Showing results by author "Chris Kennedy" in All Categories

The slaughter is on! Across the galaxy, human mercenaries are being ambushed, and an ever-increasing number of companies aren't returning from their contracts. Someone even appears to be plotting the demise of the premier Four Horsemen companies, and disaster for the other three companies has only been averted by the narrowest of margins. Sansar Enkh, the president of The Golden Horde, knows her company is likely to be next, but has no idea who is behind the attacks, or when they will strike her beloved Horde.

Throughout the human experience, historians have wondered “what if?”. What if Sherman had fought for the South in the US Civil War? What if Germany had fought to the end in World War I? What if World War III had actually happened? Wonder no more, for these questions, along with many others, are answered in this audiobook.

The Peacemaker-enforced ceasefire brought an end to the hostilities, but the Mercenary Guild’s moratorium on new contracts has given the other guilds time - and freedom - to redress long-standing grievances. It has also led to a mindset of “while the cat’s away, the mice will play”, and many are taking liberties they wouldn't have normally. On Earth, the Golden Horde continues to rebuild, because Sansar Enkh has a good idea of what’s coming.

The recon by fire mission seemed like a good idea, but things immediately went sideways when the Terran fleet attacked the picket cruiser waiting for them in the first system. The advance then stalled completely when their returning fighters were captured by the Cowlees. Forced to focus on the Shirgan system rather than continuing on toward the Cowlee homeworld of Gsstow, the Terran fleet—barely—survived a string of pyrrhic victories as it sought to enforce its will.

After a stunning victory at the Merc Guild shipyard of Golara, the leaders of the Four Horsemen mercenary units of Earth have decided it’s time to take back the colonies the Merc Guild has captured, and the Horsemen split up to liberate them. While the Merc Guild still has humanity outnumbered, Alexis Cromwell, the leader of the Winged Hussars, has incorporated the ships captured in Golara into her fleet, and she hopes the Humans can achieve local superiority across four systems with her new battleships and her Egleesius cruisers.

The Sutton siblings have pulled off the unthinkable—they defeated a Cowlee force led by one of the princes and returned with more forces than Terra previously had at its disposal. But the Cowlee fleet remains in the Sirius system, unsuspecting, waiting for the return of a prince who will never be back, and the Suttons have an idea on how to make the fleet their own. With very little to lose and everything to gain, the general authorizes their plan, hoping to gain an edge they desperately need over the alien Cowlees.

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.

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.

From the outside, The Lyon’s Den doesn’t look like much; there isn’t even a sign. But Mercs of all species know that if you head to Southwest Houston, near the Starport, there’s a particular run-down strip mall that looks like it’s been abandoned for years. The glass door second from the south end of the strip is plastered over on the inside with blue paper, and the faint golden outline of a rampant lion is the only clue.

Harmon Tomeral and his friends wanted nothing more than to go to space, and they have beaten the odds, time and again. They developed a mech and won the Top Fleet Marine Competition. They brought back a battlecruiser from an unknown system and made it their own. They made allies who helped them achieve great victories, and they ultimately founded new colonies in what has become known as the Salvage System.

The Dusman offered to let humanity become their servitors, but the leaders of Earth’s Four Horsemen were unified in their decision: No, thanks. With the Dusman returning in strength, though, and steadily growing their influence and armed presence, humanity finds itself in a difficult place. The Guild War continues to rage, with planets becoming increasingly desperate for nonexistent help, while the Mercenary Guild continues to sit on its hands, despite Nigel Shirazi’s attempts to break the deadlock.

The Goltar were marginalized, and the Veetanho did everything they could to make the galaxy forget the Goltar had ever existed. The Goltar went quietly, pretending to sulk and accept their fate but they never did. They worked in the shadows, amassing power and resources, always looking for the right time and right opportunity to re-emerge and strip the hated Veetanho of everything they owned. In the depths of the Spine Nebula, a fly-over region known only for the bad luck of its inhabitants and the dangers that lurks in its fringes, the Goltar have a secret weapon.

Edited by Jamie Ibson and Chris Kennedy, We Dare is a collection of 15 all-new stories that explores the use of augmented humanity in the near future. From getting a new personality loaded with the skills you need for a mission to nanobots that keep you from being killed to creating an indestructible tank, anything is possible!

On Earth, the moratorium on mercenary contracts is disrupting Jim Cartwright’s efforts to stand up the new Terran Federation. Making matters worse, Jim has received intelligence that someone is squatting on asteroids in our Solar System...and Sansar Enkh is pretty sure they don’t have Earth’s best interests in mind. Fearing the aliens have plans for another invasion - or worse - Jim takes his ship, Bucephalus, and sets off to investigate.

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.

Sixteen years ago, during a pause in the Algarian War, Duke Alessio Valente implemented a coup in the Star Kingdom of Narantea, killing King Altan Kotaro and Queen Brooke Kotaro. Before he died, though, the king gave his four children, Kellye, Yoshi, Jonatan, and Jayme Kotaro, to four trusted advisors and told them to take them to where they’d never be found.

Well, Hellen, Andrew, and Jayme are together again, although the fourth child—Jonatan—remains an unknowing captive of Duke Alessio Valente, who has unjustly usurped the throne after killing the previous king and queen. Now, however, isn’t the time for them to take back the kingship, as the war with the Algarians still rages. Worse, the Kotaro children have discovered that the war previously was a sham arranged by Valente and the Algarian queen… but now, it’s very much for real, and the Algarians are making a concerted effort to destroy the Narantean Kingdom.

Although Will Johnson and the Sutton siblings didn't gain as big an edge as they had hoped by attacking the Cowlee fleet in the Salchan system, they successfully captured an enemy cruiser and returned with a new ally in their fight against the Cowlees. They also returned with an opportunity—having destroyed most of the enemy battle station in the Shirgan system, the way was open into Cowlee territory, where a blitzkrieg attack might throw the Cowlees off balance and keep them away from Earth for a while longer.

Salvage System is a beacon of hope, and a number of other races continue looking toward it as an inspiration for how to live and govern themselves, and - in some cases - for assistance in defending themselves and throwing off oppressive regimes. But the galaxy is a big place, and many of the races in it aren’t friendly. Would these forces like to take over Salvage System and acquire its resources? Absolutely.

A half millennia ago, Siolene’s enemies took everything from her, including, they thought, her life. Against all odds, she survived in cryo stasis, and thanks to the pirate captain who rescued her, she built a new family and a new life as Queen of Ajen. But old enmities die hard, and when the lives of her children are threatened, there is only one choice left for her: Siolene must trust in her found family, in her husband, and in his enigmatic fixer as they return to face the enemy on his own ground. It may cost her everything she’s built, but Siolene cannot fail.