Books like 'Returning'
Readers who enjoyed Returning by Joynell Schultz also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
futuristic sc-fi post-apocalyptic colonization dystopia space-opera first-contact galactic-empire
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Divergent Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Kate Egan
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 65 ratingsVeronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling novel Divergent is now a major motion picture starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet!With never-before-seen photos; personal interviews with the directors, actors, and writers; and exclusive extras, this lush, oversize volume is a true behind-the-scenes look at the filming of Divergent... -
![Compete by Vera Nazarian]()
Compete by Vera Nazarian
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIt's one thing to Qualify…But do you have what it takes to Compete?With Earth about to be destroyed by an extinction level asteroid, teenage nerd, geek, and awkward smart girl Gwen Lark, and a few of her friends and loved ones, barely Qualified for rescue onboard one of the thousands of ark-ships headed to the ancient colony planet Atlantis... -
![The Scientist, the Rat, and the Assassin by Sara King]()
The Scientist, the Rat, and the Assassin by Sara King
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis is what happens when, in the chaos of an alien apocalypse where the all-powerful galactic empire of Congress has laid the smackdown on Earth for breaking its universal laws on genetic experimentation, the world's smartest human (sort of) swears to obey the galaxy's greatest assassin (definitely) on Wednesdays through Mondays, if she will give him Tuesdays in turn...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact galactic-empire post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult aliens -
![The Legend of ZERO: The Scientist, the Rat, and the Assassin by Sara King]()
The Legend of ZERO: The Scientist, the Rat, and the Assassin by Sara King
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThis is what happens when, in the chaos of an alien apocalypse where the all-powerful galactic empire of Congress has laid the smackdown on Earth for breaking its universal laws on genetic experimentation, the world's smartest human (sort of) swears to obey the galaxy's greatest assassin (definitely) on Wednesdays through Mondays, if she will give him Tuesdays in turn...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact galactic-empire post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult aliens -
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![Win by Vera Nazarian, Sofia Willingham]()
Win by Vera Nazarian, Sofia Willingham
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsBook III of the series, The Atlantis Grail. The official summary has not been published...Categorized as:
colonization dystopia galactic-empire post-apocalyptic action-adventure aliens audiobook book -
![Dauntless by Jay Allan]()
Dauntless by Jay Allan
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe pulsar…an ancient weapon of unimaginable power, one that threatens the Confederation with total destruction. The Union is preparing for the final invasion, one that cannot fail with the great artifact at the head of their fleet. The clock is ticking quickly toward midnight. There is a chance to avoid annihilation, a small one... -
![Zero Recall by Sara King]()
Zero Recall by Sara King
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIt's been 53 turns after the legendary Commander Zero graduated as a Congie warrior. Joe, now a battle hardened veteran, has spent his life surviving wars he had no right to survive. Yet his real test is coming: New forces are conspiring to start a great war like the universe has never seen, one that would rip apart the very fabric of Congress...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact galactic-empire post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure aliens book -
![Little Lies by Bella Forrest]()
Little Lies by Bella Forrest
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"I’ve got orders to take you in, immediately!” Reunite with Robin, Jace, and their team, as they dive deeper into Nathan's well-meaning, yet complex plan..Categorized as:
dystopia post-apocalyptic action-adventure audiobook book fiction futuristic young-adult -
![Unforgiven by M.R. Forbes]()
Unforgiven by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSheriff Hayden Duke was born on the starship Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him. He’s got a long way to go before he can rest. How can he when the entire world is under siege? By demonic aliens. By a brutal thug who calls himself King. By an unknown and powerful threat that may be responsible for the end of humankind. The road may be long. The odds may be bad... -
![Earth Unrelenting by M.R. Forbes]()
Earth Unrelenting by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA fugitive captured. A hero forsaken. A secret revealed. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Three days. That’s what they promised. But on Earth the danger is unrelenting, and promises are hard to keep. Now Sheriff Duke is the one on the run, chased by an unexpected enemy eager to finish what they started. An enemy with an agenda that begins with killing him but ends with something worse... -
![The Earth Dwellers by David Estes]()
The Earth Dwellers by David Estes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Earth Dwellers is the 4th book in BOTH The Dwellers Saga and The Country Saga. The author recommends that BOTH series are read in their entirety before reading this book (The Moon Dwellers, The Star Dwellers, The Sun Dwellers, Fire Country, Ice Country, Water Storm Country)... -
![Earth Unknown by M.R. Forbes]()
Earth Unknown by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA terrible discovery.A secret that could destroy human civilization.A desperate escape to the most dangerous planet in the universe... Earth.Two hundred years ago, a fleet of colony ships left Earth and started a settlement on Proxima Centauri...Centurion Space Force pilot Nathan Stacker didn't expect to return home to find his wife dead... -
![Confederation by Michael R. Hicks]()
Confederation by Michael R. Hicks
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the second book of the In Her Name science fiction & fantasy series, Reza Gard has been banished from the Kreelan Empire and is once again a stranger in a strange land as he returns to the human Confederation. Befriended by a marooned Confederation naval officer leading a desperate fight against the Kreelans on a distant colony world, she reunites Reza with Nicole Carré...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact galactic-empire post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult aliens -
![Double Down by M.R. Forbes]()
Double Down by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWith the memory of their losses fresh on Hayley and Quark’s minds, they head for a meetup with one of the only individuals in the galaxy who might be able to help them handle the coming storm. But the enemy always seems to be one step ahead of them, ready to intercept at every turn and forcing them to make even more sacrifices along the way... -
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![Far from Home by Kate L. Mary]()
Far from Home by Kate L. Mary
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHow far would you go to survive the apocalypse? As the only child in an upper-middle class family, Rowan has had it easy. Doted on by a mother who never wanted anything but a child to love, she's never wanted for anything. Kiaya’s life, however, has been anything but easy... -
![Endure by M.R. Forbes]()
Endure by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe journey of the starship Pioneer continues in the fourth thrilling installment of the Forgotten Starship series.The ship is in dire straits, deep behind enemy lines and on the verge of capture. While Tyson fights to prepare a defense, other forces work to ensure his ultimate failure as they seek to claim one of Pioneer’s few remaining secrets...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact galactic-empire post-apocalyptic space-opera adult aliens book -
![Evolve by M.R. Forbes]()
Evolve by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeries Finale!The starship Pioneer’s voyage is coming to an end, and it won’t be like anything the passengers or crew could have imagined.If any of them survive to see it.Pioneer needs to reach the Forge, but the Forge is surrounded by the enemy’s massive fleet, which is preparing to launch an assault that could leave the station in ruins... -
![Technical Details by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
Technical Details by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo stories about the folks who keep the social and technical machinery running. "Landed Alien" finds Kara ven'Arith on a space station maintenance crew when a series of inexplicable events overtake support functions. In "Eleutherios," the friars at a down-and-out abbey are taken in hand by an unlikely savior. Both stories previously appeared on Baen.com website...Categorized as:
post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult book coming-of-age fiction futuristic -
![Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10.5: Carnie's Tale by Randolph Lalonde]()
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10.5: Carnie's Tale by Randolph Lalonde
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAlice is given a complex and secretive assignment: she is to review months worth of voice recordings, video and pictures taken by Noah Lucas, better known as Carnie, a member of the Samurai Squadron. The material was recorded while he was on Iora, a technically advanced world as the holocaust virus struck it...Categorized as:
colonization dystopia post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult book far-future -
![Damnation by M.R. Forbes]()
Damnation by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.69 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe enemy is everywhere. Our existence hangs by a thread.On Earth we’re dying - the ships have landed.On Proxima we’re ignorant - the sabotage nearly complete.Our strongholds are routed.Our defenses crippled.Our wills are broken.Our hope is gone...… or is it?Three heroes.Two battlefronts.One desperate chance for victory... -
![Emerge by M.R. Forbes]()
Emerge by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter 100 years crossing the expanse, the generation starship Pioneer is nearly halfway to her destination. The horrors of her first few days in space have been erased by time and forgotten by the residents of the city nestled inside.But all good things must come to an end.Deputy Niko Nori finds that out the hard way... -
![Andromeda Rising by Jay Allan]()
Andromeda Rising by Jay Allan
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Hero is Born The Gut. An industrial hell. The foulest and most decrepit slum on Parsephon. A nest of human misery, where hope is word long forgotten, and the dead are carted away every day. It is the worst pit in the Confederation’s great industrial machine known as the Iron Belt...Categorized as:
dystopia space-opera galactic-empire first-contact colonization sci-fi western audiobook -
![Earth Undefeated by M.R. Forbes]()
Earth Undefeated by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 15 ratings3 enemies... 2 cities... 1 sheriff... BOOM! For Sheriff Duke, the danger has reached the final countdown. Captured, tortured, beaten but undefeated, it's sixty seconds to midnight and the only way to save his wife and daughter is through the fugitive he left home to hunt. The real enemy isn't what they seem and the history of the forgotten Earth is about to be rewritten.. -
![Undaunted by Kat Falls]()
Undaunted by Kat Falls
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLane barely survived her first journey to the Feral Zone. The forbidden, overgrown landscape east of the Mississippi River was abandoned years ago when a virus spread through the population, bringing civilization to its knees.But Lane has crossed the quarantine line, and she knows the truth...Categorized as:
dystopia post-apocalyptic action-adventure book fiction futuristic young-adult sci-fi -
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![Tides of War by M.R. Forbes]()
Tides of War by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter being saved from annihilation by the Old Gator’s daring plan, Gabriel and the crew of the Magellan find themselves in the most unlikely of places: a captured enemy starship. While learning to control the alien vessel introduces a new set of challenges, the secrets they discover within may prove to be the edge they so desperately need...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult aliens apocalyptic -
![Weapons of War by M.R. Forbes]()
Weapons of War by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the year 2280, an alien fleet stole our Earth. For fifty years they hunted us. For fifty years they enslaved us. For fifty years we lived in fear. Nothing lasts forever. They can try to quell us. They can try to break us. They can chase us to the ends of the Earth. They can chase us to the ends of the Universe. We’ve won our first battle. We’ve earned our first taste of hope...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult aliens apocalyptic -
![Invasion by M.R. Forbes]()
Invasion by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTwo hundred years ago, aliens invaded Earth. A violent war followed. The enemy won. Some of us escaped... ...most of us didn’t. On Proxima they flourished - the invasion forgotten. On Earth we floundered - the horror began. Their world is advanced, peaceful, and secure. Our world is broken, savage, and overrun. A new invasion is coming. A hunger that has swallowed half the universe...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact galactic-empire post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult ai -
![The Forgotten: The Complete Trilogy by M.R. Forbes]()
The Forgotten: The Complete Trilogy by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSome things are better off forgotten.Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him.That's the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He's never questioned it. Never thought about it...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact post-apocalyptic space-opera adult aliens apocalyptic audiobook -
![The Theos by Nathan Hystad]()
The Theos by Nathan Hystad
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSome secrets prefer to stay buried. When Dean’s closest ally is kidnapped by an ancient race, his grief threatens to turn to madness. With the support of his friends, he embarks on a mission to get his loved one back, and stop the eventual destruction of the known Universe. But Dean can’t do it without solving an age-old mystery... -
![Doctor Galaxy by Jenny Schwartz]()
Doctor Galaxy by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNew ER doctor Alexi Sur always intended to join an aid agency. She'd just expected to work among humans. But when the Pax Galactica Corps becomes her only option (don't ask - the debts aren't hers, but the family is. Much to her regret), Alexi finds herself traveling the galaxy and learning alien physiology and culture, all while becoming a reality TV star...Categorized as:
colonization first-contact galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult aliens book -
![Invasion by Jay Allan]()
Invasion by Jay Allan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWar…like none that has come before. The Hegemony has launched the invasion Tyler Barron and his Confederation comrades have feared, and all the Rim is ablaze with the fires of war and destruction. The Hegemony has brought its vast fleets, its advanced technology, and its endless legions of grim cyborg warriors to impose its system of rigid genetic hierarchy over all humanity on the Rim...Categorized as:
colonization first-contact galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult aliens audiobook -
![Survive by Vera Nazarian, Sofia Willingham]()
Survive by Vera Nazarian, Sofia Willingham
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe End is Here, in a Fiery Cosmic Apocalypse!Gwen Lark knows how to Qualify, Compete, and Win...The time has come to Survive.The Games of the Atlantis Grail have come to a ground-shaking halt and Gwen Lark, nerd, geek, and awkward smart girl, survived the remarkable ordeal, for the time being...Categorized as:
colonization dystopia galactic-empire post-apocalyptic aliens apocalyptic audiobook book -
![Home World by B.V. Larson]()
Home World by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe Galactics arrived with their Battle Fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spanned the Milky Way. When the Earth is invaded by a rival empire, James McGill’s legion must defend the Home World. The top brass has complex plans, but none of that matters much to McGill, who chooses his own unique path...Categorized as:
colonization dystopia first-contact galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult aliens -
![Earth Unending by M.R. Forbes]()
Earth Unending by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA menacing wasteland.A destructive new weapon.A planet on the edge of catastrophe.Sheriff Duke can’t rest. There’s no time to slow down. The threats are unending. The enemy unyielding... -
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![Final Battle by Michael R. Hicks]()
Final Battle by Michael R. Hicks
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFollowing Confederation, Final Battle is the last book in the saga of Reza Gard. Reza is caught up in a daring plot to assassinate the Confederation President, even as something goes terribly wrong in the Empire and its warriors lose their will to fight. Reunited with Tesh-Dar, Reza and his friends fight to save the woman he loves, with the fate of the Empire and Humanity hanging in the balance...Categorized as:
dystopia first-contact galactic-empire post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult aliens -
![Reaching Home: A Post-Apocalyptic Journey by Lars Larsen]()
Reaching Home: A Post-Apocalyptic Journey by Lars Larsen
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDARK HIGHWAY HOME—BOOK TWO. REACHING HOMEAN EMP & POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVAL STORYDays after the North American power grid was taken down by an electromagnetic pulse, a band of stranded people are making their perilous way from Las Vegas to the safety of their homes over two thousand miles away.With the power grid down, North America has gone dark. Society has collapsed... -
![Thin Lines by Bella Forrest]()
Thin Lines by Bella Forrest
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 17 ratings"It sounded to me like they've been watching you--watching us--for a while..."A decades-old conspiracy. A group of mysterious allies. An entire nation out for their blood.The Compliance Authority does not take kindly to dissidents. Particularly dissidents who have managed to escape their grasp, not once, but twice.Things are about to get a lot more dangerous for Robin, Jace, and their team...Categorized as:
dystopia post-apocalyptic action-adventure audiobook book fiction futuristic young-adult -
![Star Kill by M.R. Forbes]()
Star Kill by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOut of the fire, and into…Alliance Navy Commander Grayson Stone is a prisoner. His encounter with the alien invaders is behind him, a reckoning years in the making ahead. War in the galaxy is about to explode in a way he never imagined. The fate of humankind rests on a razor’s edge.He won’t remain idle. One way or another, he’s determined to escape... -
![Isolation by M.R. Forbes]()
Isolation by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe enemy is coming. The enemy is already here. For years they’ve prepared. Plotted. Planned. For years they’ve waited to strike. From above… … and below. Earth is under siege. The enemy covers the landscape. Proxima is unharmed. But that’s about to change. No armies can stop this menace. No defenses can slow the advance. We are scattered and isolated. We are ignorant and weak... -
![Death World by B.V. Larson]()
Death World by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe Galactics arrived with their Battle Fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spanned the Milky Way. Our only worthwhile trade goods are our infamous mercenary legions, elite troops we sell to the highest alien bidder. In the fifth book of the Undying Mercenaries series, James McGill meets new challenges...Categorized as:
colonization first-contact galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult aliens audiobook -
![Unreconciled by W. Michael Gear]()
Unreconciled by W. Michael Gear
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNow in paperback, the fourth book in the thrilling Donovan sci-fi series returns to a treacherous alien planet where corporate threats and dangerous creatures imperil the lives of the colonists.Where does one put a messianic cult of practicing cannibals? That becomes the question when Ashanti appears in Donovan's skies. She was designed for no more than four years in space. It's taken ten...Categorized as:
colonization first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book exploration -
![The Brothers by Katie French]()
The Brothers by Katie French
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“They tell me it’s for the good of humanity. That I’m saving our way of life with my body. They lie.” Book Four in the award-winning, best-selling Breeders series.Riley has survived madmen, deranged doctors, and false prophets. Her next task is uniting her family, which has been ripped apart by Nessa Vandewater, the Breeders’ enforcer. Her boyfriend Clay and brother Ethan are still missing... -
![Trail of Misery by N.A. Broadley]()
Trail of Misery by N.A. Broadley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA deadly virus has left Beth alone and afraid.She must leave her home with almost no supplies when she is attacked by a neighbor. Now forced to set out on the Appalachian Trail with only her backpack, two guns and a turkey carving knife...Categorized as:
dystopia post-apocalyptic apocalyptic book epidemy fiction futuristic literary-fiction -
![Taken by Harmony Raines]()
Taken by Harmony Raines
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsChrissi always dreamed of being an astronaut, just like her dad, devoting her whole life to Operation Saviour, the human race’s last ditch attempt to find a new home. But days before her first launch, the project was cancelled, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her life. All thanks to the arrival of the Karal...Categorized as:
colonization dystopia first-contact galactic-empire post-apocalyptic action-adventure adult aliens -
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![Renegade Magic by Jennifer M. Eaton]()
Renegade Magic by Jennifer M. Eaton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn outer space, there is no right or wrong...unless you get caught.Cal turns to a life of smuggling to escape a death sentence for a crime he didn't commit, and when a galactic law enforcer lands far too close, Cal’s crew kidnaps her in hopes they can prove his innocence.Hey, what could go wrong?Dania, a powerful mage enforcer, is on a mission to eliminate a human trafficking ring...Categorized as:
space-opera colonization galactic-empire sci-fi action-adventure royalty futuristic aliens -
![Alien Prince's Bride by Ava Ross]()
Alien Prince's Bride by Ava Ross
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsI'm determined to have a child, which means one week in one bed. With an alien.According to the Xilan-Earth agreement, I'll belong to Prince Vikar, a seven-foot-tall, scaly blue alien, for one week. In exchange for giving him whatever he needs, this cocky "prince" assures me I'll return to Earth with a child on the way... -
![We Are The Wolf by Toby Neighbors]()
We Are The Wolf by Toby Neighbors
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOff World Force Recon, the first in the fight, the tip of the spear. With human colonies on 45 worlds and space stations in over a hundred different systems, serving with the elite Force Recon branch of the Extra Solar Defense Force is the most prestigious career anyone could hope for...Categorized as:
colonization first-contact galactic-empire space-opera adult aliens apocalyptic book -
![Solar Fury by E.A. Chance]()
Solar Fury by E.A. Chance
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNavigating life is no picnic for young widowed surgeon, Riley Poole, so when a global solar flare strikes - destroying the power grid and stranding her in Washington, D.C. with her teenage daughter - it will take near superhuman courage to find safe harbor in a world gone mad...Categorized as:
dystopia post-apocalyptic space-opera action-adventure adult apocalyptic audiobook book -
![Star Fire by M.R. Forbes]()
Star Fire by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe ship comes from nowhere...A Commune fleet launches a surprise assault against an Alliance space station near the edge of the galaxy. Caught off-guard by the attack, a veteran pilot organizes a last-ditch effort to save the station, until he’s interrupted by an unexpected new threat.Unidentified... -
![Freedom's Fray by Bobby Adair]()
Freedom's Fray by Bobby Adair
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWar in the heavens for freedom on EarthTime to take the fight to the enemy, if they can find the Trog Fleet.The Free Army missed their opportunity to catch the vulnerable Trog Fleet docked together on Ceres with empty magazines after their latest assault on Earth.Now Dylan Kane needs to scout their bases to see where they're hiding...
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