We remember them like yesterday: pieces of our stolen heritage. Things like NASA. Football. Parades and pies. Good things, comfortable things. We remember a time when we were alone in the universe, safe and oblivious. But it's all gone now. We called them the Telestines, and in the face of their ruthless invasion we were powerless. By 2040, all the world's governments and militaries had fallen, and the remnants of humanity exiled to the solar system. We looked down on our blue planet, so close to our birthplace, so close to our home. But the miles may as well have been lightyears. Our anger smoldered in the darkness of space. On Mars. On Ganymede. In the dank crowded filth of the asteroids. We swore: we will take our planet back. And today, it begins. Our fleet is ready. Our soldiers determined. Earth will be ours again.

    When a high-profile delivery is compromised aboard a state-of-the-art cargo vessel, the newly appointed captain finds himself embroiled in an assignment far above his pay grade. Blackmail, terrorists, a malfunctioning prototype A.I. pilot, and a sinister terraforming corporation with deep criminal ties await him. Who knew delivering cargo to the deep recesses of space could be so dangerous? Armed only with his cunning and past military experience, Cole is one against many. But this unorthodox interstellar cargo pilot won’t go down without a fight—even after he is faced with a choice that will alter the course of his life forever.

    Wil Calder was an astronaut testing Earth’s first Faster Than Light engine in an experimental space pod when he ended up stranded on the opposite side of the solar system. Even if NASA could come to get him, they didn’t know where to look. But that was years ago. Now, Wil is a lonely intergalactic outlaw and smuggler, looking for a crew, because space is lonely and boring. He’s got a ship, now he needs some friends or at least people to work with, maybe boss around a little. What he isn’t looking for, is a plot that would destabilize the entire Galactic Commonwealth. A scheme he and his new crew aren't remotely qualified to stop, but who looks at qualifications these days? They can’t just turn their backs on the galaxy, can they? Between epic space battles, a quest for redemption and a daring heist, the crew uncovers a dangerous secret. If you tried to cross the Buck Rogers TV Show from the early 80's with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, you'd come close to the rollicking good fun of this classic space opera. Join the crew of the Ghost on the first of many fantastic adventures.

    A brutal war was won through the blood and sacrifice of patriots. Soon the vambraces faded to legend. A secret task force. A wormhole portal discovered... Now, Frank and Marine Space Corps-1 find themselves across the galaxy where an ancient evil is growing. From exploratory crew to the front lines, Frank will have to decide whether to play the part of a hero or to be the Marine needed to win the war. Because the victor takes the universe. The vambraces will be found. A new order of Knights will be chosen. And once again Light will do battle with Darkness. Start reading today and find out why readers are calling the Gateway to the Galaxy series “extremely fun” and their "new obsession" with characters that “actually come to life on the pages.”

    When it’s sabotaged by a mysterious entity, he uncovers a plot against humanity that’s been underway for millennia.Theron is driven against all odds to stop the entity, only to discover he’s an integral part of the entity’s sinister plan. Together with a small group of travelers, he must journey across galaxies in search of an ancient Guardian of the universe.If he fails, humankind will face oblivion.

    until something utterly unfamiliar suddenly lands in your back yard.Susan is the epitome of the happy housewife, contentedly conducting her daily ritual of cleaning her home and keeping everything just as it should be. Wrapped up in her own little world within those familiar walls, she hardly notices the altogether different arrival in her own back yard. She may ignore the sudden shaking beneath her slippered feet, she might even neglect to spot the conspicuous sight itself—but she can't evade the stench. Something's wrong. Very wrong. And Susan's incapable of determining just what to do about the uninvited eyesore in her back yard. Turning to her best friend for help with the impromptu emergency threatening to shake up her very existence and happy home, Susan combines efforts with neighbor Trisha to decipher the composition and meaning of the frightfully large and utterly unpleasant new arrival. But are these two women really capable of realizing the gift of new awareness they've just been given by an unseen entity? Or will they continue to fail to see the world that exists out there? What a difference a day makes... unless you choose to ignore it. Start Reading Now...What are you waiting for? Unexpected surprises, urban fantasy, unveiled mysteries, a touch of humor, a dab of "new weird", and so much more await you.

    It should be a time for celebration, but not for fighter pilot Captain Alisa Marchenko. After barely surviving a crash in the final battle for freedom, she's stranded on a dustball of a planet, billions of miles from her young daughter. She has no money or resources, and there are no transports heading to Perun, her former home and the last imperial stronghold.But she has a plan.Steal a dilapidated and malfunctioning freighter from a junkyard full of lawless savages. Slightly suicidal, but she believes she can do it. Her plan, however, does not account for the elite cyborg soldier squatting in the freighter, intending to use it for his own purposes. As an imperial soldier, he has no love for Alliance pilots. In fact, he's quite fond of killing them.Alisa has more problems than she can count, but she can't let cyborgs, savages, or ancient malfunctioning ships stand in her way. If she does, she’ll never see her daughter again.

    The alleged mutineer is Captain Nicolau Aames, whose command of the massive Earth-Mars vessel Aldrin has come under fire. The vast System Initiative says he disobeyed orders, but his crew swears he’s in the right.En route to Mars, Park gathers testimony from the Aldrin’s diverse crew, painting a complex picture of Aames’s character: his heroism, his failures, even his personal passions. As the investigation unfolds, Park finds herself in the thrall of powerful interests, each pushing and pulling her in a fiery cosmic dance.Corruption, conflicting loyalties, and clashing accounts make it nearly impossible to see the truth in fifty million miles of darkness, and Park faces danger from every direction. All eyes are on her: one way or another, her findings will have astronomical implications for the Aldrin and the future of space travel.

    Reduced to making freelance deliveries, he thinks his life can't get any worse. That's when a package manages to get him mixed up with mobsters, a megacorp, and a mad scientist. Now his life depends on learning what their plans are, and how he can stop them.

    He can rise no higher.Or so he thought.His superior sees more in him and is sending him to a place that will change his life.Welcome to Azophi Academy.A different kind of second chance.Jackson learns fast - the academy believes in active participation – even if you die trying.Can Jackson cope with Cia, his new partner and pilot? She’s unlike him in every way and enjoys making sure he knows it.He’ll have to learn a lot - and fast - if he’s going to survive the Azophi experience. More importantly, humanity needs him to survive, because the aliens are training their best too.Who will have the greatest warriors?

    Beam Piper with active table of contents.Works include:The AnswerThe Cosmic ComputerCrossroads of DestinyDay of the MoronDearestThe Edge of the KnifeFlight From TomorrowFour-Day PlanetGenesisGraveyard of DreamsHe Walked Around the HorsesThe KeeperLast EnemyLittle FuzzyThe MercenariesMinistry of DisturbanceMurder in the GunroomNaudsonceNull-ABCOomphel in the SkyOmnilingualOperation R.S.V.P.PatrolPolice OperationRebel RaiderThe ReturnA Slave is a SlaveSpace VikingTemple TroubleTime and Time AgainTime CrimeUllr Uprising

    But Ankari Markovich needs a few archaeological samples for her latest business venture, a venture that might prove lucrative enough to move her family off the impoverished planet where she grew up. Unfortunately, she has no sooner collected her samples than she’s captured by a band of brawny mercenaries. The captain might be handsome, but he’s intent on turning her over to some finance lord who has, for reasons unknown, put a bounty on her head, a ridiculously large one at that. If she can’t figure out a way to escape before she’s delivered to the lord’s home world, she could be forced into a life of indentured servitude—or worse.Captain Viktor Mandrake doesn’t usually take on piddling bounty hunting gigs, but when his intelligence officer informs him of a criminal on a nearby planet, he decides it wouldn’t hurt to take a shuttle down to collect the woman. But Ankari Markovich is trouble from the start, nearly eluding his elite forces, then fighting and tricking his people left and right. He finds himself admiring her spirit, but according to her warrant, she’s a criminal. The safest thing is to keep her in the brig and ignore her until she can be handed off to the man who wants her.But the situation grows more complicated when other bounty hunters show up, wanting to claim Ankari for themselves. Thanks to this woman, Viktor’s ship is in danger, his crew members are going missing, and he’s fighting enemies he never asked for in a jungle in the middle of a hurricane. He’s either going to strangle Ankari… or fall in love. Either scenario could get him killed.Mercenary Instinct is a full-length, stand-alone novel of 90,000 words. It is part of the “Mandrake Company” series of science fiction romance stories and is recommended for readers who enjoy space-based adventure (such as Firefly) and steamy love stories (in the style of Linnea Sinclair).

    Food, entertainment, safety, security--SynCorp provides it all. In return, the Company requires complete loyalty and obedience to corporate law.The Soldiers of the Solar Revolution claim life under SynCorp is slavery cloaked in comfort. They launch their rebellion, targeting the pillars of corporate production: sabotaging refineries on Mars, shattering Callisto's orbital ring. Meanwhile, brutal pirates siphon off Company resources in the Belt, and hackers tap into citizens' implants, addicting them to fantasies shaped from their own dreams.Besieged on all sides, SynCorp's Five Factions are in retreat. The rebels aim to destroy the Company to free mankind. But does mankind really want to be freed?

    She erred in not considering commercial and political consequences. Now, someone wants to steal or bury her research and, perhaps, her with it. With no way to fight this unknown foe, Jaswinder knows she has but one chance—complete her research and publish. To do that, she has to stay alive and stay free. Pilot Johannes Yrden desires a courtesan, someone to keep him company on the 8 month trip to the planet Liberty and back. He wants someone not from the Yrden Family spaceship and to hell with his brother, Captain Matt Yrden, who believes the TransPlanetary Corporations will stock his line-up with spies. Yrden's plan runs afoul of circumstance, which throws him together with one 'Jazz Saro', a woman on the run. Forced to run with her, Yrden allows her to convince him to sign her on as courtesan. He needs a companion; she needs a ship, a place to hide. It seems a simple enough arrangement. Jaswinder thinks she's found her perfect solution: a hiding place in hyperspace, where she can complete her research using the ship as her laboratory. Unfortunately, she hasn't reckoned on the possibility of one of her pursuers booking passage, forcing her to maintain the fiction of her alias. The pilot's family, with troubles of their own, grow suspicious and it becomes apparent she cannot complete her research openly. That leaves her the choice: Do what she needs to do to in order to save Jaswinder's life or become Jazz Saro.

    The first few chapters are available as 'The Chronicles of Engella Rhys (Preview).' Would you sacrifice your future to save your past? Engella Rhys is alone, adrift and on the run. Pursued by a secret agency, known only as the Hunters, she must stay ahead to stay alive. As she travels through space-time using dangerously experimental technology, she only has one wish: to be reunited with her lost parents. After a close shave with a Hunter on the streets of New Shanghai, Engella escapes to find herself on a deserted beach. When she meets a kind stranger, who offers her food and shelter, Engella feels safe and protected for the first time in years. But who is this woman? And why did their paths cross at the most convenient of times? Engella soon discovers their lives are intertwined in more ways than she could ever imagine.