Showing results by narrator "R.C. Bray" in All Categories

When the Colonial Marines set out after their deadliest prey, the Xenomorphs, it’s what Corporal Hicks calls a bug hunt—kill or be killed. Here are fifteen all-new stories of such “close encounters,” written by many of today’s most extraordinary authors. Set during the events of all four Alien films, sending the Marines to alien worlds, to derelict space settlements, and into the nests of the universe’s most dangerous monsters, these adventures are guaranteed to send the blood racing—one way or another.

After inciting rebellion against Earth throughout Titan's off-world colonies, Kale learns that leadership isn't only about fighting. Keeping control of his people - even his own family - requires a different set of skills. Following a pivotal battle over Saturn, Kale travels deep into enemy territory under the guise of seeking peace, though peace is the last thing on his mind.

At the end of the 24th century, war is fought in a civilized manner: Each side hires mercenaries to engage in combat in specifically designated areas. To the victor go the spoils - whatever they maybe. After a couple of assignments involving more intrigue and skullduggery than the Cutter Force Initiative ever wanted, the unit is looking forward to being part of a straight-up, short-term industrial war on Earth.

Holland Taylor is comfortable in interrogation rooms. For years the cold dark cells of the St. Paul Police Department homicide squad were his turf, and with the help of his partner he wrung confessions out of countless killers. But that was long ago. Tonight Taylor is on the other side of the desk. Tonight he is the suspect.

Alpha team, the world's best and last surviving Tier-1 operators, are adrift on Lake Michigan - and fast drifting into what looks like a damned hostile shoreline. Deep in the National Forest nearby, a former police officer and survivalist battles to keep her family alive - and tries to decide whether the commandos of Alpha are more dangerous to her alive or dead.

Steve and the other survivors in the UK have rebuilt and healed after the brutal end to the reign of Richards. But removing a dictator was only the beginning.... Years after a mistake of compassion and humanity, an enemy thought long gone returns to bring down a rain of violence and terror the likes of which they have never seen before. Their society, a peaceful one of trade and cooperation, has moved on from the bloody aftermath of the collapse, but that evolution blunts their teeth to be able to combat the new threat.

A gifted boy forced to grow up too fast... A father who will do anything to protect him... A madman bent on destroying them both. In Amsterdam, a visionary scientist is laying the groundwork for a cybernetic life-extension project that will transfer individual consciousness to a personalized avatar. Halfway around the world, his brilliant grandson is secretly planning to use the same technology to infiltrate the world’s most secure networks.

The one unbreakable rule in the Man Code is this: no matter how beautiful, smart, and clever she is, do not fall in love with your best friend's woman. Yeah, so I screwed up big time when I fell for her. I might have let my sin of unrequited love slide, given everything that went down in the last few years, but Lulu just walked back into my life as vibrant as ever. And the cards are stacked against me once again. We're working together, and the last thing I want to do is mess up her life with a forbidden office romance now that she's finally got the fresh start she deserves.

Two men, absolute enemies, must unite to conquer an evil greater than anything their world has ever known. One is a warrior priest ready to sacrifice anything and everything for the cause of humanity's progress; the other, a sorcerer who has survived for countless centuries by a total submission to evil. In their joint quest, both will be irrevocably changed.

Jake Bronson's family and friends are mourning him. They'd watched as he sacrificed himself so their lives could return to normal. But normal wasn't to be. The megalomaniac whom Jake had killed during his suicide assault left a legacy of videos that damn Jake and everyone associated with him, leading to a price being put on their heads, dead or alive. As the jaws of a terrorist trap begin to close, Jake's eight-year-old son, Alex, faces a threat of his own.

China and Russia threaten America not to intervene as simmering tensions between India and Pakistan escalate. One after the other, missiles are launched that destroy satellites in orbit.... After long years apart, Mike Mitchell is reunited with old friends on a fishing trip in New Orleans. He brings his son Luke, now eight years old, while his wife Lauren attends a business meeting in Hong Kong. Suddenly, worldwide GPS signal goes out. Cell phones stop working. Communications go down. Within hours, almost all international borders are closed as conflict spreads around the globe.

B Company, 3rd Bat, 75th Ranger Regiment - a unit that's fought in every US engagement from D-Day to Black Hawk Down. They are the last American boots on the ground in the entire Syrian civil war...on the last day before the Fall of human civilization. When they are tasked with stopping a unit of Spetsnaz operators from inserting under the chaos, an advanced Russian Navy frigate becomes the last place left on Earth for the Rangers to find refuge.

FBI agent Nick Bracco can't stop a Kurdish terrorist from firing missiles at random homes across the country. The police can't stand watch over every household, so Bracco recruits his cousin Tommy to help track down this terrorist. Tommy is in the Mafia. Oh yeah, it gets messy fast.

For fans of Louise Penny, C. J. Box, and Nevada Barr comes a haunting crime novel set in Glacier National Park, where one man finds himself on a collision course with the dark heart of the wild and the even darker heart of human nature.

FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke is closing in on a bust of a major criminal organization in San Francisco when he witnesses an undercover member of his team killed right in front of him on a busy street, an accident Roarke can't believe is coincidental. His suspicions put him on the trail of a mysterious young woman who appears to have been present at each scene of a years-long string of accidents and murders, and who may well be that most rare of killers: a female serial.

Twenty-five years have passed since a savage killer terrorized California, massacring three ordinary families before disappearing without a trace. The only surviving victim of his rampage was a child…who is now wanted by the FBI for brutal crimes of her own.

Can humanity survive what it never saw coming? On October 15 at 2:15 a.m. Earth vanished. A scattered few woke alone in a world with no rules, other than survival at any cost. These survivors aren't truly alone... Someone or something is watching them. And waiting... Strangers unite. Sides are chosen.

Two worlds at war will bring them together…or tear them apart. Everson didn't want to be a soldier. His parents forced him to serve, as all good Indiran men should. The only problem? His first battle against their mortal enemies goes horribly wrong, and he winds up stranded on the enemy planet. Now, Everson has to survive in this strange new land where everyone is out to get him. Not to mention the planet Mano is covered in unforgiving desert. And he's the target of traitors who want to use him in a dastardly plot to overthrow their mad king, Xander the Firm.

You were on your way home when you died. It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me. And that’s when you met me." A short story about the universe.

After 20 years working for Pervenio Corp chasing bounties and extinguishing rebellions throughout the solar system, he’s on a routine pickup job hunting a wealthy offworlder heir who ran away from home. But when a mad scientist gets his hands on the boy, Malcolm finds himself caught up in a twisted plot to develop working androids.