Showing results by author "Alex Rath" in All Categories

From the outside, The Lyon’s Den doesn’t look like much; there isn’t even a sign. But Mercs of all species know that if you head to Southwest Houston, near the Starport, there’s a particular run-down strip mall that looks like it’s been abandoned for years. The glass door second from the south end of the strip is plastered over on the inside with blue paper, and the faint golden outline of a rampant lion is the only clue.

Harmon Tomeral and his friends wanted nothing more than to go to space, and they have beaten the odds, time and again, to get there. They developed a mech and won the Top Fleet Marine competition. They brought back a battle cruiser from an unknown system and made it their own. They made allies who helped them achieve great victories, and they, ultimately, founded new colonies in what has become known as the Salvage System.

In the late 2020s and early 30s, corporations managed to render the major governments of the world obsolete. The big corporations owned most of the territories as well as the majority of the world’s wealth. While many of the old traditions were still observed in various parts of the world, the true power was with the corporations. In the late 30s, what would be known as the Corporate Wars began as larger companies initiated hostile takeovers in a whole new fashion. Employees, armed with corporate weapons, warred for dominance. It was a bloody time.

Before the Fall, Obsidian Corporation had Agents, and Teledyne Industries had Specialists. Both were deadly. In the Northeast Sector of North America, deep in Obsidian-controlled territory, Teledyne had Mr. Smith, and people fled, just on the rumor he was close by. Now, 20 years after the fall, former Obsidian executives have formed a tenuous truce with the former assassin to save New Toronto. Smith would have happily lived out his life alone, but when Smith sees that something needs doing, he gets it done.

Staff Sergeant Markus ‘Spartan’ Nicolos is one of the Intelligence Department’s best. A hacker who can beat any code, he’s in charge of communications intercepts for the Golden Horde’s Computer Operations section. Spartan used to be a frontline CASPer pilot - until he lost his entire squad in an ambush. He also lost his edge in the attack, and he swore he would never pilot a CASPer in combat again. Everything changed, though, when he came up with an idea for a new type of scout CASPer - one that would prevent what happened to him from ever happening again.

The Peacemaker-enforced ceasefire brought an end to the hostilities, but the Mercenary Guild’s moratorium on new contracts has given the other guilds time - and freedom - to redress long-standing grievances. It has also led to a mindset of “while the cat’s away, the mice will play”, and many are taking liberties they wouldn't have normally. On Earth, the Golden Horde continues to rebuild, because Sansar Enkh has a good idea of what’s coming.

Harmon Tomeral and his friends wanted nothing more than to go to space, and they have beaten the odds, time and again. They developed a mech and won the Top Fleet Marine Competition. They brought back a battlecruiser from an unknown system and made it their own. They made allies who helped them achieve great victories, and they ultimately founded new colonies in what has become known as the Salvage System.

Captain Markus "Spartan" Nicolos is one of the Golden Horde’s premier hackers and communication specialists, and a top-tier CASPer pilot. His experimental Hoplite scout CASPer aided significantly in thwarting an attempt by a Besquith general to wipe out the Golden Horde. Now, while most of the Golden Horde goes out on a major contract, Spartan has been given a small team of less than 30 mercenaries - all specialists - to teach a race that has just joined the Galactic Union how to defend itself. And, in his spare time, Spartan is to spy on the Merchant Guild.

Salvage System is a beacon of hope, and a number of other races continue looking toward it as an inspiration for how to live and govern themselves, and - in some cases - for assistance in defending themselves and throwing off oppressive regimes. But the galaxy is a big place, and many of the races in it aren’t friendly. Would these forces like to take over Salvage System and acquire its resources? Absolutely.

With things calm outside the Strorix system—at least for now—Queen El’Jyiurma has time to work on things at home. She has new hatchlings to take care of, as well as a growing empire, and she has her coils full. The Gnevusin threat isn’t over, though.

The Serpentes have long felt that isolation was the best way to survive in the galaxy, but a traitor’s actions have revealed their presence to the universe. Admiral El’Jyiurma of the Serpentes Space Navy has traveled to Gieliv to prevent a terrorist incident from being inflicted on the humans there. She returns home triumphant, but there is trouble brewing - the Serpentes face peril from both internal and external forces, and El’Jyiurma finds herself caught up in the middle.