwarf galaxy where The Horde originated, Cal, rejected by Letty, begins to reach the edge of control, damaging his relation with Sasha and leading to several questionable decisions during the exploration. Can this be the end of the close family that the five became?