We All Died at Breakaway Station

We All Died at Breakaway Station by Richard C. Meredith


Richard C. Meredith is primarily known for his “Timeliners” trilogy, which hit science fiction like a meteorite in the mid-seventies. Unfortunately, Meredith died at the early age of 41 in 1979 with his best writing years ahead of him.

This book was written in the late 1960s and is absolutely first rate Space Opera that goes a step farther.

In the book, mankind has expanded into the universe around Earth. Travel is difficult because Faster than Light (FTL) travel is slow, awkward and inefficient. On the other hand, FTL communication is very efficient and a string to stations keep the further reaches of human space connected.

These stations provide an edge against the alien Jillies who have decided to exterminate humanity. Meredith does a great job with Jilly psychology. Jillies are very different from humans and their psychology is completely alien, and includes a casual attitude to vivisection.

Humanity has also perfected its medical arts and can restore the dead to life in many cases.

Captain Absalom Bracer was dead. He has been revived and has been given the task of conveying a hospital ship filled with dead in “cold sleep” back to Earth where they can be revived and treated. His battlecruiser is accompanied by another cruiser. Both cruisers are the end of their useful lives. The crews are manned by the formerly dead who have had body parts horrifically replaced by ad hoc structures that serve as eyes, stomaches, legs, arms, etc. They need to get to Earth to get repaired.

They arrive at Breakaway Station, one of the stations on the human's FTL communication line. The station has been nearly wiped out. One more Jilly attack and it will be gone, blowing a hole in the FTL chain. Admiral Mothershed is heading home with war-changing information about the location of the Jilly homeworld.

You are the captain of a small flotilla that can't possibly stand up to a Jilly assault. You and your men have already died. They've come back missing significant parts.

What do you do?

I found myself empathizing with Bracer and his crew. This is a story about heroism, which is a nice change from what stories are about today.

Mostly, I found myself regretting Meredith's early death.