Congratulations! You have graduated high school. Your financial obligation is 67,879 credits. Please visit our loan officer as you exit."Tanner Malone never bought into military myths of honor and glory. He never wanted to wear a uniform or medals. Yet when family upheaval brings his otherwise stellar performance in school to a disastrous end, Tanner's plans for university lie in ruins. Facing homelessness and a mountain of debt, Tanner enlists in his home planet's tiny navy.It’s a hell of a time to sign up. Vicious pirates stalk the space lanes, claiming to fight an oppressive economic system even as they shed innocent blood. Civil war looms beyond the borders of Tanner’s home star system of Archangel. Corporate security fleets are nowhere to be found when trouble arises.In response, Archangel begins ambitious military expansion. Basic training becomes six months of daily bare knuckle brawls, demanding cross-training and constant stress. Brutal as it is, Tanner will need the preparation. The pirates grow more audacious with every attack. As if that’s not enough, Tanner is assigned to a small ship whose disgruntled crew has no patience for cerebral new recruits, and they’re on the front lines of all of Archangel’s woes.Tanner soon learns there is only one way to deal with his bullying comrades, their ruthless foes and the unforgiving void of space, and that’s to get up close and personal.

    Seventeen short tales of the Liaden Universe® were brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans. Fifteen tales complete Volume Two!The nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados for their wit, world-building, strong characterizations, tender romance, and edge-of-the-chair action.Since 1995, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller also created shorter tales, illuminating additional facets of the Liaden experience. Here is a vast tapestry of tales of the scouts, artists, traders, priestesses, sleight of hand magicians, and pilots who fill the Liaden Universe® with the excitement, action, and romance that readers of the hit series have come to adore. Celebrating 25 Years of the Liaden Universe®Contents:Veil of the dancer --Quiet knives --This house --Lord of the dance --Necessary evils --The beggar king --Fighting chance --Prodigal son --Daughter of dragons --Dragon tide --Shadow partner --Persistence --Misfits --Hidden resources --Moon on the hills --Skyblaze.

    Seventeen short tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans. The nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados for their wit, world-building, strong characterizations, tender romance, and edge-of-the-chair action.Since 1995, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller also created shorter tales, illuminating additional facets of the Liaden experience. Here is a vast tapestry of tales of the scouts, artists, traders, priestesses, sleight of hand magicians, andpilots who fill the Liaden Universe® with the excitement, action, and romance that readers of the hit series have come to adore.Contents:To cut an edge --A day at the races --Where the goddess sends --A spell for the lost --Moonphase --Pilot of Korval --Breatha's duty --The wine of memory --Certain symmetry --Balance of trade --A choice of weapons --Changeling --A matter of dreams --Phoenix --Naratha's shadow --Heirloom --Sweet waters --

    Now they own us.The Legend of ZERO: Forging Zero is the epic journey of 14-year-old Joe Dobbs in a post-apocalyptic universe following a massive galactic empire's invasion of Earth. The oldest of the children drafted from humanity’s devastated planet, Joe is impressed into service by the alien Congressional Ground Force—and becomes the unwitting centerpiece in a millennia-long alien struggle for independence. Once his training begins, one of the elusive and prophetic Trith appears to give Joe a spine chilling prophecy that the universe has been anticipating for millions of years: Joe will be the one to finally shatter the vast alien government known as Congress. And the Trith cannot lie.…But first Joe has to make it through bootcamp.

    Even the man who raised him, his paternal grandfather, was a question mark. Beyond the love, understanding, and nurturing lay the unanswered question of why a disgraced ex-Royal Naval Admiral would pulled himself out of a bottle and take upon himself to bring a one year old child home as raise him as his own. The question of why his family, the Tregallion clan, refused to come to his aid went unanswered. Even so, between them they build a life for themselves until the fateful day he died. After that, Mike fled across the stars, swearing he would never again take the responsibility for another person’s death. Fate and destiny had other ideas, plunging him into one situation after the other where he had to take command, and decide the fate of others. With war on the horizon, and the future of the free stars hanging in the balance, Mike reluctantly accepted his destiny, and the part he must play. For better or worse, he would find the answered to his question, and make those responsible pay a terrible price.

    Damien Montgomery is a newly-trained member of this elite order. Unable to find a ship to take him on, he joins the crew of a freighter as desperate as he is – without looking hard enough at why they’re desperate. Thus begins an adventure that will take him to the edges of known space and to the limits of his own magic. Episode 2 is targeted for release in March of 2014.

    Two worlds. The chains of command only stretch so far. He’s a conduit to alien invasion. A security threat. To the same country he swore to defend from its enemies. Enemies both foreign and domestic. Hard to tell the difference once his growing powers unleash the ancient truth. Time to go rogue.Niall Kearey is US Air Force. Special Forces. His job to save lives. On Earth. Not on Astereal, a world across the universe. He’s not insane. Except the hazy threads of a childhood dream keep intruding on his life. Creating havoc. The reason he’s alive beyond all reasonable expectations. And now these aliens won’t be denied. To the humanoid telepaths of Astereal, Niall’Kearey is legend, a military leader in a war dating back to ancient times. Now dark stars are tearing Astereal apart and prophecy says he can save them. From an apocalypse.On Earth, Niall’s growing psychic abilities have attracted unwanted attention, exposing his family to danger. A rescue attempt results in catastrophe. His secret is out and his life shattered. Then, with alien invasion a real threat, the US government designates him a security risk as a secret political conspiracy seeks to control both him and this first contact with extra-terrestrials.Niall is torn between protecting his loved ones, saving an alien race, and his duty to Earth, but when history opens his eyes to the full potential of his latent powers, he finally confronts the disturbing scale of his dilemma. It’s time to go rogue. The mission? Human survival.

    But when he investigates the crash, what he finds will yank him out of his self-imposed exile and thrust him into a world he could have never imagined.He suddenly finds himself trapped on a damaged alien spacecraft and plunged into a universe of interstellar crime lords and government conspiracies, along the way meeting strange new friends… and enemies. As he struggles to find his way back home he is inexorably drawn deeper into a world where one misstep could mean his death. Or worse. He desperately wants to get back to Earth, but it may be the end for him. … or is it just the beginning?

    On hearing a distant signal they follow it to Earth. On Earth young Steven Gordon, a child protegee, is nearly killed in a horrific crash. After being told he will remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life, his family witness true courage as Steven battles his way back from the brink. Years later he takes up a job with a lifelong friend as a night security guard, but gone is the genius that was the boy. The stage is now set for a miracle and an adventure of a lifetime. Join Steven as he reaches for the sky.

    The team, introduced in Book 4 of the A Galaxy Unknown series, and with small roles in subsequent books, is now featured in their own story as this AGU: SCI series kicks off. This story is a mix of low-tech and high-tech as shootouts in saloons and city streets vie with spaceship chases and space battles to dominate the pages of this book. Space Command Intelligence operates to the full width and breadth of Galactic Alliance space— and sometimes beyond. Intelligence gathering is a dangerous profession, and most agents operate alone, or with a single partner, but there are exceptions. Trader Vyx, originally a lone field agent, was saddled with two information gatherers when he left the Gollasko Colony, but mutual bonds of respect soon grew between the three men. When two female operatives were rescued from Tsgardi slavers by Vyx, Byers, and Nelligen, SCI temporarily assigned the women to Vyx's team. Now, years later, the team is still together, and operating as one of the most effective groups in SCI.With the defeat of the Uthlaro Dominion, their former territory has fallen into anarchy. Space Command doesn't have adequate resources to bring the region under control while facing other enemies on multiple fronts in Regions One and Two, so SCI agents have been sent in to do what they can.Trader Vyx and his team are on the planet Bleadalto, two hundred light-years from Uthlarigasset. Their mission is to assess the situation there and learn everything they can about the slavery problem, but the once out-of-control-violence situation on Gollasko seems like a tea social compared to everyday life on Bleadalto. Within hours of arriving on the planet, Vyx is forced into a gunfight with a Brotherhood thug. The large crime organization is not pleased.

    His parents came to this rock figuring to make it big, only to find that they’d been recruited as an indentured labor force for alien overlords known as the Varoki.Now a pair of rich young Varoki under the care of a beautiful human nanny are fleeing Peezgtaan, and Sasha is recruited to help.  All things considered, he’d rather leave the little alien lordlings to their fate, but certain considerations—such as Sasha’s own imminent demise if he remains—make it beneficial for him to take on the job. But Sasha discovers his simple choice has thrust him into the midst of a political battle that could remake the galactic balance of power and save humanity from slow death by servitude.  Now all he has to do is survive and keep his charges alive on a hostile planet undergoing its own revolution. But it’s the galaxy that had better watch out.  For now the toughest thug in Crack City has gotten his first taste of real freedom. He likes it, and wants more. The stunning debut of a nonstop science fiction noir thriller from legendary game creator Frank Chadwick.About How Dark the World Becomes:“How Dark the World Becomes is a crackling debut novel that speaks of great things to come! It's whip-smart, lightning-fast and character-driven—in short it has everything required to be totally satisfying. Highly recommended." –Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of Assassin’s Code“. . . [a] far off, hard scrabble intergalactic underworld . . . fast-paced intergalactic adventure full of far-flung alien intrigue.”—Astroguyz " . . . thrilling space adventure . . . I was reminded of Jack McDevitt's Alex Benedict novels and Mark L Van Name's Jon & Lobo adventures."—SFCrowsnest

    He leads massive fleets in great battles, but once he was a new captain leading his tiny attack ship on it first mission.The young Garret was driven by ambition and the quest for glory. But war in space is brutal, and the consequences of command decisions can haunt even the strongest commanders. Garret will win his glory, but will he be prepared to pay its cost?Bitter Glory is not a full length novel - it is a prequel novella set in the Crimson Worlds universe.

    But for Blackmon Perry Stone it is life threatening. At 15, he barely manages to graduate from the empire's cadet training by a talent for unusual problem solving. He has trouble settling into navy life, but life becomes harder when he uncovers a ring of thieves aboard the huge ship. Life becomes difficult when they killed him. Stone is ejected into hyperspace in an escape pod without hyperspace engines. Fully expecting to die, he reconfigures the sub-light engine to escape the inescapable. To his surprise it works, but only well enough to do little more than crash on an uncharted planet. It will surprise him if he can make the engine work again, but not as much as it will surprise everyone else if he can come back from the dead.

    Orbital characteristics of key planets, regimental order of the Royal Navy, backstory on the history and drama of the Star Kingdom's birth and early days; you'll find it all here, thoughtfully arranged by the Bureau 9 Weber research group, and overseen by David Weber himself.

    Minor tactical victories are offset by major strategic setbacks. The aliens know where all Human-occupied worlds are while their own worlds are still unknown. Victor Shiloh's unpredictable precognitive visions are the only thing that is slowly the alien onslaught. Not content with gradually pushing Humanity back, Shiloh's vision reveals a massive attack on Earth, that will have terrible consequences. So far his visions have all come true. Can his A.I. allies make the difference between extermination and survival for the Human Race? Excerpt: He woke up to the blaring of the ship’s Battle Stations siren with Tanaka’s excited voice calling him via his implant. “Bridge to Commander! They’re here, Sir! Repeat…they’re here…” Shiloh shook himself awake and started to get up. “I’m awake, Sumi. What’s happening?” He was glad he decided to sleep in his uniform for just this kind of emergency. “Jump detection contacts! Lots of them!” When he was sure that she wasn’t going to say more, he said. “From what bearing?” “ALL of them! They’re coming at us from 360 degrees and all three axes!” The near panic in her voice shocked him. By this time, he was running down the corridor to the Bridge. She was already vacating the Command Station chair when he entered the Bridge. Before she could relinquish command, he said in a loud voice. “The XO still has the Con. XO, take the Helm station; I’ll look after the fighters!” She looked at him with wide eyes but nodded and stepped over to the Helm Station. As he got himself strapped into his chair, he quickly switched com channels to the open channel with the Nimitz Base. “Nimitz, this is Shiloh! Order your recons to active scanning!” Without waiting for a reply, he switched to the fighter com channel. By prior arrangement, DeChastelaine had agreed to let Shiloh take tactical command of her fighters too. “CAG to fighters! Launch your recons and go active! Light’em up! We need to see their vectors and speeds! If you have a viable intercept solution, take the shot!” By now he was strapped in and had time to actually look at the tactical display. Tanaka was right. Red triangles indicating jump emergence points were all around the planet as well as above and below it. There was something about this strategy that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Concentration of force was a key tactical concept that should theoretically be valid to any species. There was strength in numbers and it minimized communication lags. So why was this alien fleet…this alien, A.I.-controlled fleet behaving this way? They must know that they risked being picked off one at a time. He didn’t have an answer to his question and…no vision either. “Task Force Leader on Tac 4, Sir!” yelled the com tech. Shiloh switched over to that com channel and said. “Shiloh here. Go ahead Task Force Leader!” As he spoke he searched the display to find the four combat frigates. They were following standard doctrine and were in close formation orbiting the Nimitz Base moon. “Victor! Get your fighters into action!” Shiloh suppressed his surge of anger. Task Force Leader Sobrist and he were both Senior Commanders. The deployment order from HQ on Sol had placed all ships in the Avalon system under the authority of Sobrist BUT it also made it clear that when Shiloh was wearing his Commander Autonomous Group hat, he had sole discretion on how to use those fighters.

    Tired of scraping by on small-time runs for petty criminals, they take on a big job to get back into the top tier of mob-level work. But high pay comes with high risk, and if the freezing climate of Planet Ciceron doesn't kill them, the hostile native population might. Assuming they don't all kill each other first! Success could put them back on track, but are they in the driver's seat or just pawns in a much bigger double-cross?Special features include guest artist pinups, character turnarounds, behind-the-scenes look at the art process, and 12-page concept design sketchbook.

    Hunted. Out of control.Gethyon Rees had always felt at odds with the universe, and hoped for an escape among the stars. But discovering he has the ability to cross time and space with just a thought brings more problems than it solves: a deadly bounty hunter who can follow him anywhere, the unwelcome return of Tarquin Secker--the mother who abandoned him--and an ancient darkness that seeks him and all those with his talents. When an unforgivable act sets him on the run, it'll take more than his unearthly powers to save his skin and the lives of those he cares about. It'll take a sacrifice he never expected to have to make. A science fiction adventure novel previously published by BURST (Champagne Books), and part of the Travellers Universe. A 2014 SFR Galaxy Award Winner for Most Awesome Psychic Talent and a 2015 EPIC eBook Awards finalist in the Science Fiction category. Also now includes the SF short story The Bones of the Sea.

    The greatest warriors, engineers and scientists of the age blaze a path to the worlds of T'Karan and Helios, far away from the human worlds of the Alliance. There they will meet alien races and become embroiled in intergalactic politics and conflict. Characters such as Spartan, the illegal pitfighter turned war hero of the Great Uprising, Teresa Morato, senior commander in the Marine Corps and a deadly warrior and Gun, the synthetic warrior giant turned General, a figure with a burning desire to hunt time and destroy the enemy's of his tortured people. All of them will play their part in shaping humanity's future in the galaxy.This compendium edition contains the full text of books four to six and includes the Great Betrayal, Prophecy of Fire and Call to Arms.The Great BetrayalThe ancient prophecy spreads to the colonies of the Alliance and ignites a public debate on the rumor of the coming comet. The origins of the rumor revolve around the dark days of the last war fought on Helios. The prophecy speaks of the return of the 'Great Enemy' that will be signaled by the coming of a burning star, when its beasts and machines will devour entire worlds. Although many see it as no more that a fleeting superstition, the Alliance Senate decides that pre-emptive measures must be taken to prepare for the return of the Enemy.Prophecy of FireThe fragile Centauri-Helion Alliance is being tested to the limits as Alliance ground forces under the command of General Daniels deploy on Eos, a strategically placed moon. Three complete regiments, including whole units of Jötnar and Vanguards assist Helion government troops against Dictator Lyssk's insurgents and their violent mercenaries. Jack Morato and his comrades are thrown into the bloody insurrection that is filled with suicide bombings, improvised explosives and roadside ambushes. The weeks of battle has cost both sides many lives, but it is a battle that must be fought if the worlds of Helios are to be ready.Call to ArmsThe Great Biomech War is now inevitable and the citizens of the Alliance ready themselves for what is to come. Ships and soldiers from a hundred worlds set their eyes on Helios, some looking to defend it and others making their plans to bring about its destruction. As each day passes, the defenders around Helios grow, and each day brings the prophetic comet closer to them. The remaining Biomechs have their own plans, and worlds as far away as Earth now feel their wrath.The 15-book Star Crusades series includes:STAR CRUSADES NEXUSLegions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1)Machine Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 2)Heroes of Helios (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 3)The Great Betrayal (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 4)Prophecy of Fire (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 5)Call to Arms (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 6)Battle for Helios (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 7)Wrath of the Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 8) ETA Q1 2014The Black Rift (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 9) ETA Q3 2014STAR CRUSADES UPRISINGSiege of Titan (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 1)Tears of Kerberos (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 2)Fires of Prometheus (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 3)Battle for Proxima (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 4)Fall of Terra Nova (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 5)Slaves of Hyperion (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 6)These titles are also available as combined trilogies including:STAR CRUSA

    This one though is approximately 600 years in the future of the events in TSN: Epiphany and TSN: The Best Laid Plans.David Fletcher, Explorer First Class, Terran Space Navy, has been contracted to explore a planet known as 'Baker's Dozen'; on his way to that assignment the TSN vessel 'Tiger Lily' was attacked and destroyed. Dave and his Cyberform companion Chet were in a Time Stasis shipping container. They and a basic Data Storage Library as well as their usual basic exploration package were ejected during the attack in the faint hope that they at least might survive.The world of the Sea of Grass is an unusual one, inhabited by the descendents of the survivors of ship wrecks, sinkings and a few 'abductees' mostly over a period of time lasting approximately a century from the 1840's to the 1950's.There are of course some exceptions as it appears the 'unknown' race that was doing these sort of rescues and abductions for close to a millennium prior to the period of maximum 'gathering'.The technology of the world of the Sea of Grass is a mish-mash of low to mid tech level technology. When the people arrived on the world of the sea of grass they brought virtually nothing with them. Only a few books came along, most of the reference, history and technical books of the era didn't arrive. So what knowledge there remained was only in the brains of the survivors.And Humans being Humans eventually they will find 'something' to squabble about.So we now start the beginning of another series in the TSN Universe with the Sea of Grass.

    Life in Galis City, capital of Zona Nox, is tougher. For James, it’s just life.James is one of the many gangsters who fight over the seas of shanties that dominate Zona Nox. He’s a master thief. One of the best. In this city of gangsters, James is a legend. But legends can fade.Xank, a mysterious alien empire, have invaded Zona Nox. Troopers, Zona Nox’s self-styled protectors, can’t stop the invaders. The gangs of Galis are too busy fighting to realise their days are numbered.In the fires of war, James could disappear into the mass graves, forgotten. Or, he could become greater than even before.Zona Nox is on the verge of annihilation. Will a criminal be able to save the planet?

    The two face the dangers not only of hostile otherworldly environments, but of human treachery, as unscrupulous corporate powers seek to learn what this scientist is up to. Collects the first 400 strips of the popular serial-adventure webcomic by Scott Bieser.

    From the perils of stealing dreams to the danger of your own imagination welcome to Piracy. Here are tales of the high seas, the skies and even space, filled with fierce women, strange beasts and adventure.Piracy is the first of the Fox Pockets book series.Three of the stories are presently available from our free fiction page and prompted the creation of the series.Contents:Becalmed – Den PatrickThe Trouble With Daydreams – Catherine HillBlack Ethel’s Beast – Kit MarloweNo Quarter – Rahne SinclairLeave the Pistol Behind – Chloe YatesPast Lives – Jenny BarberNora – Margrét HelgadóttirPlunder – Francesca TerminielloInsurgent – Christian D’AmicoGeronimo – T.F.GrantPieces of 2^3 – Rob HainesThe Real Deal – Ruth BoothTrue to The Song – Asher WismerSilvermelt – Emma TeichmannSkyway – K.C.ShawX Marks the Spot – S.J.Caunt

    For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements, where you're restricted to two thousand calories of badly flavored soy every day:You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world, or you can join the service.With the colony lottery a pipe dream, Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth. But as he starts a career of supposed privilege, he soon learns that the good food and decent health care come at a steep price…and that the settled galaxy holds far greater dangers than military bureaucrats or the gangs that rule the slums.

    Their mission to find and rescue 37 genetically engineered creatures will take them across the galaxy and force them to face their deepest fears.Garrand Ai'Gonet Médeville once commanded immense power and respect as one of the Emperor's favored sons. Now the former Captain of the Imperial Guard has lost himself deep in the lawless outer reaches of Carinaena's Shell, far from the Emperor's reach. Accepting a dangerous mission to transport 37 stolen bios sets him on a collision course with the empire he once served and the dark forces intent on destroying his mysterious cargo. The Tchelakov 37 are only three generations removed from their humble beginnings as fat, furry mammals. They have been genetically engineered to become living probability engines--intuitive machines. Precognitive awareness is the tribe's legacy, a blessing so coveted that it threatens to destroy them before they even have a chance to understand it. Pursued across the stars, the tribe sees all paths leading to unbearable darkness.A slender thread of hope wends through their dreams: a man will arrive, a reluctant and destructive hero. They must see beyond this man's ragged past and recognize the honor in his heart. And they must survive long enough to unlock his true nature and start him down the Path of Fate.

    Why would the TPP want a kidnapped orphan dead or alive? She will get to the truth once she finds the boy, and the no good SOB who snatched him from a psychiatric hospital. With her cheetah, Freckles, a genetically enhanced feline retriever, Akira sets out to flush them out of the bowels of the BOREALIS space station. But when she finds her fugitives, the kidnapper is not what she expects.Markku, a decorated rebel soldier, stole his nephew from the authorities, who performed painful experiments on the boy. Stuck on Borealis, he protects the child, but how can he shield him from the horribly dangerous conditions in the lawless sublevels of the decrepit space station? Akira faces the worst moral dilemma of her career. Law or justice, duty or love. She can't have it both ways.Akira faces the worst moral dilemma of her career. Law or justice, duty or love. She can't have it both ways.