Military Opera

Phil Kelly continues his look at the life of Commander Farsight with his first campaign against the full might of the Imperium and shows how the T'au Empire's technological superiority fares against Imperial grit.

Humans expanded into space...only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union used the Earth and its excess population for colonists and soldiers. It was a good arrangement...for the Colonial Union. Then the Earth said: no more.

Bean's past was a battle just to survive. He first appeared on the streets of Rotterdam, a tiny child with a mind leagues beyond anyone else. He knew he could not survive through strength; he used his tactical genius to gain acceptance into a children's gang, and then to help make that gang a template for success for all the others. He civilized them, and lived to grow older. Then he was discovered by the recruiters for the Battle School.

The Aftermath of a stunning victory—especially an unexpected, complete, and final victory—should be high-fives all around, listening to politicians give boring congratulatory speeches, and a well-deserved rest for the Merry Band of Pirates. Yes, the galaxy is still a freakin' mess, but that is nothing new, and for a change, that can be someone else's problem. Until, you know, something really bad happens, and only the Pirates can deal with the problem... Or not.

Andrew Wiggin is told that he can no longer live on Earth, and he realizes that this is the truth. He has become far more than just a boy who won a game: he is the Savior of Earth, a hero, a military genius whose allegiance is sought by every nation of the newly shattered Earth Hegemony. He is offered the choice of living in isolation on Eros, at one of the Hegemony's training facilities, but instead the 12-year-old chooses to leave his home world and begin the long relativistic journey out to the colonies.

For years Gregory Roarke and his Kadolian partner Selene worked as crocketts, combing through the atmospheres of uninhabited worlds for places that might be colonized or hold valuable resources. Now, they work for the Icarus Group, a top-secret government organization hunting for portals created by a long-vanished alien race, portals that can teleport a person hundreds or thousands of light-years in the blink of an eye. Usually, those hunts are long and tedious. But Roarke has now been handed an intriguing offer.

Throughout the Fourteen Worlds of humanity, no race is as feared and respected as the Dorsai. The ultimate warriors, they are known for their deadly rages, unbreakable honor, and fierce independence. No man rules the Dorsai, but their mastery of the art of war has made them the most valuable mercenaries in the known universe. Donal Graeme is Dorsai, taller and harder than any ordinary man. But he is different as well, with talents that maze even his fellow Dorsai. And once he ventures out into the stars, the future will never be the same....

The Church of God Awaiting's triumph over Charis was inevitable. Despite its prosperity, the Charis was a single, small island realm. It boasted less than 2 percent of the total population of Safehold. How could it possibly resist total destruction? The Church had every reason to be confident of a swift, crushing victory, an object lesson to other rebels.

“Blind eyes closed, but all-seeing. What was broken, mend and shatter. Orphan child, man of letters, tower keeper, castle feller. Body render, never feeling. What was severed, consume. Left hand hunger. Right devour. Starbreaker, death’s victor. Starbreaker, world eater. Starbreaker, awake.” —Prophecy of Aion Origin, date unknown

“Ten thousand Trillian ships streaming across the border,” echoed on every communications device throughout the empire. Admiral Merkin is called out of retirement to lead the Empire forces against the incoming armada. Depleted by the civil war, he doesn’t have enough ships or men. The Empire’s survival hangs on a thread. Surrender is not an option. The Trillians don’t take prisoners.

Peace and a secure future are within the grasp of the Rangers and Osay colonists…if they can withstand the coming Reclamation Fleet. But first, they must deal with old enemies and the mysterious RUPAC research stations that will finally allow Reach, Brody, and company understand just where all of Amir’s various factions truly stand.

From the site of Anakin Skywalker’s last stand—on the molten surface of the planet Mustafar, where he sought to destroy his friend and former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi—a fearsome specter in black has risen. Once the most powerful Knight ever known to the Jedi Order, he is now a disciple of the dark side, a lord of the dreaded Sith, and the avenging right hand of the galaxy’s ruthless new Emperor. Seduced, deranged, and destroyed by the machinations of the Dark Lord Sidious, Anakin Skywalker is dead . . . and Darth Vader lives.

When Terra knelt to an alien Imperium, they guaranteed our safety and our future. But now their enemies are coming for us. To preserve humanity's survival and freedom in a hostile galaxy, Annette Bond tied her world to the A!Tol Imperium, taking on the mantle of Duchess of Terra to rule humanity in the Imperium's name. The A!Tol have provided technology, ships, and money to uplift the new Duchy of Terra, but those gifts come with strings attached. The Imperium has their own plan for Terra - but Bond has tricks of her own.

A war-weary Battle Group Praxis arrives at the Knight world of Kamidar, ruled by the Iron Queen Orlah, to return the queen's slain daughter and heir, who died in Guilliman's name. In truth, the Imperium's mission here is twofold: to strip Kamidar of its resources in order to resupply the flagging armada, and to prepare the Ironhold Protectorate to become part of the defensive Anaxian Line, a crucial bulwark for the Indomitus Crusade.

They refuse to die like they are told. The Republic is dead. Its fleets shattered, its people slaughtered, and its warriors left to die in the void. But not all of them. Sergeant Doug "Blackcat" Ericson is one of the last Ronin—elite special operations armsmen of the fallen Republic—now hunted as terrorists by the same corporate overlords who orchestrated its destruction. For Ericson and his scattered brothers and sisters, survival isn’t enough. The Economic Exchange and its ruthless enforcers, Rentak Corporation, will pay in blood. Tasked with infiltrating Bast Station’s Rentak ...

Three years ago, Damien Montgomery was on the run from everyone. That is long past now, as the Mage-King of Mars has plucked him from obscurity to take advantage of his rare and powerful magical gifts. The Mage-King has plans for his newest pupil, but Damien is young and inexperienced. To season the young Mage, he is assigned to one of the warrior-judges that rove the Protectorate's stars, the Hands of the King, as an aide and apprentice.

As the Warmaster's campaign of galactic domination continues, his generals seek out fresh battlefields to conquer. After leaving the Crone World of Iydris behind, Perturabo strikes for Tallarn. A bitter, vengeful primarch, the lord of the Iron Warriors unleashes a deadly bombardment against the world, killing millions but entrenching the survivors. A brutal, all-consuming armoured conflict ensues, the greatest of the war and one that grinds down all combatants over more than a year of relentless battles.

Amir belongs to more than exotic and wild beasts. Alexa, Brody, and the growing colony will cause long-hidden RUPAC elements to rise from the darkness, culminating in a struggle to control the new world. As the enemies of the Osay will find, the most dangerous animals on the planet are Reach and the Rangers. But as the aftermath settles, the colonists realize that sometimes finding answers just leads to more questions...

As Chhun and his fellow Legion Adjudicators work to uncover the buried secrets of the time called the Troubles, the rest of the galaxy isn't just standing still. Organizations both inside and outside of the Republic make moves to prepare for their futures. Planets build their own independent defense forces. Power brokers and criminal cartels arise with personal armadas. The Repub Navy seeks to prove itself just as capable even without the Legion. Piracy blooms.

Han Solo is a fugitive from the Imperial Navy. But he has made a valuable friend in a former Wookiee slave named Chewbacca, who has sworn Han a life debt. Han will need all the help he can get. For the Ylesian Hutts have dispatched the dreaded bounty hunter Boba Fett to track down the man who already outsmarted them once. But Han and Chewie find themselves in even bigger trouble when they agree to lend their services to the crime lords Jiliac and Jabba the Hutt.