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?

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

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.

After the majority of his body is destroyed during a high-risk operation, Aiden Thorn is subjected to an experimental, potentially lifesaving procedure… one he never tacitly agreed to undergo. With no choice but to see the unorthodox new process through, he accepts his fate and works to adapt to his new life. But when an intergalactic corporation steps in and essentially claims ownership of Aiden and everyone like him, he is forced to do the two things he does best… survive, and fight.

In a single act of courage, the young American grunt saves an interstellar soldier from certain death at the hands of a vicious killer. Afterward, she promises to show him the stars. Mark will begin his new life far away from Earth—a life not so different from that of a humble soldier. Out among the asteroids, he learns of swords and honor, starships and empires. He learns what it means to be a Peacemaker. Along the way, he's joined by Perry, his combat AI companion who helps Mark learn how to survive—and earn a living—among the stars.

Charlie Travers figures his life can’t get much worse. He lives over a pizza restaurant, he’s lost his girlfriend, and has no prospects for a career. Then, he’s abducted by an alien robot and taken across the galaxy. When he wakes up, he finds himself stranded thousands of light-years away, and about to be killed by space pirates.

After his parents died, Alex Roth had one desire: become a wizard. Through hard work, he was accepted into the University of Generasi, the world’s greatest academy of wizardry.... Fate, however, had another plan. On his 18th birthday, he is Marked by prophecy as one of his kingdom’s five Heroes, chosen to fight the Ravener, his land’s great enemy. But his brand is "The Fool". Worst of the marks.

When three local bullies pick on Iron Hills dwarf Eiravel (Val) Stonehold, she naturally defends herself. Why is she the only one who gets thrown out of the tavern after the brawl? On her way home, two bumbling dragons in human form, Axl and Livius, accost her and hand her a letter. What can the new Eternal Queen Julie possibly want with her? As it turns out, the queen wants her body.

Sector General: a massive deep-space hospital station on the Galactic Rim, where human and alien medicine meet. It's 384 levels and thousands of staff members are supposedly able to meet the needs of any conceivable alien patient–though that capacity is always being strained as more (and stranger) alien races turn up to join the galactic community. Sentient viruses, interspecies romances, undreamed-of institutional catering problems–it all lands on Sector General's doorstep.

Reborn on Gryndor with the mythical trait [Divine Witness], Ajax swears to live a life of no regrets. This time, he will seize every opportunity, fight every monster, and plunder every treasure as he enjoys life to the fullest. If only it were that easy. Humans are considered one of the weakest sentient races, confined to their patch of land but that hasn't changed their nature as they fight amongst themselves forced to split their sources of power instead of unite for the greater whole

Dace Tolman’s life has been overturned. One moment he was in his apartment and the next, he and the rest of humanity find themselves in a strange world of monsters and magic. A new world. There is nothing benign about mankind’s new home. The Proving Grounds is a world seemingly designed to enhance those worthy of its gifts—and to kill off the rest. Every day is a struggle against the System and its creatures. Can Dace survive its challenges?

When the research starship Galileo vanishes without a trace, the powers-that-be are quick to bury the incident, eager to prevent escalating tensions that could lead to war. As a former POW, Soren refuses to give the ship up for lost. His daughter is one of the missing. Taking matters into his own hands, Soren starts pulling strings and calling in favors, determined to launch a clandestine mission to bring Galileo home. When an old friend offers him a ship for the operation, he expects a rusty relic headed for the scrapyard.

During a test flight for the world’s first warp engine, Major Noah Gantz is set to go down in the history books. Despite years of training, the mission goes sideways, and instead of a quick trip to the moon and back, Noah's ship is transported across the universe to stars unknown.

Sergeant Paxton Alejo is a League of Humanity Marine Commando, the best of the best. After getting sent to oversee a batch of fresh conscripts, Pax makes the fateful decision to sacrifice his life to save his subordinates. He is posthumously awarded the Cross of Honor, the highest military medal . . .

The war against the AI was won but a new threat is rising. Hank Spears is content with his life as a scrapper until he unearths an artificial intelligence who warns him of a grave threat to all life in the universe. Since AI has long been outlawed and anyone caught harboring one is imprisoned or executed, the two must go on the run, fleeing into the far reaches of space. They must avoid capture, all for the sake of those who would imprison them. Looking for help from old friends to fight new enemies, Hank must find a way to save himself so that he can save the universe.

In a universe where a being’s very existence is a game and its players tussle for power, Earth is the latest battleground, but for Titus and his friends, the stakes are very real. Earth’s future hangs in the balance and power beyond imagining waits to be seized. When the System came, it ravaged Earth, destroying everything Humankind had built and killing billions in a matter of days. For those few that survived, like Titus, it was like living in a hellscape.

When Mason wakes up naked and alone in a whole new world, everything changes. Lying there with blades of blue grass stabbing him in his ass, he has no idea just how chaotic his life is about to become. His new world is crammed full of monsters, magic, and worse. But first things first. He's arrived buck-naked in a strange land—should he pick a weapon or clothes first?

Egor, a fresh college grad from Russia, takes his classmate's advice and joins a popular VR game, hoping to earn some cash. With a tight budget that won't cover a full account or a fancy VR immersion capsule, he opts for a free trial account and fires up his ancient gaming console. Egor's plan is simple: mine ore in the sandbox and slaughter hordes of rabbits, all in the name of scoring some sweet loot. Little does he know, he's about to stumble upon an item that will make the game's elite players stop at nothing to take him down…

In a world where family secrets unravel and identities shatter, Troy’s life takes an unexpected turn. His home is no longer a sanctuary, and his family’s truths are nothing but a web of lies. Cast adrift with only a battered ship, a cryptic name, and a distant destination, Troy embarks on a perilous journey to unravel the mysteries of his past.

A single slip is all it takes. But the consequences of falling from a rock wall are usually broken bones and bruises . . . not waking up in the body of a dragon. So when a young bouldering instructor finds herself suddenly transported to a strange new world—and into a powerful black-scaled frame— she must rethink all the rules as well as her own expectations in order to survive.

When professional magician Max is guided through a portal by a mysterious book from his past, it makes sense that he's classed as a Magician in this game-like fantasy world. As a workaholic and a loner, his career has been his life thus far, so why wouldn't it continue to be? But then his Soul Merge fails, and the System decides to find a compromise, classing him as something weirder: a Demonic Magician. Armed with a card deck of new tricks, his showmanship skills, and the power to summon demons, Max is ready to fight his way through this realm of pink slimes, monsters and opposing Players.

Thea is a washed-up mimic exterminator who expected more out of life, not some hero from stories. Aven is an impulsive wandering adventurer whose personal goddess is constantly getting her into trouble. Neither of them has the slightest interest in getting involved in world-shaking historical events. History doesn't care what they want, unfortunately. It's fallen right into their laps in the shape of a god-slaying weapon from a fallen civilization. Thrown together out of chance, Thea and Aven will have to learn to work together if they want to survive their pursuers.

Maxim Volt worked very hard NOT to become the local madman. He didn’t plot doom upon his enemies (even when they deserved it). He didn’t stitch together monsters with parts 'recycled' from the local graveyard. Why, he barely allowed himself a maniacal laugh or two! And yet, he still somehow ended up getting kicked out of university, banished from the family estate, and inheriting a decrepit castle high in the mountains of Eastern Europe, complete with a spooky but devoted maid.

Veos has quickly proved to be far more capable than your average Dungeon Core. In the eyes of his challengers, at least. He's instinctive and motivated, with a drive to craft an intricate story and create obstacles for all those who seek to explore what lies beneath Nerian-Silex. Though Veos is certainly an unusual dungeon, what truly sets him apart is unknown to most—even himself. But now he's stumbled upon intel about the realm's dark history that, if tampered with, could reawaken a horrific enemy.

Mason the survivalist was always preparing for the end of the world. He just didn’t expect a god-like AI to transform it into a damn video game. Now he has to pick a ‘class’, survive a ‘tutorial’ (filled with monstrous creatures trying to murder him), and somehow find his brother Blake before the idiot gets himself killed. OK. Blake’s no idiot. He’s a charming, incredibly lucky, ambitious world-beater. But he was destined for corporate boardrooms, not monster filled forests, and Mason knows he needs to reach him before it’s too late.

Jenny Huang's day starts out stressful enough. Between an argument with her overbearing mom and a surprise pop quiz in first-period English, she's counting down the weeks until she can escape to college. To top it all off, she's working up the nerve to ask her best-friend-slash-crush to prom. But when an earthquake rips her high school into another realm, Jenny suddenly has much bigger problems to contend with. The Survival Challenge is in effect, trapping Jenny and her classmates in a hellish battle royale.

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?

A lethal alien force from another galaxy attacks earth with devastating power and puts humans on the brink of existence—until an unknown player arrives on the scene. His private secret desert underground base has equipment the world was not supposed to know about unless the world military powers overstepped.

Warren is just a guardsman with a haunted past eager for a new castle to defend. All that changes when he's summoned to the edges of the kingdom, where walls protect cities against the diabolical foes of the wildlands. His mission is simple: save the Dragon Farm he just inherited, settle down as a lord, and help his new city thrive. As a soldier who normally lives by the blade, he's out of his element but up to the task... especially since tame dragons seem to like him.

Something is coming -- throwing the balance of the realm into chaos. Darkmoor is a dumping ground for other planets, where criminals are left to fend for themselves in an environment incapable of electricity or modern innovation. But what makes a criminal? Over the centuries, these outlaws have banded together to form communities, basic infrastructure, and even religion. Out of this forsaken place, a hero will arise, and a secret will emerge that could devastate the pampered lives of those on the surrounding planets and the entire realm. Some are eager to take advantage.