Crisis (The Fleet, Book 6)

Science fiction series edited by David Drake and Bill Fawcett. Mankind has taken one step too far in exploring the galaxy--and run smack up against the Khalia. Vicious carnivores whose culture is totally different from our own, they take no prisoners. Ever. Just the occasional slave who will never see his home world again. It is up to the brave men and women of the Fleet to keep the home planets safe. This is their story.