In the 20th century Earth sent probes, transmissions, and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn't the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers....

Two centuries after the Confederation staved off an invasion by the robotic Locusts, Captain Jack Romanoff faces mandatory retirement from an ever-shrinking navy. Actions speak louder than words. The Confederation doesn’t think the Locusts are coming back. But what if the politicians are wrong?

Jason Burke was a man hiding from himself in a small cabin high in the American Rocky Mountains when his simple, quiet life was shattered one night by what he first assumed was an aviation mishap. But when he investigates the crash, what he finds will yank him out of his self-imposed exile and thrust him into a world he could have never imagined.

There's a stranger in town, and he just wants to be left alone. But Dockside doesn't like strangers, and the dirty old town never leaves anyone alone. Not emotionally scarred top-secret ex-army cyborgs, and certainly not good cops with bad habits. Join New Boston's most famous fixer for his first week in the most dangerous part of town. All he wanted was a quiet place to hide, but now he has to team up with the last good cop in Dockside if they expect to stop a gang war and protect the hard-working folks just trying to make an honest living.

Aliens exist...and, as it turns out, most of them aren’t that friendly. Jacob Brown wasn’t even born yet the first time they attacked Earth. He was only 14 the second time it happened. When Earth finally came together and fielded its first spaceborne military, Jacob didn’t hesitate to volunteer. Serving aboard a mighty starship, he’d be able to defend his planet - and his family - when, inevitably, they came again.