Space Opera First Contact

In the far future, humankind has made contact with numerous other species - and has helped to form the ConSentiency to govern between the species. After suffering under a tyrannous pure democracy that had the power to create laws so fast that no thought could be given to the effects, the sentients of the galaxy found a need for the Bureau of Sabotage (BuSab) to slow the wheels of government, thereby preventing it from legislating recklessly.

As a horrific war with the ruthless Berrillians heats up, a new, more deadly threat arises - a mythical race known as the Last Nightmare, intent on destroying the universe. Once more, fate calls upon Jon Ryan. An alliance is made between old friends and bitter enemies. Cooperation is the only thing that might just save them all. But all the fighting, all the death, and all the suffering are changing Jon. With each passing crisis, his humanity ebbs further and further away.

When the Equal Grasp and other unsavory aliens launch their plot to open humanity up to the stars—in the name of profit, of course—Van and his crew spring into action, fearing the fallout of a world gone mad. With each passing event in his career, Van continues to unravel locked memories, held by Perry, that explain a family history far more violent than he ever imagined.

The McCormacks have their floating city growing in the South Pacific, and their space station well underway. As they continue their quest to unite Earth and bring her into the modern age of space travel and repair her environment before it’s too late, they have to fight with the major powers that aren’t too sure they want to change the status quo. Now they have discovered an incoming asteroid the size of Ceres. What will it take to unite Earth to deal with this threat to its very existence? And what other threats may be lurking there?

Idris Telemmier has uncovered a secret that changes everything – the Architects’ greatest weakness. A shadowy Cartel scrambles to turn his discovery into a weapon against these alien destroyers of worlds. But between them and victory stands self-interest. The galaxy’s great powers would rather pursue their own agendas than stand together against this shared terror. Human and inhuman interests wrestle to control Idris’ discovery, as the galaxy erupts into a mutually destructive and self-defeating war.

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.

We are entering another ice age. In less than a year, my brother and I will freeze to death, unless we starve first. Experts have created biodomes, built tunnels, and rationed food and fuel to make the end more tolerable, for a bit. When Lon of planet Kaipra contacts me, claiming he has the key to our survival, I have to listen. He’ll help humans survive the ice age, but at the ultimate cost—I must agree to leave my brother, my friends, and the entire planet I call home to travel across the galaxy with him. Can I trust him? What are his plans with me? And do I even have a choice? ...

The Grand Mechanism is a machine the size of Saturn's rings that has lain dormant for all recorded history, watched over by the alien Jzat. Now, rogue elements in Jzat and human society conspire to activate it, hoping it will bring them power and opportunity. But the only person who knows the Mechanism's secrets is the Rav'nah Abelisk, a Jzat holy man on sabbatical aboard a vast alien megaship. Believing the Mechanism's activation will bring galactic devastation, Nic Mafalda has to seek out the Abelisk before his sacred knowledge falls into the wrong hands.

The invasion begins! The survey starship Yellowjacket is no pushover, but when an alien force larger than any in living memory appears out of nowhere, she is overwhelmed and left for dead on a hostile world. It's a bad start to the day for Captain Brynn Jameson — and that's before he learns the architect of the invasion has a personal vendetta against him. Now, the resourceful crew must find a way to repair their crippled ship, gather allies, and get back in the fight — before there's no fight left to join. Note: The Stars Dark series is an homage to thrilling pulp sci-fi of yesteryear....

Viceroy Miles Hunt had accomplished the impossible. He gambled the Republic, the RNS Freedom and the entire joint allied fleet in one glorious battle. Secretly, the Zodarks plotted revenge, a restart to hostilities once their spies had found Earth. With peace achieved, new exploration began. Opportunities at new settlements enticed. All believed the threat of annihilation was past them and with that comforting thought, Liam and his Belters headed for their new world. They would build and expand their society—giving the people of Earth an alternative to the Republic.

Humanity has been ravaged by alien war. Will the next encounter spell the end of mankind? Sixteen billion people died in the last alien invasion of the Alliance's colony worlds. When survey ship Captain Jeff Colgan discovers a new alien race, he's required to investigate. But what if the life form is as deadly as the Merkiaari? As the aliens discover Colgan's ship and begin to hunt him down, the captain's mission changes from one of study to one of survival.

Following the explosive events seen in season one of Star Trek: Picard, Raffi Musiker finds herself torn between returning to her old life as a Starfleet Intelligence officer or something a little more tame—teaching at the Academy, perhaps. The decision is made for her though when a message from an old contact—a Romulan spy—is received, asking for immediate aid. With the help of Elnor and assistance from Jean-Luc Picard, Raffi decides to take on this critical mission—and quickly learns that past sins never stay buried. Finding the truth will be complicated, and deadly…

Fergus Ferguson, repo-man, has one job: find the spacecraft Venetia's Sword and steal it back from Arum Gilger, ex-nobleman turned power-hungry trade boss. Finding Gilger in the farthest corner of human-inhabited space, a gas-giant harvesting colony called Cernee, was easy. The hard part will be getting past a field of space mines, hacking into the Sword's compromised AI, and fighting a crew of hostile enemies to take control of the ship. But when a cable car explosion launches Cernee into a civil war, Fergus finds himself caught in the crosshairs.

When Klingon commander Kruge died in combat against James T. Kirk on the Genesis planet back in 2285, he left behind a powerful house in disarray - and a series of ticking time bombs: the Phantom Wing, a secret squadron of advanced Birds-of-Prey; a cabal of loyal officers intent on securing his heritage; and young Korgh, his thwarted would-be heir, willing to wait a Klingon lifetime to enact his vengeance.

Bladerunner and a grievously wounded Charlotte Omandi have escaped from Drac’ath, while also having assured Earth’s survival, by gaining its admission into the Galactic Confederation. Omandi and her crew regroup with their Phadex allies on the hidden refuge planet, Rulia. While there, a long awaited message is unlocked and delivered by Rulia’s lost founder, Talus. It sets off a string of unlikely events that brings Charlotte into a shadowy world of assassins. Meanwhile, Linnea Sorenson travels to the legendary planet Aluria, where strange magics are rumored to exist.

At the end of 2385, in a significant shift of its goals from military back to exploratory, Starfleet sent Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew of the USS Robinson on an extended mission into the Gamma Quadrant. Tasked with a yearlong assignment to travel unknown regions, they set out to fulfill the heart of Starfleet's charter: to explore strange new worlds and to seek out new life and new civilizations.

John Varley's monumental trilogy - Titan, Wizard, and Demon - has achieved cult status, hailed as a modern triumph of the imagination by critics and fans. It begins with humankind's exploration of a massive satellite orbiting Saturn. It culminates in a shocking discovery: the satellite is a giant alien being. Her name is Gaea. Her awesome interior is mind-boggling - because it is a mind. A mind that calls out to explorers...and transforms all who enter.

Qven was created to be a Presger translator. The pride of their Clade, they always had a clear path before them: learn human ways, and eventually, make a match and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presger and the human worlds. The realization that they might want something else isn't "optimal behavior", is the type of behavior that results in elimination.

The Shongairi conquered Earth. In mere minutes, half the human race died, and our cities lay in shattered ruins. But the Shongairi didn't expect the survivors' tenacity. And, crucially, they didn't know that Earth harbored two species of intelligent, tool-using bipeds. One of them, long-lived and lethal, was hiding in the mountains of eastern Europe, the subject of fantasy and legend. When they emerged and made alliance with humankind, the invading aliens didn't stand a chance. Now, a select few blood-drinking immortals are on their way to the Shongairi homeworld.

With the Galactic Republic in ruins and Capriana Prime uninhabitable after Moldark's assault, Magnus and his team are left to pick up the pieces. Hundreds of thousands of refugees need to be evacuated before time runs out. But the Gladio Umbra aren't without their own problems. In desperate need of rest, Colonel Caldwell arranges for the gladias to take refuge on a neutral planet. But Moldark's defeat prompts several key team members to reassess their roles and make decisions that will dramatically shape the Gladio Umbra's future.