A people without a home. An endless war. An implacable enemy. Nearly a millennium has passed since the mysterious invaders known as the Gray forced humanity to abandon the cradle of their birth. Spreading out among the stars, the wayward children of Earth are fiercely united under the ancient and enduring banner of the Sol Alliance as they struggle to survive and thrive in the cold darkness. For Alisa Pierce, fighting the Gray is all she knows and all she is... moreA people without a home. An endless war. An implacable enemy. Nearly a millennium has passed since the mysterious invaders known as the Gray forced humanity to abandon the cradle of their birth. Spreading out among the stars, the wayward children of Earth are fiercely united under the ancient and enduring banner of the Sol Alliance as they struggle to survive and thrive in the cold darkness. For Alisa Pierce, fighting the Gray is all she knows and all she is. Aloof, efficient and focused only on total victory, her sole close companion and confidant is Rin, her artificial intelligence operator and partner. Alisa's cold distance from her fellow humans only served to draw her ever more closely to Rin. After the success of a deadly and difficult solo mission, Alisa and Rin transfer to the celebrated and elite 703rd Hyperspace Assault Wing. On the surface, Alisa's future seems a brilliant star rising, placed firmly on the heroine's path. All is not as it seems, and the fortunes of war can easily take a very dark turn. A devastating and tragic event erupts into a sinister conspiracy within the Alliance. As the line between ally and enemy is erased, Alisa and Rin will have no choice but to fight for their lives, their people and their love.ALSO CONTAINS AN ORIGINAL SHORT STORY BY K.J. RUSSELL Speculative fiction writer and cat-herder K.J. Russell, author of THE DUSTY MAN, presents a different perspective on the ancient conflict with the Gray. In his short story, "Destructive Interference: ISO 953," the Nightshade, one of the Alliance Fleet's seven cutting-edge stealth destroyers, scrambles to replace one of its sister vessels in an emergency redeployment. Surrounded on all sides by the enigmatic Gray who seem determined to deny humanity even the slightest foothold on the frontier, the Nightshade's crew will have to overcome impossible odds to complete the mission! less
#1