Space Opera First Contact

The Dread Empire of the Shaa is no more, following the death of the last oppressor. But freedom remains elusive for the myriad sentient races enslaved for 10 centuries, as an even greater terror arises. The Naxids - a powerful insectoid species themselves subjugated until the recent Shaa demise - plan to fill the vacuum with their own bloody domination and have already won a shattering victory with superior force and unimaginable cruelty. But two heroes survived the carnage at Magaria: Lord Gareth Martinez and the fiery, mysterious gun pilot Lady Caroline Sula.

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.

Pyre's humans suffer multiple cultural shocks. They discovered the Messinants dome, an ancient construction that houses a quantum-coupled gate. More shocking, they find that sentient alien races utilize a network of these domes to journey between their far distant worlds in pursuit of alliance matters. If humans wish to join this elite collection of sentients, they must contribute significantly in trade, tech, or something of equal value.

Michael Poole finds himself in a very strange landscape.... This is the centre of the Galaxy. And in a history without war with the humans, the Xeelee have had time to built an immense structure here. The Xeelee Belt has a radius 10,000 times Earth's orbital distance. It is a light-year in circumference. If it was set in the solar system, it would be out in the Oort Cloud, among the comets - but circling the sun. If it was at rest, it would have a surface area equivalent to about 30 billion Earths. But it is not at rest: it rotates at near light speed.

The Dusman have accepted the Humans as allies but have given no indications as to what their long-term intentions are. Their goals have to be large, though, as they continue to spread their influence across the Human colonies…and beyond. Fighting continues to rage between the guilds, both in the shadows and out in the open for all to see. Although one of the Synthetic Intelligences has been killed, the others are now restive, acting from the shadows to affect events galaxy-wide. As the end of The Guild Wars draws near, one thing is certain—the tempest will rage until the very end.

Earth seceded from its suzerains' state and declared independence. Naturally, such a bold move did not go unnoticed by its powerful neighbors in space, who had aggressive plans for the inhabitable yet overly self-reliant planet. With black clouds gathering and the term of safety growing ever shorter, positive lines of the probable future for Earth's humanity and its allies were nowhere to be seen despite all Gnat the Devourer's efforts and unique abilities.

Former Marine Will Hawthorne has defeated the Gates of the Golden Staff, but the remnants of the cult have escaped with the tools he needs to finally save his adopted world. Searching for their last stronghold, he and three of his closest wives - fox-girl Merindra, cat-girl Narilora, and bat-girl Mereceeree - must trek deep into the Taitalan wilderness in hopes of destroying the cult once and for all.

Hudson Powell and Tory Bellona scour the galaxy for priceless alien artefacts found inside wrecked starships called Revocaters. Once the guardians of life in the universe, the Revocaters were destroyed by a super-powered AI, known as Goliath. Thwarted before it could finish its task, Goliath has now returned to fulfil its purpose, and wipe out all sentient life in the universe.

The BSR crew have worked hard, getting the Slow Boatmen settled. They deserve a little time off at home in the Holler. Just kicking back, watching the world go by. Their shepherd has other ideas, of course.

The classic far-future novel about the telepathic bond of friendship between human and animal from the grande dame of science fiction and fantasy. Exiled after his home planet was turned into a military outpost following an interstellar war, Troy Horan is relocated to the planet of Korwar. Under the watchful eye of the police state, he lives in the slums in a restricted area for sub-citizens. He works as a day laborer in an interplanetary pet shop and has no idea why the Terran animals have been imported to Korwar or why he has the ability to silently communicate with them.

Until the Confederation created Allora, it had produced SADEs (self-aware digital entities) for hundreds of years with enormous consistency and harnessed their capabilities to power the society. But this particular young SADE was disturbed by her confinement. Trapped in metal-alloy housing on the bridge of a luxury passenger liner, Allora sought to possess the same freedom enjoyed by humans, who came and went from her starship with abandon.

Ever want revenge so bad you'd cross the galaxy for it? U.S. Marine Jake Bayard does. After a telepathic killer executes his pregnant wife, he hunts the psycho through warp gates—straight to Atlantis. This Atlantis is an ocean world drowning in secrets. Under the waves lurk genetically altered horrors, airship-riding reptilian warriors, and relics of Nazi U-boats. Worst of all, something vast and hungry stirs in the deepest trenches—a cosmic evil the Atlanteans once sank their whole civilization to contain.

With the Merc Guild opening up contracts again, it’s Zuul eat Zuul to get one, as there are far more companies looking for work than there are contracts to be had. So when Taylor Van Zant gets an inside line on a 30-million-credit contract for Swamp Eagle Security, he races to Karma to throw his hat in the ring. Unfortunately, Taylor arrives to find that the other North Florida mercenary company - the River Hawk Defense Group - is also bidding, and Taylor is forced to watch as they steal the contract out from under the Eagles.

Civil war on the world of the atevi is over, but diplomatic disputes and political infighting continue unabated. Bren Cameron, brilliant human diplomat allied with the dominant Western Association, has just returned to the capital from his country home. But his sojourn was anything but restful, for Bren and his associates have had a small war of their own to contend with, ending with rebel leader, Machigi, joining the atevi congress representing the rebels as a member state.

After narrowly escaping a brutal attack, Chief Kit Carson and her surviving Pathfinders reach the Zeis Homeworld. Their mission is to seek new allies among the uncharted stars continues, but first they must end the insurrection tearing across the planet, threatening the fragile negotiations. Governor Ken Hale is in a desperate race against time to build up the colony’s defenses. When his new soldiers are found dead on the colony’s streets, he must turn to a retired assassin to help hunt down the deranged killer.

For millennia, the Shaa have subjugated the universe, forcing the myriad sentient races to bow to their joyless tyranny. But the Shaa will soon be no more. The Dread Empire is in its rapidly fading twilight, and with its impending fall comes the promise of a new galactic order...and bloody chaos. A young Terran naval officer marked by his lowly birth, Lt. Gareth Martinez is the first to recognize the insidious plot of the Naxid - the powerful, warlike insectoid society that was enslaved before all others - to replace the masters’ despotic rule with their own.

Nine hundred Vennans undertake a cultural exchange to Tradepoint, a space station where aliens from different worlds meet to do business. A young and gifted Speaker, Gredin, is translator and diplomat for the happy occasion. But a horrific vision shatters her first night’s sleep on Tradepoint. Venna, their homeworld, has been destroyed. Now, the safety of the only Vennans left in all of time and space, rests on Gredin’s young shoulders. Stunned and grieving, she navigates trade wars and political prejudice, bartering with other races. And the cost of failure is the unthinkable.

First contact has been made, and Earth's militaries and its premier mercenary companies stand ready to take their first tentative steps outside the solar system. With a galaxy of aliens to explore and fistfuls of credits to be made, follow along as the Four Horsemen select their contracts and venture forth to meet their destinies.

Former Marine Arthur Holland’s destiny begins when an aircraft crashes on his property in the mountains of Colorado. He moves to investigate and to help any survivors, but the closer he gets the less control he has of his movements. An unknown force urges him to open the door of the mysterious craft, discovering the secret that lies within: a dead, alien pilot and a peculiar, otherworldly crystal. If that wasn’t enough, the crystal feels like it is alive. That’s when he hears a single word inside his mind: run.

In Saucer Holler, the crew come back to Earth to have some babies and catch up on some well-deserved R&R. Babies attract mother-in-laws, though, and Bob has one for the books. The crew of the Gene are off to take Joanna’s new friend home in Roo the Day. Finding derelicts with no survivors gets them down, and one of them brings Topper to a crisis of conscience. When they find a ship that looks like Zoom built it, Bob hires the builder.