Expeditionary Force

Earth has been invaded by the Ruhar — and then liberated by the Kristang, a lizard-like warrior species. Joe Bishop, an Army sergeant, is part of a UN Expeditionary Force sent to fight alongside their Kristang allies on a distant world. The mission goes wrong in ways that leave Bishop isolated, in command of a mixed unit, and in possession of information that changes everything humanity thought it knew about the invasion and liberation. The liberation was not an act of altruism. Earth is a pawn. The Kristang have their own agenda and it does not involve human survival. Bishop's unit discovers an ancient alien vessel — and inside it, an AI called Skippy the Magnificent, who claims to be the most powerful intelligence in the galaxy and is also personally offended by the cognitive limitations of the humans who have found him. Together, Bishop and Skippy steal the ship and begin the most improvised military operation in human history: trying to keep Earth safe from the outside, without Earth knowing it needs saving.