Adventure Military Space Opera

Albert Birnbaum was once one of the biggest political talk show hosts around, but these days he’s watching his career enter a death spiral. A stranger offers a solution to his woes, promising to put him back on top. It’s everything Birnbaum wants, but is there a catch? And does Birnbaum actually care if there is? "A Voice in the Wilderness" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

After two years, the collapse of the Terran Commonwealth has finally slowed. With communications networks rebuilding, the Successor States are beginning to look to the future—but for some of these states, that is a future to be forged in fire and conquest. With warlords leading fleets into their stars, the newborn Weston Republic has called for help from every Successor State they could find. Now, James Tecumseh, founder of the Dakotan Confederacy, finds himself fighting shoulder to shoulder alongside Imperator Walkingstick—the man he blames for the fall of the Commonwealth itself.

Working on opposite sides of the galaxy - one in deep space, the other undercover on an occupied planet - and haunted by personal ghosts, Captain Gareth Martinez and Lieutenant Lady Caroline Sula fight to save the Empire from the vicious alien Naxid. In a desperate, audacious bid to stop the Naxid fleet, Martinez makes a move that could win the war…and lose his career. Meanwhile, Sula’s guerilla tactics may not be enough to stop the Naxid - until she tries one deadly final gambit.

As the Realm grows around a Kingsport that is now more massive than any human creation, Dash will find common cause with a race who lurk in the shadows, well beyond the edge of known human space. With ships of a new design, the Realm will turn outward, striking into territory long held by the Deepers and their unholy creatures, wrapped in technology as old as the stars themselves. But the universe is shrinking, thanks to Realm scientists and the efforts of Kai and his brethren, who find that secrets still remain in the hidden places where humans store memory and history - and weapons.

Stranded on an uncivilized world, Captain Thurgood finds himself alone against an entire planet filled with savage beasts and deadly denizens. To top it all off, the Hama are coming for him. Now, he must find a way to unite a people, conquer a planet, steal a ship and get off of Altair. It won’t be easy. All he has are his wits and his grit because no one listened when he asked for a survival bazooka.

Defy the inevitable. Such is the stance of Confederation captain Eric Weston and the crew of the starship Odysseus, patrolling the outer limits of Priminae space, anticipating the Empire's next attacks. Connected with the Terran FTL tech—the transition drive—humanity might stand a chance against the overwhelming forces. Until the entire planetary system goes dark. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Odysseus arrives to find the Empire securing critical intelligence from Priminae ships.

Carried by six Sisters of Battle, each the embodiment of a revered saint, the funerary procession known as the Triumph of Saint Katherine marches from world to world, battlefront to battlefront. Where darkness and heresy are rampant, it brings faith, hope and courage to the warriors of the Imperium. Sister Avra of the Order of Our Martyred Lady is honoured beyond measure to battle alongside the sacred procession in defence of the beleaguered world of Kiros. However, this bold young warrior holds a secret shame in her heart, one she believes can only be redeemed in death.

Trapped in Ga'ee space, Leviathan runs for its life. And the lives of its crew. Declan Payne and Harry Wesson decide to go on the offensive. They have no choice. They can't go home. It only delays the inevitable. The Ga'ee march relentlessly into the space of the seven races while turning an inward eye toward the interloper, the ship they call God1. They direct tens of thousands of Ga'ee carriers to destroy Leviathan. The silicon-based life forms have to be stopped. Declan Payne comes up with a plan, and no one is sold on it, but it's the only plan they have.

Imprisoned on the planet Corellia, Han Solo finds himself at the mercy of his evil cousin, Thracken Sal-Solo. Thracken plans to restore the Imperial system and seize total power no matter what the cost. Han has one chance to stop him. But to do so he must turn his back on his human cousin and join forces with a female alien.

Elim Garak has ascended to Castellan of the Cardassian Union...but despite his soaring popularity, the imminent publication of a report exposing his peoples' war crimes during the occupation on Bajor looks likely to set the military against him. Into this tense situation come Dr. Katherine Pulaski - visiting Cardassia Prime to accept an award on behalf of the team that solved the Andorian genetic crisis - and Dr. Peter Alden, formerly of Starfleet Intelligence.

The Triumvirate comes to conquer Terra Nova, landing an overwhelming assault by the surface by Netherguard and Ultari warships in orbit, laying siege to the human colony. As the battle grinds on, Governor Ken Hale leads the defenders in a desperate battle for survival. Hoping beyond hope that help will arrive in time to save them. Chief Kit Carson and her Pathfinders, with their new-found allies in tow, race home, praying they make it in time and that their efforts are enough to defeat Emperor Kyrios and his forces.

The brutal Yuuzhan Vong are scouring the universe for Jedi to slaughter. With no help from the divided New Republic, the Jedi stand alone against their seemingly invincible foe. Han and Leia Organa Solo risk deadly consequences with their controversial tactics to bolster the Jedi resistance. And after uncovering a new Yuuzhan Vong menace, Anakin and Tahiri find themselves wanted for murder by the Peace Brigade. To avoid capture, they jump into hyperspace - and into far graver trouble.

The United Planets Alliance fought the Kenmiri Empire with a hundred allies at their side. Bound in common cause until genocide broke the Kenmiri—and Kenmiri schemes broke the alliance in turn—those one-time allies still left deep debts of blood and friendship behind. Still, the UPA has forged ahead in the post-Kenmiri times, weaving new economic and military alliances despite their more limited reach. The last thing they are expecting is for a soldier of the Londu, one of those half-forgotten allies, to arrive in Sol itself and ask for help.

The Murkudahl come with a dire warning for humanity... The well-written, fast-paced plot moves from one hair-raising dilemma to another, ramping to a fevered pitch ...The writing is crisp, the pacing excellent! --KIRKUS Reviews For years, humans have exploited the noble alien race, the Murkudahl Kait, harnessing their advanced technology and medical miracles without mercy. What they don’t know is that the Kait are pacifist offshoots of the blood-thirsty Murkudahl Kurukaii, a savage race of warriors who thrive on war and domination. Now, the Kurukaii have learned of the humans' cruelty and...

In a bold and brazen act of treachery, the Royal Martian Navy exploratory cruiser Rose was stolen and is now in the hands of the conspiracy group known as Nemesis. Guilty of a thousand crimes, Nemesis and its leader, Kent Riley, are determined to find proof of the alien threat they have secretly been preparing humanity to face. Set in pursuit by the Mage-Queen of Mars herself, Mage-Captain Roslyn Chambers commands Rose's sister ship, Thorn, in a chase that brings her to the far reaches of the galaxy.

The USS Enterprise has been granted the simple but unavoidable honor of ferrying key guests to Betazed for a cultural ceremony. En route, sudden tragedy strikes a Federation science station on the isolated planet Kota, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard has no qualms sending William Riker, Data, and Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher to investigate. But what begins as routine assignments for the two parties soon descends into chaos: Picard, Worf, and Deanna Troi must grapple with a dangerous diplomatic crisis as historic artifacts are stolen in the middle of a high-profile ceremony.

War rages in the Caradryad Sector. Worlds are falling to madness and rebellion, and the great war machine of the Imperium is moving to counter the threat. Amongst its agents is Inquisitor Covenant. Puritan, psyker, expert swordsman, he reserves an especial hatred for those of his order who would seek to harness the power of Ruin as a weapon. Summoned to an inquisitorial conclave, Covenant believes he has uncovered such a misguided agent and prepares to denounce the heretic Talicto before his fellows.

The Tyr stand on the brink of extinction. The Clay family has one last desperate plan to save the Tyr. Sarah leads an infiltration team of Tyr deep behind the invader's lines, but can she trust the Hidden caste operatives with her? David carries the device that could sever the planet from the threat of Director Zike, while Tyr traitors are on his trail and will stop at nothing to obey their new masters and to exact revenge against General Fastal. As the Tyr fight for survival, secrets will be revealed with implications for the galaxy far beyond what happens on their world.

The extermination of Earth is at hand. With his increasingly irrational leadership Basil Wenceslas, chairman of the Hansa, has driven humanity into a corner. His punitive treatment of the Hansa colonies and the Roamers, as well as his refusal to aid an embattled Theroc, have made enemies for the people of Earth.

CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson has been loaned out to a CDF platoon tasked with secretly removing an unauthorized colony of humans on an alien world. Colonial Ambassador Abumwe has been ordered to participate in final negotiations with an alien race the Union hopes to make allies. Wilson and Abumwe’s missions are fated to cross - and in doing so, place both missions at risk of failure.

We Only Need the Heads is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division.