Rumors of War by Jake Elwood

Tom Thrush thinks Basic Officer Training is tough – until he joins the frigate Kestrel and finds out what tough really means. The crew resents him. The First Officer is actively hostile. As the ship hunts pirates in deep space Tom struggles to fit in and wonders if things can get any worse.
They can.
A devastating attack leaves the ship crippled with half the crew dead or dying. The senior officers are wiped out, leaving a terrified sublieutenant in the last place he wants to be.
In command.

Category: Science Fiction – Military

A desperate captain. A crippled ship. An impossible choice.
The frigate Kestrel has been shot to pieces. She’s out of fuel, stranded deep behind enemy lines. It looks hopeless. But Tom Thrush, junior lieutenant and acting captain, has sworn he’ll get his people home.
Escape means fuel, and that means taking it from the enemy. A daring raid gives the Kestrel a fighting chance – but a rescued prisoner has some disturbing news. A ragtag local militia has put together a fleet. The fleet is gathering – and it’s about to blunder into a trap.
There’s only one way the militia fleet will survive. The battered, exhausted crew of the Kestrel must turn their backs on safety and plunge once more into battle. They’re hurt. They’re scared. But they have their duty. The Kestrel is a ship of war, and she will not die easy.