Imperium Cicernus Series by Caleb Wachter, Christopher G. Nuttall, A.G. Claymore, James McGovern

The Imperium; a million worlds, trillions upon trillions of humans and aliens, an empire that dominates half the galaxy...an empire that is falling into chaos, revolution and civil war. Only a handful of people are struggling to keep the Imperium together, knowing that the brutality of its rule is infinitively preferable to the chaos of its fall. This is their story... moreThe Imperium; a million worlds, trillions upon trillions of humans and aliens, an empire that dominates half the galaxy...an empire that is falling into chaos, revolution and civil war. Only a handful of people are struggling to keep the Imperium together, knowing that the brutality of its rule is infinitively preferable to the chaos of its fall. This is their story. Mariko and her sister were independent shippers and ace pilots, until they ran afoul of the law on a minor planet and ended up jailed and enslaved. Their new owner, Lord Fitz, seems to be nothing more than another harmless aristocrat with more money than sense – and besides, at least they can keep flying spacecraft. But Fitz isn't all he seems. He works for Imperial Intelligence, attempting to track down and destroy the Secessionist Movement before it launches a plan that threatens the very heart of the Imperium – and Mariko and her sister have just become his latest tools. But as they are drawn deeper into the seedy underside of the Imperium, one question comes to dominate their minds... Does the Imperium even deserve to survive? less

A standalone novel in the Imperium Cicernus UniverseThe Imperium isn’t what it once was.In a realm of constant intrigue, backstabbing and economic decline, the saying holds true at any given moment.Inspector Paul Grimm’s best friend has been framed for a murder that, technically, he did commit. Paul must follow the trail before it goes cold to find out who’s behind this latest attack on the powerful Nathaniel family... moreA standalone novel in the Imperium Cicernus UniverseThe Imperium isn’t what it once was.In a realm of constant intrigue, backstabbing and economic decline, the saying holds true at any given moment.Inspector Paul Grimm’s best friend has been framed for a murder that, technically, he did commit. Paul must follow the trail before it goes cold to find out who’s behind this latest attack on the powerful Nathaniel family.To clear his friend’s name, Paul heads out to the Rim where Imperial colonies sit uncomfortably close to territory claimed by the Gray Quorum. In his desperate race to unravel the plot, he’s pulled into a web of intrigue along with Colonel Julia Urbica of the Imperial Marines. Julia's local, irregular troops prefer to enforce the Emperor's peace by finding trouble before it finds them and they adopt Paul's task for reasons of their own.Events escalate at every step, and Paul’s mission to help a friend is dwarfed by a threat to the very fabric of Imperial life. He must walk the knife’s edge between peace and outright war with an advanced alien species.But then, perhaps war is just what the Imperium needs. The current peace has a stench of decay about it.Approximately 73,000 words less

In the far future, humanity has settled the stars of our galaxy and formed an Imperium which stands uncontested as the greatest known civilization. A network of wormholes connects the far-flung segments of humanity, allowing virtually instantaneous travel between Star Systems connected by this vast, invaluable network... moreIn the far future, humanity has settled the stars of our galaxy and formed an Imperium which stands uncontested as the greatest known civilization. A network of wormholes connects the far-flung segments of humanity, allowing virtually instantaneous travel between Star Systems connected by this vast, invaluable network. But what happens when one of those wormholes collapses and an entire Sector of relatively poor worlds is left to fend for itself without support, without guidance, and without the vast infrastructure of the Imperium available to its citizens? What might such a society look like after two centuries of independence, having been left to devise their own culture, values, and government? Welcome to the Chimera Sector. The citizens of this seemingly-forgotten splinter of the Imperium hold one belief above all others: Only when the leaders fear the voters as much as the voters fear the leaders can harmony be achieved. To achieve this harmony, a special type of guild was created called the Timent Electorum. The operatives of this guild -- called 'Adjusters' -- work at the behest of the voting public, and exclusively punish political corruption, tyranny, and treason with the ultimate sanction: assassination. This is the story of one such Adjuster, Jericho, who forges an unlikely alliance with an urban detective, Masozi, whose steadfast adherence to the Sector's core principles have placed her in harm's way. Acting together in a tenuous alliance, they will follow a trail of corruption across the Virgin Star System and witness the birth of a conflict which will forever change them -- along with the entire Chimera Sector. less