Showing results by author "Chris Kennedy" in All Categories

The recon by fire mission seemed like a good idea, but things immediately went sideways when the Terran fleet attacked the picket cruiser waiting for them in the first system. The advance then stalled completely when their returning fighters were captured by the Cowlees. Forced to focus on the Shirgan system rather than continuing on toward the Cowlee homeworld of Gsstow, the Terran fleet—barely—survived a string of pyrrhic victories as it sought to enforce its will.

Although Will Johnson and the Sutton siblings didn't gain as big an edge as they had hoped by attacking the Cowlee fleet in the Salchan system, they successfully captured an enemy cruiser and returned with a new ally in their fight against the Cowlees. They also returned with an opportunity—having destroyed most of the enemy battle station in the Shirgan system, the way was open into Cowlee territory, where a blitzkrieg attack might throw the Cowlees off balance and keep them away from Earth for a while longer.

First contact has been made, and Earth's militaries and its premier mercenary companies stand ready to take their first tentative steps outside the solar system. With a galaxy of aliens to explore and fistfuls of credits to be made, follow along as the Four Horsemen select their contracts and venture forth to meet their destinies.

Tald is the first SalSha Peacemaker Candidate…ever. Some would say he’s not smart enough or good enough to be a Peacemaker, or that the uplift designed to make him a “Sha” failed in his case.

Peacemakers. The Galactic Union’s most capable enforcers and resolute negotiators, their name alone elicits fear and awe among the Union’s citizenry. It is a time of upheaval throughout the Galactic Union. As the effects of the Omega War ripple outward, a Peacemaker falls silent at the outpost mining colony of Parmick. Sensing danger, the Peacemaker Guild dispatches two new graduates of the Academy to investigate and report. They are a new breed of Peacemaker, perfect for the clandestine infiltration mission.

On Earth, the moratorium on mercenary contracts is disrupting Jim Cartwright’s efforts to stand up the new Terran Federation. Making matters worse, Jim has received intelligence that someone is squatting on asteroids in our Solar System...and Sansar Enkh is pretty sure they don’t have Earth’s best interests in mind. Fearing the aliens have plans for another invasion - or worse - Jim takes his ship, Bucephalus, and sets off to investigate.

The Shongairi conquered Earth. In mere minutes, half the human race died, and our cities lay in shattered ruins. But the Shongairi didn't expect the survivors' tenacity. And, crucially, they didn't know that Earth harbored two species of intelligent, tool-using bipeds. One of them, long-lived and lethal, was hiding in the mountains of eastern Europe, the subject of fantasy and legend. When they emerged and made alliance with humankind, the invading aliens didn't stand a chance. Now, a select few blood-drinking immortals are on their way to the Shongairi homeworld.

The Omega War is in full swing. Earth has fallen to General Peepo’s army, and the surviving human mercenaries have taken refuge at the hidden Winged Hussars’ base in New Warsaw. On Earth, the defensive forces fight to keep the hearts and minds of their fellow humans, but Peepo’s plans are slowly converting the people to her way of thinking, and the Mercenary Guild troops continue to root out the forces arrayed against them.

Fifteen outstanding authors. Fourteen extraordinary stories. One best-selling universe. It’s the 22nd century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. Enter the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for money separates humans from the majority of the other races. Enter a galaxy not only of mercenaries, but also of aliens, hired assassins, and accountants. Accountants?

With war afoot, James Sutton and Will Johnson are tasked with chasing down the Cowlee stealth ship that has the coordinates to Earth. If the ship makes it back to the Cowlees’ home world, life as we know it will end. Meanwhile, Holly Sutton is ready to attempt the jungle warfare school on Salchan. But when it doesn’t go as planned, she’ll be lucky to escape the swamps with her life.

We were barely holding our own against the military castoffs of the Overlords, though—how can we expect to fight in the front lines of a galaxy-wide war against the upscale technology of the new enemy, the Kardons? Lance and Sofia will have to upgrade Uplink Squadron with new weapons and tactics if they’re to last beyond the first few minutes in this new way of war. But when they meet the new enemy in battle, it becomes obvious that the Overlords aren’t telling us everything, and Lance and Sofia are forced to wonder if they’re fighting for the right side.

After a stunning victory at the Merc Guild shipyard of Golara, the leaders of the Four Horsemen mercenary units of Earth have decided it’s time to take back the colonies the Merc Guild has captured, and the Horsemen split up to liberate them. While the Merc Guild still has humanity outnumbered, Alexis Cromwell, the leader of the Winged Hussars, has incorporated the ships captured in Golara into her fleet, and she hopes the Humans can achieve local superiority across four systems with her new battleships and her Egleesius cruisers.

Taylor Van Zant, the owner of Swamp Eagle Security, thought he was doing a good thing when he destroyed the slave ring operating out of Droxis, even though the slavers blew up the red diamond mine there as they tried to escape. Unfortunately, the mine belonged to the synthetic intelligence running the Merchant Guild, and it was…displeased with the mine’s destruction, so it put out a death contract on all the members of Swamp Eagle Security.

The Sutton siblings have pulled off the unthinkable—they defeated a Cowlee force led by one of the princes and returned with more forces than Terra previously had at its disposal. But the Cowlee fleet remains in the Sirius system, unsuspecting, waiting for the return of a prince who will never be back, and the Suttons have an idea on how to make the fleet their own. With very little to lose and everything to gain, the general authorizes their plan, hoping to gain an edge they desperately need over the alien Cowlees.

It was a normal Sunday morning at Teledyne Industries. Until the missiles started flying, and Joe Rinardi had 10 minutes to get out of the nuclear blast zone. A Teledyne specialist, he was one of the best, and equally adept at escape and evasion as he was at killing obsidian agents. When the bombs started dropping, though, he was given one final mission that he had to complete: travel to Philadelphia and kill the obsidian managers that Teledyne ran out of missiles for. After that, he could be free.

With Alexis Cromwell shot in the back by her XO and the fleet in ruins, the Humans have run back to New Warsaw to lick their wounds, but the Merc Guild now knows the location of their hidden base, and they are in hot pursuit. Led by the New Era, a dreadnought built for the sole purpose of destroying humanity, they are an unstoppable force.

It's the 22nd century. Humanity has taken its first steps into the galaxy, and we've found ourselves in a vast playground of alien races, environments, and cultures. As the newest players on the universal stage, though, our position is readily apparent - we're at the bottom of the food chain.

It's the 22nd Century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There's just one catch: we are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. Enter the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for money separates Humans from the majority of the other races. Enter a galaxy not only of mercenaries, but also of Peacemakers, bounty hunters, and even a strung out junkie.

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.

We've come a long way in the forty years since the Shongairi attacked Earth, killed half its people, and then were driven away by an alliance of humans with the other sentient bipeds who inhabit our planet. We took the technology they left behind, and rapidly built ourselves into a starfaring civilization. Because we haven't got a moment to lose. Because it's clear that there are even more powerful, more hostile aliens out there, and Earth needs allies. But it also transpires that the Shongairi expedition that nearly destroyed our home planet ... wasn't an official one.