Knocking at death’s door. Bargaining for a second chance. Seems like a heck of a way to find out about an alien invasion.... Vietnam vet Albert Jenkins is battling a bulging waistline and a passion for drink. So when a towering pile of scrap rocket parts falls and crushes the stubborn curmudgeon, he thinks it’s finally the end. But just as he’s about to take one final breath, a snarky alien parasite offers him a deal: His life in return for sharing his body.

In this gripping new military science fiction novel, the universe teeters on the brink of invasion, and the Obsidian Union scrambles to assemble a formidable force of combat pilots. Enter Gordy Harmen, once a legendary Air Force pilot whose illustrious career came to an end due to physical limitations. Desperate and with nothing to lose, Gordy is approached with a tantalizing proposition.

In a distant future where humanity has colonized the stars, settlements are suddenly going dark. When deep space trackers Gunnison Creek and Uma Salvo begin to investigate, they are swiftly scapegoated and forced to go on the run. Before long, a chilling conspiracy begins to emerge, one that threatens humanity—and all life itself.

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

The Confederated Systems Alliance has spread to dozens of systems, creating the first true interstellar alliance dedicated to bringing peace and prosperity to all inhabited worlds. Unfortunately, some see this new alliance as a threat to their own seats of power, and would do anything to stop it. After a well deserved rest, Captain Nathan Scott is once again called into action. This time, it is not the fate of the galaxy that is on his shoulders, but the life of one of his dearest friends. But not all is as it appears.

In the near future space debris around Earth has made it impossible to traverse our solar system. Or it would be, if not for prisoners sentenced to clearing that debris known as Orbital Garbage Removal Experts, or O.G.R.E. for short. Former linguistics professor Dax has made it a habit of working aboard The Junkyard with a small crew, the conspiracy theorist, tech-savvy hacker Mark and the once decorated military hero turned war criminal, Kane.

When a bunch of interstellar scavengers approach Earth intending to abduct a few dozen humans and sell them into slavery in the darkest, they make the mistake of picking on Steve Stuart and his friends, ex-military veterans all. Unprepared for humans who can actually fight, unaware of the true capabilities of their stolen starships, the scavengers rapidly lose control of the ship - and their lives.

When aliens invade Las Vegas, one man is thrust into a battle beyond imagination, fighting the terrifying shock troops of a sprawling galactic empire. To protect a terrified child, he seizes the strange weapon of a fallen hero—an ancient, sentient sword—and is catapulted far into the future with no way back. Now trapped in an alien world, he must master the sword's mysterious power and navigate a deadly game of political intrigue. But time is running out for humanity.

When Thomas heard the cries for help, he didn’t hesitate to do the right thing. It was his chance for redemption. Until everything went wrong. The cave should have been deserted. The perfect place to hide. Instead, it’s crawling with soldiers and engineers working to unearth the impossible: Excalibur.

Rejected scientist Alexander Hawke is down to his last chance. Brilliant but sheltered, every banker in New York has refused to finance his ideas. Enter the Russian—charming, dangerous, and offering an Antarctic expedition that promises answers to all of his questions. Now, Alexander stands at the edge of a bottomless chasm. With a helpful shove from his foreign benefactor, he plunges into adventure. Landing in darkness, Alexander finds a portal to destiny—weirder than New York, colder than Russia, and filled with the ruins of an empire that once spanned the galaxy.

Kai Fletcher thought he could go straight, until he couldn’t. And when his last "last" job goes wrong, he finds himself stowed away in a starship belonging to an alien crime syndicate. Forced into servitude to pay the debt for passage off world, Kai bargains with the syndicate. All he has to do is help them rob the Vakness Empire, the most powerful alien empire in known space, and he gets to go home. Easy Peasy. Until it isn’t.

When a fishing trip on the Gnard Sea of Grünholz ends in catastrophe, Jennifer James is pronounced lost at sea. But when evidence of foul play is uncovered by her persistent son, the family will have to choose if they’ll risk everything and go against the growing corruption within their home of Neo Firma.

Two centuries after the Confederation staved off an invasion by the robotic Locusts, Captain Jack Romanoff faces mandatory retirement from an ever-shrinking navy. Actions speak louder than words. The Confederation doesn’t think the Locusts are coming back. But what if the politicians are wrong?

He knows it, and so does everyone else in the star nation of Prometheus. A promising naval career down the drain just because he accidentally killed 504 civilians. So, it's time for him to give up and accept a dead-end command on Persephone, the worst starship in the fleet. Until he meets the beautiful and cunning Jessica Lin, his new executive officer, who harbors a terrible secret of her own. Now, with an enemy warship four times their size bearing down on them, Brad's in a race to save Jessica and his stupid ship.

When a battleship and its escorts mysteriously disappear near a contested area of space, they leave no clues behind, and their own Navy is preparing for war and can’t spare the resources to find them. Which wouldn’t really matter to ex-Navy Captain Brad Mendoza. He finally has all he ever wanted: a ship, a crew, and the most beautiful woman in the galaxy as his girlfriend. Seriously, can life get any better? But that’s when Carla Mendoza, his ex-wife, appears, begging Brad for help to find the missing task force and its flag captain, the man she left Brad for.

In this gripping new military science fiction novel, the universe teeters on the brink of invasion, and the Obsidian Union scrambles to assemble a formidable force of combat pilots. Enter Gordy Harmen, once a legendary Air Force pilot whose illustrious career came to an end due to physical limitations. Desperate and with nothing to lose, Gordy is approached with a tantalizing proposition.

Knocking at death’s door. Bargaining for a second chance. Seems like a heck of a way to find out about an alien invasion.... Vietnam vet Albert Jenkins is battling a bulging waistline and a passion for drink. So when a towering pile of scrap rocket parts falls and crushes the stubborn curmudgeon, he thinks it’s finally the end. But just as he’s about to take one final breath, a snarky alien parasite offers him a deal: His life in return for sharing his body.

Drake steals artifacts so they can benefit all of mankind. They belong in a museum, after all, not hoarded by a select few in their private vaults. It's a dangerous life, but someone has to do it. Until he learns of a map to the location of a lost mega-freighter once belonging to the ancient royal family. Drake, like so many before him, can't resist the siren's call. After all, it's the find of a lifetime.

When Thomas heard the cries for help, he didn’t hesitate to do the right thing. It was his chance for redemption. Until everything went wrong. The cave should have been deserted. The perfect place to hide. Instead, it’s crawling with soldiers and engineers working to unearth the impossible: Excalibur.

Mark was happy enough, working as a mechanic. He didn't know that he was more than that until his mother gave him some keepsakes from his grandfather. Those opened his eyes to a whole world that he hadn't realized he had a place in. Watch him learn to use his new skills.

One man and his family of warriors love nothing better than mech battles, powered swords, and boarding actions. They're about to get their fill. Duke Uron Marlboro led his mighty house to victory in the Zezner war. The last thing he expected was for his political allies to turn on him once the planetary invasion was thwarted. With a civil war brewing between the noble houses, Uron has one option: lead a long-awaited expedition to find his people's mysterious home world.

The Planetary Republic and Star League have settled their differences. Treaties are signed, trade is restored. But spies and diplomatic turmoil lead to a high-tech cold war of epic proportions. Ex Space Marine Gina Wilcox finds herself in a law enforcement career after the war, but life can be just as dangerous on the streets as the battlefield. Sleeper cells activate, assassinating government officials. Crime syndicates flourish. And a certain high-tech android has been stolen by the League, spirited off world for unknown purposes. Into this milieu a band of Marine outcasts join the fight....

When the over-driven hyperdrive on their mobile shipyard burned out, the Chhrt'ktk't abandoned it in an inhabited system along their path, hoping it would work as a decoy to buy them more time to escape the Khreetan fleet pursuing them. They didn't anticipate how far the pre-spacefaring species they turned over their broken-down maintenance facility to would subvert their plan.

Major Ethan Irons thought surviving Earth's near-extinction event was the pinnacle of disaster, but when the remnants of humanity are catapulted into a galactic conflict beyond their wildest nightmares, he's plunged into an unimaginable odyssey. Armed with nothing but his wits, a sardonic AI companion, and unlikely alliances with enigmatic alien species, he must navigate the treacherous waters of intergalactic politics and warfare. Can Ethan and his ragtag band of survivors rekindle the flame of hope for humanity?

Fresh out of the Academy, Ensign Cole Jackson’s first posting to Freedom couldn’t have come at a worse time. All over the Alliance, planets and colonies are suddenly under attack by the vicious Coven Empire. Freedom and her sister ship, Hood, are ambushed by alien warships, leaving Hood drifting dead in the void. Cole is ordered to salvage parts from the powerless Hood, but when he arrives on the unpowered hulk, Freedom is called away, marooning him and a group of malcontent techs in deep space.