By the Seceltor Empire’s laws, he will have to go to a breeding camp, or directly into slavery. Neither choice appeals to him. All this changes with the arrival of a space-and-time-traveling being known as Evaran at the space station turned rest stop that Jake lives on.To make things complicated, Greecho, the slaver who abducted Jake as a kid, has arrived at the station. He and his crew, along with his twenty-two-year-old human pet, Kathy, are about to go on a slave run to Earth.Evaran has decided to interfere and free Jake and Kathy. That decision will lead him to Earth, where he will need to deal with the consequences.

    But before Earth can benefit from the advanced technologies offered by the other cultures, it must form a united world government. Old habits are hard to break and it doesn't take long before things begin to unravel.Jay Kauffman, mathematical genius and creator of the stardrive, believed his invention would free mankind. Instead, it has made war inevitable.Translight is the first book of the Galactic Alliance series. It is a hard military science fiction space opera that has been compared to E.E. 'Doc' Smith's famous Lensmen and Skylark series.

    Some of these stories have been available elsewhere over the past few months, while others are new for this collection. The spectacular tales of space adventure you'll find within its pages are: "Dead Men Don't Get Paid" Undead detective, Dan Deadman, has a problem. He has a number of them, in fact. He's missing an arm. He needs money to repair his broken window. Someone has opened a portal to the hell-like Malwhere in a nightclub, filling the place with slavering flesh-eating monsters. Fortunately, Dan's diminutive house guest, Artur, has a plan to help him fix at least one of these problems, but like everything else in Dan's afterlife, nothing quite works out the way it should. A brand new Dan Deadman Space Detective adventure, set in the aftermath of "Dial D for Deadman". Space Team: The Holiday Special Die Hard meets The Nativity in Space! It's Space Christmas Eve, and all through the space station not a creature was stirring except a load of evil space pirates who're trying to kidnap a very special newborn baby so it can be eaten by their pirate king. They hadn't counted on Cal Carver and the Space Team, though, who happen to be on the station for some much needed R & R. Originally published in December 2016 as a standalone short story. The Last Bounty Once the baddest bounty hunter in the galaxy, all Konto Garr wants these days is a quiet family life with the woman he loves, and the respect of Deenia, the step-daughter who hates his guts. But when Deenia is taken hostage, Konto must employ all his skills to mount a death-defying rescue mission. With a terrorist-filled station between him and the hostages, and an infuriatingly upbeat boy from Deenia’s class for company, Konto's talents will be stretched to their limit as he goes after the most important bounty of his life—his daughter. Originally published as part of the comedy scifi anthology, "Pew Pew - Sex, Guns, Spaceships... Oh My!" Death Comes to Carverville - A Tobey Maguire Mystery Former Hollywood actor, Tobey Maguire, now spends his days as an imaginary construct inside the subconscious of Space Team's Cal Carver, only ever called upon when Cal is knocked unconscious. But when a murderer starts to stalk the corridors of Cal's mind, Tobey Maguire - accompanied by a wise-cracking racist squirrel only he can see or hear - must turn detective and unmask the killer before the imaginary inhabitants of Cal's head are picked off one by one, leaving Cal completely brain dead. The first ever solo Tobey Maguire adventure, written just for this collection. Nun Shall Pass Former Nun, Ronda Sallas, is on a mission to save her son, Narp, from himself. And also from some evil Xandrie gangsters who have tricked him into helping them steal a weapon of mass destruction. Mostly from them, actually. Fortunately, Ronda's time at the convent has left her more than capable to deal with a few dozen gangsters, but when an Anti-Nun strips her of her precognition powers, things suddenly become more difficult. First published in "The Expanding Universe - Volume 2" anthology. Splurt Home Alone An all-new short solo adventure starring everyone's favorite adorable green blob, Splurt.

    

    Their objective is classified, marked only by coordinates leading them into a deserted city at the heart of the fighting. From the beginning, everything possible goes wrong. A missile strike rocks the carrier mid-launch, and only a fraction of the unit reaches the surface alive.Outmanned, outgunned, and scattered, with a hard deadline to orbital bombardment looming, it is up to Drop Commander Tyco Hale to rally his troops and reach their objective. But what they find, hidden deep in the tunneled passages under the city, will change everything about what he fights for and what he believes in. With the unit in tatters and loyalties divided, the choice he makes in the dark will seal all of their fates - and much more besides.

    This fast-paced, character-driven novel will immerse you in the world of US Marines in lethal powered armor, trapped aboard the ghostly ruins of a starship buried miles underground. Somewhere amid the twisted, frozen decks, these elite Marines will find themselves wrapped in an ancient mystery and a life-or-death battle to see who will become... the DOMINANT SPECIES.

    When an opportunity to join the Mechanized Infantry presents itself, Pete is first in line. He knows that he's going to get shot at one way or another, but the idea of sitting in a warm and more importantly, dry mechanized suit appeals to him almost beyond reason. While still training in the jungle, Pete's squad is called out to intervene in a skirmish in a nearby village. Of course, the Marines haven't seen fit to certify his squad with ordnance. The fact that they'll be up against a platoon of squishies doesn't convince him that's it's any better of an idea and things turn quickly to crap when they discover the squishies are protected by grav-tanks. Pete, Popeye and Olive is a fast paced, short-story with plenty of action.

    More suited for the academy than combat, his assignment to a rear echelon support squadron seemed a good fit. Everything changed when the Sleer attacked Earth’s newly salvaged spacecraft, UEF Ascension. In a flash, Brooks goes from fleeing a burning transport plane to piloting a broken mech and learning the habits of a fighter pilot from Lt Sara Rosenski, the terror of Nightmare Squadron.But his rising star takes a hit when he learns to talk to the Sleer AI, Genukh…and suddenly the UEF doesn’t know whose side he’s on.Now Brooks and Rosenski are stuck aboard Earth’s Sleer weapon—the Battle Ring--and they may be all that stands between Earth and its induction into the Sleer Empire…Experience the start of a Military Science Fiction Series perfect for fans of Rick Partlow, Jamie McFarlane, and Joshua Dalzelle.

    

    Together, they built the only ship capable of bringing Eli home. But on the eve of their departure, it disappears. Their quest to find it exposes a conspiracy to destroy all life in the universe — a plan they can't stop without their one-of-a-kind ship.For years, Geddy didn't need anything or anyone but a custom-made blaster and a couple fingers of Old Earth whisky. But since triggering the industrial accident that forced the evacuation of Earth 2, he's only had Eli for company. A daring escape off-planet lands him aboard a creaky salvage trawler with a plucky crew and the galaxy's worst business model.But stalwart friends are better than any weapon. With the help of Eli, his oddball crew, and their trusty trawler, Geddy must traverse the cosmos in order to track down his ship and save the universe. Each thrilling, hilarious new adventure brings them closer to the truth but ever farther from a decent steak.If you like solid sci-fi with a generous dose of wit, the scale of Guardians of the Galaxy, and the offbeat alien characters of Men In Black and The Orville, you'll devour Rocket Repo: Book 1 of Reassembly.

    Robot probes find an ancient tunnel beneath the surface, its walls carved with strange hieroglyphics. Led by elite engineer Alexis Vonderach, a team of scientists descends into the dark... where they confront a savage race older than mankind...FIRST CONTACTBased on the award-winning short story, The Frozen Sky is a new full-length sci fi thriller novel from the international bestselling author of Plague Year.

    He’d gone on more Runs and killed more aliens than any single Human alive. He’d been one of the early volunteers for the NT-4 Program, which used a powerful performance-enhancing drug to turn ordinary Marines into super killing machines. Affectionately called REV, the drug wasn’t for everyone. Few made it through the screening process, and fewer still into the Fleet.Zac was the most-senior REV alive, a miracle of science and a legend in the Corps. His job was to be the battering ram for the Marines, the first in while revved up on NT-4. During a Run he was a mindless killing machine, dangerous to both foe and friend alike. That’s why his fellow Marines gave him a wide berth until he could be put down by the Twilight drug. At that point he was somewhat manageable.But something was happening to Zac. Long after most other REVs were dead, burned out or ‘retired,’ he was growing stronger, more powerful.He was also doing something else unheard of for a REV on a Run. He was beginning to think.

    So begins the story of Sonia MacTaggert. An engineer by education with dreams of actually earning a living as one, she is stuck in a dead-end maintenance job servicing the engines of starships that put into port at Tammuz. When she finally lands an engineering position on the starship Night Searcher, she finds herself thrust into the unfamiliar world of interstellar exploration on a ship with a classified mission. Has her quest for a new life and career gotten Sonia more than she bargained for? The voyage of the Night Searcher tests not only the technical savvy of the fledgling engineer, but her character and leadership, as she's faced with challenges she could never have seen coming.

    Power outages plague key cities and military bases, causing wide spread panic and chaos. Only the Space Agency seems to have a grasp on the situation but with all their combined resources, they’re baffled. Captain Warren Miller races to join his colleagues in the Agency headquarters, hoping to convince his superiors to launch their latest space craft, the battlecruiser Leviathan, which may be able to defy this intruder. In the absence of communication, he hopes a little intimidation might bring about a conversation. But then smaller objects descend upon the Earth, grabbing up people from all over the globe. Captain Miller never makes it back to base, forcing the Agency to scramble for a response. With the weight of an expectant world beating down on them and the alien threat looming above, they have no choice but to engage the enemy or simply witness history in the making.

    Until they came true.Doms. Dungeons. Kneeling at the feet of my Master. I’ve had naughty fantasies for as long as I can remember, but I never had the nerve to follow through on them. Besides, where would I find a sex club or a guy into D/s who wouldn’t turn out to be a serial killer? I’m a short, curvy kindergarten teacher in a small town where everybody knows your business.So when I heard about the Centauri Brides program, I poured a glass of Chardonnay for courage and filled out an application. It says they’re looking for women willing to travel to a new world and mate with the aliens who live there.There’s a footnote: Centauri warriors are strong, passionate aliens. Their culture requires females to obey their dominant mates or face the consequences, including the possibility of physical punishment. Do not apply if you are unwilling to accept these terms.Do not apply? Hah! Reading that made me want to sign up even more.I’ve been paired with a sexy seven-foot alien who changes color when he gets turned on. He’s everything I ever dreamed of – strong, smart, caring. And soo hot!I can leave the program – but only after I’ve stayed with him for 30 days. So I have a whole month to live out every wild and wicked fantasy I’ve ever had, no strings attached, then go back to my comfortable, safe life on Earth.Submitting to this dominant male is so much more thrilling than I ever imagined it would be. But I have a huge problem. He’s demanding more than my obedience.He wants my heart.And with every day that goes by, I’m getting closer to giving it to him.Centauri Brides is a brand new series, a spinoff from the popular Centauri Captives. Each book is a standalone featuring masterful alien warrior males and the strong, smart Earth women who love them. And who have the skills it takes to build a brand new world. As always, USA Today Bestselling Authors Kallista Dane and Kate Richards promise an HEA in every story.