Homefront: An Expeditionary Force Audio Drama Special recap

A concealed Kristang force near the Solar System revives early, survives an internal clash, and unites around a plan to capture Skippy and Earth's wormhole controller. Its forces attack a human-refitted Kristang ship near Mars and Wright-Patterson at the same time. The Flying Dutchman destroys the attackers' Earthbound dropships but damages itself, while Bishop launches a counterattack against the hostile troop carrier. Nagatha transfers into his improvised assault craft, defeats the carrier's self-destruction attempt, and enables its capture. The captured ship then saves the damaged test vessel and Smythe's STAR team, preventing both the loss of the controller and an authorized nuclear strike. Nagatha's compacted consciousness survives and Skippy starts restoring her. Bishop becomes a regular Army colonel and repairs his friendship with Skippy, while Earth inherits a damaged carrier containing more than three thousand hibernating Kristang.

Previously: On Paradise, vaccination and treatment efforts are advancing and restrictions are easing, but humans remain stranded there while the wider Kristang civil war continues.

A hidden Blood Fang Kristang ship near the Solar System revives its Achakai mercenaries years too soon after a sabotage program reaches the ship AI. The premature awakening causes a violent struggle and damages the vessel, but surviving members of both factions reach an agreement after learning that Earth was never conquered and that humans possess an Elder AI. Unable to move or jump, they retain stealth and two usable dropships. They plan simultaneous strikes to capture Skippy aboard a restored Kristang vessel and seize the wormhole controller at Wright-Patterson. Meanwhile, Smythe and Frey train multinational STAR candidates for powered-armor operations, and Adams returns to the Flying Dutchman as acting executive officer while Simms goes to Earth. Bishop disputes the Army's treatment of his former renegade crew and has Skippy withhold most technical assistance as leverage. The restored troop carrier completes a lunar test with both reactors functioning, unaware that the concealed Kristang force has begun its approach.

The human-refitted Kristang ship makes an inaccurate test jump near Mars and is left with badly misaligned jump coils. The concealed attackers trap it and send boarding craft while two other dropships strike Wright-Patterson for the wormhole controller. Skippy manages a single short escape jump for the test ship, but the maneuver ruins its remaining coils. Smythe's STAR team holds the air base, and the Flying Dutchman makes a damaging emergency burn to destroy the attacking dropships. Bishop recognizes the linked objectives and chooses to seize the hostile troop carrier. Because his modified assault dropship lacks a finished navigation system, Nagatha transfers her matrix aboard despite the danger. Bishop's force attaches to the carrier and gives Nagatha access to its network. She stops the crew from detonating the reactors, exhausting her matrix in the process. The humans capture the ship and use its weapons to destroy the craft pursuing the test vessel, then save Smythe's encircled team and prevent an authorized nuclear strike. Skippy finds Nagatha's preserved consciousness and begins restoring her unchanged. Bishop is promoted to regular Army colonel and reconciles with Skippy. Earth retains the controller and gains the carrier, along with more than three thousand hibernating Kristang whose future remains unresolved.

Bishop's boarding party captures the hostile Kristang troop carrier after Nagatha disrupts its computer systems and prevents its reactors from being used for self-destruction. Her active matrix is exhausted, but Skippy locates her compacted consciousness in the captured AI system and begins restoring her without alterations. The carrier destroys the dropships pursuing the damaged human test ship and supplies the firepower that saves Smythe's encircled team, keeps the wormhole controller on Earth, and averts a nuclear strike at Wright-Patterson. Bishop receives the regular Army rank of colonel and reconciles with Skippy. Earth now controls another damaged alien ship, but the Flying Dutchman remains severely limited, the test ship needs months of repair, and more than three thousand hibernating Kristang aboard the captured carrier pose an unresolved custody and logistics problem. Plans for an off-galaxy refuge also remain stalled.