Space First Contact

The planet of Azure is nearly idyllic: There is a high standard of living, industry is booming, and the two races — Human and Wrogul — get along well with each other most days. But underneath it all, there is tension between the races. Despite having no reason for it, the Humans don’t always trust the Wrogul, and there is a faction within the Wrogul community that doesn’t want its young growing up “Human.”

A war brews between the voidtouched and those who wish to preserve the universe. When the Athena starts to malfunction, I set a course for the planet where she was first built. It’s a place that’s been overlooked by all the other species, and it’s where the secret of my starship’s creation can be found. But this planet harbors those who would do not only me harm, but my ship and my crew. It’s here where the war will begin in earnest. The survival of the universe depends on the Athena and the secrets she holds.

It’s the 22nd century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There’s just one catch: We are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain, and there’s only one way for humanity to move up - by becoming mercenaries. In every mercenary’s life, though, there comes a time when things go wrong and even the best laid plans go awry.

Escaping intergalactic kidnappers has never been quite so ridiculous. When Lem and her faithful dog, Spock, retreat from the city for a few days of hiking in Algonquin Park, the last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by aliens. No, scratch that. The last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by a bunch of strangely adorable intergalactic bounty hunters aboard a ship called the Teapot. After Lem falls in with an unlikely group of allies, the gang must devise a cunning plan to escape their captors and make it back home safely.

When a new Srack overlord ambushes Jake and his apprentices, they are served a painful lesson in humility. Only the timely arrival of Vilak, The One Who Vanishes, saves their lives, and that isn't going to work twice. The fate of Earth, Calden, and several other planets is at stake. Fortunately, the events of the past have provided a plan for the future. All they must do is find four ancient weapons and pass a series of tests on the Ulniiri homeworld. Then the real fighting can begin.

From world to world, whispers are spreading of these powerful new augments. Branded as renegades, Ero and his brother, Skorn, are hunted by dangerous enemies, including Visika, the head of the Burning Ghosts, the most feared criminal organization across the Empire. Hoping to recruit more soldiers for House Bright’Lor, Captain Reklin returns to the Hammerdin homeworld, only to find his family threatened by clan leaders. His best chance to keep his family safe is the Sovereign Crucible - a fight to the death against a clan champion.

You have glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer, and have less than a month to live. What price would you be willing to pay for a cure? Any price? Are you sure? Kayla, a 17-year-old teenager, and others with an assortment of lethal medical conditions are about to find out the price of life.

As the relentless approach of a truly gargantuan mothership sparks chaos on Earth, many believe the end times are here. The unknown beings are more technologically advanced than humanity can even comprehend, let alone match. For the first time since Dan McCarthy's initial contact with aliens a full 16 years earlier, the whole world is united against an existential threat. But while billions understandably cower in fear, a few stand defiant. A showdown is coming. And be it on Earth or in space, the McCarthys will be there.

Relationships get complicated when you don’t know who - or what - you really are. Esen must find a way to rescue a hapless group of chimeras, beings who are a new and unique blend of species she knows, when she can’t become one herself. When Evan Gooseberry tries to help, he is shattered to learn he himself isn’t entirely Human and begins to suspect his new friend Esen isn’t what she seems. Complicating matters, a mysterious contagion has killed the crew of the ship that brought the chimeras - and Evan - to Botharis.

Earth's days are numbered. Two very different women race to prepare for the battle to come. The future of Earth is in their hands. One struggles to resurrect her ruined ship so she can navigate the politics at the galactic core in a desperate bid to recruit allies. The other strives to master alien technology to supply the forces of Earth with the tools needed to defend themselves against the ravenous Swarm.

In the far reaches of the solar system, the outer planets - billions of miles from Earth, unknown for millennia - are being settled. Neptune, the ice giant, is swathed in clouds of hydrogen, helium, and methane and circled by rings of rock and dust. Three years ago, Ilona Magyr’s father, Miklos, disappeared while exploring the seas of Neptune. Everyone believes he is dead - crushed, frozen, or boiled alive in Neptune’s turbulent seas.

Outpost One: Resistance, the peacekeeping station in alliance space, is mired in political turmoil and dangerous conditions from the Colony, a race of giant devouring insectoids. Commander Jess Cinders and Admiral Lucia Bellardo fight the troubles besieging the outpost from multiple directions. Sand serpents, Usaanans, are suspected of undercutting outpost contracts, necessitating Major Sam Fleetfoot investigate the source of their production.

The Empire has set its sights on its next target: human Terrans. As effective allies of the Priminae, the denizens of Earth have proven themselves enemies to the Empire, and now the Imperial forces know more about the Terran home world than ever before.

Nearly 100,000 years after first contact with the machines that dominate the universe, only a few hundred humans survive. Trapped on Snowglade, a barren world near the center of the galaxy, Killeen and his child, Toby, of the Bishop Tribe, are primitive scavengers, homeless and hunted by the ruling “mechs”. Then suddenly, a strange cosmic entity – neither organic nor cybernetic or living matter – reaches out from a black hole to speak with Killeen.

It is 2076: Lancer, Earth’s first starship, is on a mission to find interstellar civilizations. Although astronaut Nigel Walmsley’s experiences with alien encounters make him the expert, no one believes Nigel’s theory that machines are the dominant intelligent beings left in the galaxy and that their purpose is to annihilate all organic life. Then the explorers discover once-living planets where only machines remain – and ruined worlds where fugitive survivors must evade omnipresent and lethally advanced A.I. warships.

Sam has been on a mission assassinating alien threats, but the final days are upon us - the enemy is on our doorstep. They won't stay there for long if the Shadow Corps has anything to say about it. Winning this fight will require training on distant planets, great sacrifices, and learning to trust new friends.

Imperium executors face daunting pressure to control their territories. The assembly’s election of a presiding executor upsets the body’s balance of power. A moderate, Gaketork, wins the election, unseating Rebtar. As required by Imperium law, Rebtar is forced to trade territories with Gaketork. Rebtar inherits a territory where a conclave fleet resides. Despite the Imperium’s peacekeepers being ejected by conclave forces from there, the executor orders both patrol fleets to return. This sets up a dangerous collision between the Krackus fleets and the conclave ships.

Gaining strength as he moves through the galaxy, Zade is beginning to get a feel for his new ship and crew. Although his main purpose is to find Earth so he can help protect them from forces like the Unity and Domain, the enormity of his task has started to wear on him. A broken and barely understandable radio signal pulls him and the crew from their slump. Can Anne triangulate the location of Earth? How long has it been since he got taken? What will he find when he gets there? Zade has to grapple with those questions as he makes a beeline for home.

Colton Beck has done the improbable. With the aide of his allies, he’s managed to save the Rusa. Just when they think it’s time to focus on their new planet, Desmond returns, asking for a favor. The Ministry of Realms, thought to be destroyed by Drunal years before, still exists, and they’re hiding in the deep reaches of the River. To find them, the team follows a trail of clues, leading to a surprise, no one could have expected.

As a new recruit on her father’s base on an alien world, Jennifer Raynor followed her father’s footsteps in becoming a soldier when her mother died. On a bright and beautiful world full of Sara, she would prove her worth. On what should have been a routine day, a single Nulani alien approached their base. Through a series of catastrophic events, she is forced to flee into the jungle alone without technology, armed with only her rifle and the will to survive.