Daniel Arenson

Earth burns. We call them the scum. They came from deep space. Creatures of claws and endless malice, they ravage the world. As the war flares, as cities crumble, Private Marco Emery....

They called her a relic. They said she would never fly again. They said she was too old. Too large. A floating museum. But now the starship Freedom is the only hope of mankind....

In this anthology, you'll find 17 tales of conflict and heroism, exploration and discovery, endurance and triumph. Flee the apocalypse of modern-day Earth, fly a fighter in the cold emptiness of deep space, and find new life on the distant shores of an alien world....

They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Fifty years ago bloodthirsty aliens devastated the Earth. Most of humanity perished. We fell into darkness. But now we rise....

We hide in shadows. Our planet is lost. We are the last humans, and we must go home. Two thousand years ago, aliens destroyed Earth. Our fleets shattered. Billions died. The last humans fled a burning planet, heading to the stars. Today we are still refugees....

In an ancient world just rising from darkness, weredragons are everywhere. They hide in forests and caves, shunned, afraid, and alone...until a group binds together and stands tall....

Not long ago, the starship Freedom was a museum ship. A relic of a bygone era. A rusty old warship converted into a tourist trap. Then the aliens attacked. Now, once more, the legendary Freedom flies to war....

We call them the grays. For years, they lurked in shadows. For years, they struck from the dark. Kidnapping us. Torturing us. Studying us. Now they unleash their full fury....

We've faced aliens before. But nothing like this. This enemy is stronger, smarter, and crueler by far. And they want to kill us all....

Machines. They fly our starships. Mine our asteroids. Connect us to one another. They serve us without question. But what if the machines rebelled? We call it the Singularity. The day the machines wake up. A day that can destroy humanity....

They emerge from shadows. Hungry for flesh, they scurry forth. They are the marauders, the galaxy's deadliest predators. And they crave Earth....

War flares between man and monster...between Earth and the terror from the stars....

The Aeolians. The galaxy's most mysterious aliens. For a million years, they've been hiding. No human has ever seen them. Until now. James King, commander of the starship Freedom, travels to their secluded world. He seeks to forge an alliance. To learn from the Aeolians....

It begins. The final battle between man and machine. Earth burns. The Dreamer, a cruel artificial intelligence, brutalizes our world. A band of heroes undertakes a dangerous quest. Some call it a suicide mission. They fly to a computerized world, deep in space, where the Dreamer dwells....

Across the ruins of Earth, we rise in rebellion. In the depths of space, we seek allies. And our last warship prepares for one final battle....

The marauders, terrors from deep space, hit us hard. Our starships shattered. Our armies collapsed. Our cities crumbled. As Earth smolders, the marauders imprison us in camps....

It's all-out war. Our cities fall. Millions die. The scum, these cruel aliens from deep space, are determined to kill us all. So we must kill them. Humanity musters its greatest fleet....

The Singularity has come. The machines have risen. Our robots, once loyal servants, now slaughter us. Our cars, planes, and starships have become machines of death. Cyborgs roam the land, deforming humans, growing their twisted army....

The grays, terrors from deep space, overwhelm our fleet. Our starships burn. Our armies shatter. Captains Marco Emery and Addy Linden launch a desperate quest....

Earth burns. After generations in exile, we returned to our long-lost planet. Scarred. Haunted. Survivors. We - the last humans - are finally home. But our enemies still crave our blood....