Showing results by author "Terry Maggert" in All Categories

The revelations Mark Tudor unearthed on Tactus Ares were profound. The Piraxians fell victim to the aggressive, expansionist Eridani Federation. That same confederacy funded and facilitated the Lyrae. They made Stillness. And the Guild was complicit. How does one bring exposure to something the galaxy at large would rather forget? And how does an honorable man remove corruption when its gravity consumes all? A plan is hatched in secret.

With the Archetype damaged, Dash and his crew will need more than a quick fix to prepare for what's coming. A secret facility known only as the Forge lies in cold sleep, built by the Unseen for the greatest war in history. Dash has no idea what awaits him there, but he hopes to find some kind of advantage in the war that is to come. Meanwhile, on a distant world, an ancient order of monks protects a long-buried secret.

As Dash and his team begin expanding the Forge, they must focus on Dark Metal as the one thing that can give them an advantage in the coming war. Using drones and a map from an ancient library, Dash and Leira must seek out the source of a transmission coming from far away. That source, however, is something far more valuable than they could have hoped: a fleet of ancient Unseen ships, waiting to be salvaged.

The Messenger and his people continue their long fight against the Golden, but the war has just begun. When they discover reports of a missing colony ship, their search will uncover a crime so terrible that the battle lines will be drawn in blood. Following clues across the stars, Dash will bring the forces of his new navy to a cause that will only end in one of two ways: total victory or complete destruction. There’s only room for one winner in this ever-expanding galaxy, and Dash aims for it to be him.

Thorn Stellers and his daughter are a problem, and not just for the Nyctus. With their power taking shape in directions like no one has ever seen, the Orbital Navy is faced with an unwelcome reality: The Starcasters are beyond control. Kira and Damien are assigned diplomatic roles in the growing sphere of galactic relations, leading them to a stunning discovery - humans are not alone in their fight against the Nyctus. Worlds are being destroyed by an unseen foe, with no defense against their attacks.

Disturbing the established order will mean kicking over a fair number of rocks, although Mark, Valint, and the others might be surprised by what scurries forth underneath—and what uniform it's wearing when it steps into the light. Mark Tudor will make the title Peacemaker mean something once again, but to do that, he'll have to face the worst the galaxy has to offer. Death waits in the quiet moments. And sometimes, it is a soldier's loved ones that pay the greatest price.

During a standard patrol, Thorn finds the scarred remains of a planet that has been reshaped by an unknown race. Massive machines were used to alter the landscape, and the only thing missing from the site is magic. Whoever is changing the galaxy, it isn’t the Nyctus.

Get ready to experience two more origin stories in the Backyard Starship universe.

When the idyllic planet Nebo is scorched into oblivion, it’s obvious that the Nyctus are moving massive fleets into human space again, and their intention is clear: Even if they lose their ships, they will render planets into ash. To add to the damage, they seem to have key intelligence that could only have been obtained by a human crew. Only one ship has ever gone missing, its disappearance unexplained and its crew never to be found: The Pool of Stars, one of the first starships. And she’s been missing for centuries. Now, it’s up to Thorn to find it.

Fresh off their first major victory against the Nyctus, the Orbital Navy is moving forward in confusion. Starcasters, led by Thorn Stellers, are not trusted - magic has not replaced the power of steel and naval might, and humanity is at a crossroads. As Thorn and Kira define their roles in the new navy, magic refuses to stay still. When Thorn discovers he has untapped power, Mol Wyant helps him use it. The results will change every rule, along with the known galaxy, for Thorn Stellers isn’t just a magician of unknown power. He’s a weapon of undiscovered fury.

Deep below the waters of a world covered in ice, the key to Dark Metal awaits. Along with it, a new threat that brings the war ever closer. In order to stop it, the Messenger and his team must confront a familiar enemy in a new place, but now the stakes are higher, and the battle's results will echo across the galaxy for ages to come. To cap it all off, ships are being stolen from unSpace with no explanation as to why. The Messenger has his work cut out for him here in this dangerous new galaxy. But that's exactly the way he likes it.

Far out in the black, Dash and new Captain Lomas encounter the next lethal version of Deeper technology. Huge, armored beings are attacking inward, wrecking humanity in each shattering conflict. The Battle Princes are more than robots and less than human, and beyond their fearsome ability, they carry a secret that could change the nature of human warfare forever.

With new, more lethal weapons being added at every turn, the Forge goes into motion, advancing across the galactic arm in furious combat, leaving wreckage in the wake. But that wreckage has a purpose, and so does Dash. Until now, the war has been Golden allies throwing themselves in front of the Realm weapons, but that’s all about to change.

Now at home in the Aquarian system, Dash and his team receive news from a dying ship. With 30 systems under their inhuman control, the newest enemy to free life in the galaxy seeks to engage and destroy the Messenger by any means necessary. The skyhooks are only the beginning of a secret plan to hide Dark Metal, but Dash, the Gentle Friends, and the rest of the Messenger's growing forces will find a way to fight back. Plunging into the swirling deep, Dash discovers an ancient plot to use drones, Dark Metal, and a device so advanced it is only known by one word: the Shroud.

As the Realm grows around a Kingsport that is now more massive than any human creation, Dash will find common cause with a race who lurk in the shadows, well beyond the edge of known human space. With ships of a new design, the Realm will turn outward, striking into territory long held by the Deepers and their unholy creatures, wrapped in technology as old as the stars themselves. But the universe is shrinking, thanks to Realm scientists and the efforts of Kai and his brethren, who find that secrets still remain in the hidden places where humans store memory and history - and weapons.

Drifting in the intergalactic deep, Dash begins the final push toward peace. From the depths of Realm lore, the Kingsport takes shape, one component at a time. But the war isn't over, and the Deepers aren’t done. The space beyond our galaxy is far from empty. The Arkubators, Deeper worlds, and other secrets begin to reveal themselves as the Realm forces fight their way, gate to gate, into areas never seen by humans. Dash will journey farther than any other human has ever gone - or so he thinks. What awaits him is a secret that will change everything humans know about their origins.

Now, spreading among the new worlds of the Unseen gates, Dash and his people are building new lives, free of war and destruction. Until one of the former Unseen planets shifts in orbit - a small thing, but worth looking into. Close to this erratic world, something incredible opens, revealing a connection to stars so distant that they have no name on the Cygnus charts.

On a sunny green world, a little girl watches as meteors fall, bringing death and fire from above. She isn’t alone. Thorn Stellers is there, watching, unsure of his connection and what he can do to save the child from a fate like his parents, all those years ago. Reaching across the lightyears, Thorn sets a chain of events into play that will shift reality as he knows it. For this little girl is no ordinary child, and the meteors are no accident. The Nyctus have targeted her green world for destruction, and the girl along with it.

Fighting over a span of light years that boggles the mind, Dash and his crew are drawn farther out in the big black than any human has ever gone...or so they thought. A small beacon of humanity drifts, alone, frozen, and ancient, out where the light of days is older than the history of mankind.

The Verity are in collapse. Clan Shirna is gone. And all along, the ships of the Cygnus Realm have been pushing back until only the Golden are left. Or so Dash thought. With the discovery of two new races and a sphere of stars embroiled in war, Dash hurls the Forge ever deeper into territory where no human can live free. The Golden are no longer merely advisors - now, they are present in the fights themselves, their silver ships gleaming with menace in a war that threatens to incinerate an entire arm of the galaxy.