Before the Storm

It's 2037. A band of modern-day pirates station-hops across the Indian Ocean in an old Russian submarine bought off the black market. Each attack bolder and more costly than the last, these pirates leave behind a trail of broken bodies, businesses, and stolen submarines at every undersea station they visit—and it’s up to Lieutenant Commander Alex Coleman and attack submarine USS Kansas to stop them.

Teaming up with his old college roommate and not-so-gentle giant, marine lieutenant colonel Paul Swanson, Alex sets out on his very own pirate hunt. But these outlaws aren’t in rundown little skiffs that are easy to track and find. They’ve got a genuine warship and the will to turn weapons against innocent civilians and undersea stations, and more importantly, they’re good at stealth.

With time running out, Alex convinces his friendly neighborhood U.N. representative to rent a ridiculously expensive civilian submarine with every bell and whistle a rich guy can dream of—and many Alex can't! Cut off from Kansas’ support, he and the marines play bait for the pirates.

Alex isn’t used to in-your-face battles. He’s trained to push buttons and fire torpedoes, not for the messy and bloody hand-to-hand stuff. His plan is for Kansas to nab the pirates before anyone can wave a gun near his nerdy face. But plans never survive contact with the enemy, and when the hunters become the hunted, can Alex learn a new type of warfare before it’s too late?

BEFORE THE STORM, the military thriller prequel to the War of the Submarine series by R.G. Roberts.