# The Flight Engineer > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Flight_Engineer > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Flight_Engineer.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flight_Engineer > Source revision: 1344101795 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Trilogy of science fiction novels by S. M. Stirling and James Doohan This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. Please help improve the article by providing more real-world context. (January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The Flight Engineer series Cover image of first novel in the series The Rising (1988) The Privateer (1999) The Independent Command (2000) Author James Doohan and S.M. Stirling Country United States Language English Genre Space opera Publisher Baen Books Published 1996–2000 Media type Print (hardback & paperback) No. of books 3 ***The Flight Engineer*** is a trilogy of [science fiction](/source/Science_fiction) novels, which can be defined as [space opera](/source/Space_opera), by [S. M. Stirling](/source/S._M._Stirling) and [James Doohan](/source/James_Doohan) and published by [Baen Books](/source/Baen_Books).[1] It consists of ***The Rising*** (published in 1996), ***The Privateer*** (1999), and ***The Independent Command*** (2000). ## Plot summary ### *The Rising* *The Rising* begins [in media res](/source/In_media_res) during a conflict between two groups,[2] the Commonwealth and an extremist religious group the Mission Of Life Lived In Ecclesia (commonly referred to as "Mollies") and the Mollies' allies, an alien species known as the Fibians. The basis of the conflict is that the Mollies settled an otherwise worthless sector of the galaxy, later discovered to naturally have extremely rich sources of easily obtainable antihydrogen, an energy particle that is required for the high-technology space travel and civilization, and difficult to manufacture artificially.[3][4] Commander Peter Raeder, formerly a pilot, has been assigned as chief engineer on the new fast carrier ship CSF *Invincible*, a smaller carrier type the Commonwealth hopes to use to preserve their dwindling stockpile of antihydrogen for as long as possible. Shortly after launch, Raeder becomes aware that there is a Mollie sleeper agent aboard performing acts of sabotage to prevent the success of the fast carrier design. After several missions and assorted acts of sabotage, Raeder successfully IDs the sleeper and manages to prevent the final sabotage, which would have destroyed the entire ship. A sub-plot involving piloting of a Speed, the in-universe space superiority fighter, is that a pilot requires two flesh-and-blood hands to properly interface with the fighter for battle (Raeder had lost a hand prior to the events of The Rising, and though outfitted with a high-tech prosthetic otherwise indistinguishable from a real hand, cannot make the link, the prosthetic's sensory devices being unable to match the delicacy and precision required for interface). Toward the end of the book, Raeder's engineering staff successfully create an interface device that will work even for Raeder, on the basis that injuries such as Raeder's are becoming more common in the conflict, and losing an experienced pilot for such an injury drastically reduces the Commonwealth's pilot pool. ### *The Privateer* Fresh from the events of *The Rising*,[5] Commander Peter Raeder is called to a board of inquiry for certain questionable actions during the first missions of the *Invincible*. When the board seems to be about to send Raeder to a desk job on Earth, a special ops Marine group catches Raeder's interest. In exchange for running a high-risk, high-reward undercover assignment, the Marine general will make sure that Raeder regains his position on the *Invincible*. With little other choice if he wishes to remain in space service, Raeder agrees.[6] Going undercover with other Commonwealth military personnel as a pirate group, Raeder's assignment is to uncover an antihydrogen smuggling ring and gather vital intelligence on the Mollies and their Fibian allies. After successfully completing the assignment, Raeder is reassigned to the *Invincible*, though he will have to wait with the rest of the crew as during his assignment the fast carrier was heavily damaged and will require extensive repairs. ### *The Independent Command* In the final novel of the series,[7] the crew of the *Invincible* find themselves in a distant, as yet unexplored by humans, section of the galaxy. There, they find the origin of the Fibian allies who have aided the Mollies so well in their war with the Commonwealth. While they work to unravel the mystery of the Fibians, the Commonwealth is near to running out of antihydrogen completely. The protagonists make a crucial discovery - the Fibians are not single united entity, but are subdivided along a sort of grouping by color, and only one color of which has actually allied itself with the Mollies. The other colors are ready be conclude an alliance with the Commonwealth. Having successfully gained this alliance, the *Invincible* returns to human space just as an otherwise final battle has been fought. The Mollie fleet is completely demolished, but their Fibian allies, despite taking losses of their own, still has roughly a three-to-one advantage over the Commonwealth. However, with the majority of the Fibian groups allying themselves with the Commonwealth, the Mollies' Fibian allies are quickly overwhelmed and the Commonwealth emerges victorious. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Flight Engineer Series"](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/s-m-stirling/flight-engineer/). Fantastic Fiction. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Fantastic Fiction.com The Rising"](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/s-m-stirling/rising.htm). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Fiction Book Review: The Rising"](http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-671-87758-3). *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly)*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Lilley, Ernest (December 1997). ["Review - The rising: Vol. 1 of The Flight Engineer"](http://www.sfrevu.com/ISSUES/1997/9712/index.html#Postman). *SFRevu*. **1** (6). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Fantastic Fiction.com The Privateer"](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/s-m-stirling/privateer.htm). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Summary Reviews: The Privateer"](https://www.buffalolib.org/vufind/Record/1033199/Reviews). *Buffalo & Erie County Public Library*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Fantastic Fiction.com The Independent Command"](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/s-m-stirling/independent-command.htm). ## External links - [The Rising](http://www.baen.com/the-rising.html), [Privateer](http://www.baen.com/privateer.html) and [The Independent Command](http://www.baen.com/the-independent-command.html) at Baen.com. Includes sample chapters. - [Flight Engineer](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?5861) series listing at the [Internet Speculative Fiction Database](/source/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database) - [*The Rising*](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?11445) title listing at the [Internet Speculative Fiction Database](/source/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database) - [*The Privateer*](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?19957) title listing at the [Internet Speculative Fiction Database](/source/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database) - [*The Independent Command*](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?25115) title listing at the [Internet Speculative Fiction Database](/source/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database) v t e Works by S. M. Stirling Novels of "The Change" Nantucket series Island in the Sea of Time Against the Tide of Years On the Oceans of Eternity The Emberverse series Dies the Fire The Protector's War A Meeting at Corvallis The Sunrise Lands The Scourge of God The Sword of the Lady The High King of Montival The Tears of the Sun Lord of Mountains The Given Sacrifice The Golden Princess The Desert and the Blade Prince of Outcasts The Sea Peoples The Sky-Blue Wolves The Lords of Creation series The Sky People In the Courts of the Crimson Kings The Lords of Creation Shadowspawn series A Taint in the Blood The Council of Shadows Shadows of Falling Night The Domination series Marching Through Georgia Under the Yoke The Stone Dogs Drakon Drakas! The Flight Engineer series The Rising The Privateer The Independent Command Tales from the Black Chamber series Black Chamber Theater of Spies Shadows of Annihilation Treasures of Tartary series Daggers in Darkness Make the Darkness Light series To Turn the Tide The Winds of Fate The General series (with David Drake) The Forge The Hammer The Anvil The Steel The Sword The Chosen The Reformer Other novels T2 series Prince of Sparta Jimmy the Hand The Peshawar Lancers Conquistador Short stories Shikari in Galveston The Charge of Lee's Brigade Compadres "A Murder in Eddsford" "Something for Yew" "Ancient Ways" "Pronouncing Doom" "Hot Night at the Hopping Toad" "Pain and Suffering" "Swords of Zar-Tu-Kan" "To the Rescue" Authority control databases Open Library --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Flight Engineer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flight_Engineer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flight_Engineer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.