Hard Contact

Humanity's last encounter with aliens saw 16.2 billion people killed in a war with the Merkiaari that had spanned decades. Two hundred years later, the Alliance is cautiously exploring beyond its borders again, but the survey corp is considered a mere gesture by some. General Burgton of the 501st Infantry Regiment believes a lack of expansion is leading the Alliance into stagnation. So when one small ship discovers a new alien race, it should be an easy decision to make contact, but what if the aliens are like the Merkiaari?

During a classified mission to the ISS, astronaut Jack Kildare picks up an eerie signal. An alien spaceship is orbiting distant, icy Europa. It looks derelict...but is it? As fear sweeps across Earth, NASA spearheads a frenzied effort to build a ship capable of traveling to Jupiter to confront the alien menace. Technology intertwines with espionage and sabotage in a race against the clock. Fighting for his rightful place in the mission, Jack finds himself submerged in a world of secrets, international power games, and cold-blooded murder.

Bearing Earth's hopes for deliverance from the alien threat, Jack Kildare and his fellow astronauts successfully complete the long journey to Jupiter. But someone on board is trying to sabotage the mission. As they approach the mysterious alien spaceship orbiting Europa, the crew fractures into rival factions. Without warning, a long-range attack cripples the human ship. Now the broken crew is the least of Jack's worries. The alien spaceship isn't a wreck, after all. And whoever is on board wants the humans dead.

In the distant future, humanity is still alone among the stars. War ravages the superpowers of the planet in a seemingly never-ending conflict. Technological advancements to aid both sides of the war has pushed humans into the stars, in an effort for resources and colonization. The United Federation of Nations chose four planets for colonization, three were successful. During colonization, they discovered an ancient technology: the hyper-drive. Humanity had instant and unlimited access to its colonies, but the war continued to ravage.

Kate Braddock, a sexually ambiguous ex-Spacer, isolates herself on Luna. After detecting a faster-than-light ship en route to Earth several years ago, she now conducts geophysical surveys for a mineral resources consortium. One day, she and a young intern, Mary Atteberry, discover an anomaly in the dust near the Mare Marginis that is clearly unnatural, and clearly alien.

World War III is about to break out. As if that wasn’t dangerous enough, the enigmatic extraterrestrials called the Flickers have returned with a warning: do not venture beyond the moon. Faced with the ultimate threat, can humanity put aside their differences and unite to face the common danger?

Attention all you Salvage-5 and Colonel Tucker Petersen fans!! Hold on to your seat. The swashbuckling, cigar chomping, whiskey drinking, no-nonsense hero is back. Tucker goes on a personal quest to rescue Captain Cassandra Phillips. It’s been a long six months for the Colonel, but now the time has come for him to steal the SSV-5 and embark on their most dangerous mission yet: Return to asteroid 52 Europa.