Before he suicidally blasts his spaceship into a star to confront a dangerous cosmic irregularity, Jack Commer elevates genius physician/engineer Laurie Lachrer to lead the United System Space Force. Supreme Commander Laurie, Book One in a series of the same title, spins off from the Jack Commer series to follow Laurie’s new challenges, which begin with a fascist coup staged in protest of her promotion. Draft 1 finished at 335 pages, 98,149 words. Draft 2 is underway. This novel has been full of surprises, including the evolution of two minor characters into major ones: the arrogant turret gunner Mickey Michaels, and the deluded but sincere Major John West, both of whom pushed the plot in new directions. Character Images

Draft 1 Synopsis

Colonel Laurie Lachrer, just appointed Supreme Commander of the USSF, inexplicably transports to the new Typhoon VIII spaceship where former SCUSSF Jack Commer leads a no-return mission to the Unknown Anomaly at the Center of the Universe. So who’s in charge now, Laurie or Captain Jack who just resigned his commission and turned over all his SCUSSF duties to her so he’d be free to pursue this suicidal stunt?

But the Fools of the Fire who maintain infinite watch over the Anomaly will speak only to Laurie.

In Jack’s and Laurie’s absence, fascist elements overthrow the United System and jail respected figures from the earlier Jack Commer series. But naïve alien university students on an Alpha Centaurian planet mount a resistance in tandem with Laurie’s robot counterpart, Laurie 283, who designs and builds Pegasus, a state-of-the-art flying saucer weapons platform. Meanwhile a decades-old robot with a malfunctioning Sublayer Four writes a novel which he’s sure explains everything that’s happening.

Blog History

Supreme Commander Laurie Gets Underway, July 13, 2023
Supreme Commander Laurie, Draft 1: Completed, September 19, 2023`
Supreme Commander Laurie: Draft Two Territory, December 1, 2023

All words and images copyright by Michael D. Smith