Showing results by author "Terry Maggert" in All Categories

During a routine arrest, Van discovers a stolen spacecraft, its importance far greater than it first appears. Fast, sleek, and beautiful, the ship is a cultural relic from Linulla’s people, and returning their property will set off a chain of events that reveals a new adversary. Rising in the ranks, Van’s confrontation with a pirate leader isn’t just a case of theft, but something far more sinister. And Van’s going to take this case personally. He and his crew will chase the Salt Thieves and their leader in a game that can only have one winner.

A good Gajur gave his life. Will that sacrifice help bring the galaxy back to balance? Or topple known space into a war to end all wars? Armagost wasn't the only light snuffed prematurely. The attack destroyed an irreplaceable piece of Valint's life, as well. Now, Mark must toe the delicate line between lawman and friend, partner and lover. With those in power divided, the work has only begun. The galaxy no longer needs a maker of peace, but a lobbyist and negotiator. In order to deconstruct the entombed and corrupt system, Mark and the gang must stack the deck in their favor.

Calamity, the digital plague, is spreading, and where it strikes is both ruthless and random. Fearful of the Earth being ravaged, Van and the crew go on high alert to keep his homeworld free of galactic influence. That vision is shattered when Tony Burgess captures an alien ship... in Wisconsin. The ship isn't just a stray workboat. It's the opening ploy of a group that sees humanity as a business opportunity too big to pass up. Advancing in rank, Van is torn between two duties—to his crew and to his home.

Out among the stars, his cousin, Carter Yost, drags Van and his team into a criminal ring run by the High Doctor—a dangerous con artist with delusions of grandeur. Working from the abandoned world of Pathway, the High Doctor has created a cult, stealing a fortune from the fearful, sick, and scared. If there’s one thing Van hates, it’s a bully, and the High Doctor has his full attention. But in order to crush the criminal cult, Van needs bigger, better armor—and that comes with a price.

When the Equal Grasp and other unsavory aliens launch their plot to open humanity up to the stars—in the name of profit, of course—Van and his crew spring into action, fearing the fallout of a world gone mad. With each passing event in his career, Van continues to unravel locked memories, held by Perry, that explain a family history far more violent than he ever imagined.

With Veteran pay comes veteran problems. And the Guild, more often than not, is the issue. He’s become an effective enforcer of the law, but unfortunately, crime is growing a lot more complicated. Someone is slaving artificial beings to ships, running contraband across the stars in a fatal practice that marries murder, theft, and kidnapping. Even as Mark’s crew grows, he discovers these crimes aren’t just horrific—they’re common. And he means to stop it.

The universe is hungry. For power. For money. For war. And—revenge. Stripping osmium from across the stars, thieves will stop at nothing to fuel the nightmarish industry of Stolen Persons, their souls locked away in chips made of the rarest metal known. Among these thieves is Helum Gauss, the visionary criminal whose empire spans a hundred worlds. But his massive corporation, BeneStar, lost—badly—to Van and the Guild, and Gauss won’t take no for an answer.

On the run and out of chances, he guides his ship and crew into the heart of a relic older than the galaxy itself - and find himself on the edge of an eternal war he never knew existed. The relic is a mech, lost to history and forgotten by all who remain. Built by an ancient race to be the ultimate weapon, the machine is capable of unspeakable destruction, and its discovery could unhinge the balance of power throughout known space.

Disturbing the established order will mean kicking over a fair number of rocks, although Mark, Valint, and the others might be surprised by what scurries forth underneath—and what uniform it's wearing when it steps into the light. Mark Tudor will make the title Peacemaker mean something once again, but to do that, he'll have to face the worst the galaxy has to offer. Death waits in the quiet moments. And sometimes, it is a soldier's loved ones that pay the greatest price.

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.

The Earth’s navy is left drifting among the stars as Nyctus ships swarm, their purpose unknown as they continue their advance, burning one system after another. Humanity's extinction seems inevitable. But on one of the forgotten worlds, a boy is left behind, and he holds a talent unlike anything the galaxy has ever known. Thorn Stellers is a mage, trained to lead and fight. With a renegade division of warriors at his side, and with weapons far different from those of old Earth, Thorn has a chance at standing up to humanity's enemies.

The Ravennox are still out there. But thanks to Darius Spann and the Superba, Lawson and the other forces of the newly-restored Cygnus Realm face another, far more immediate threat. Spann and his Superba allies still hold sway over a huge swath of human territory, declaring it all Imperial space. Humanity is split, the Realm on one side and the Empire on the other, both claiming to be led by the Messenger. With neither able to land a decisive blow to knock out the other, a cold war now simmers between these two competing visions for the future.

Now, spreading among the new worlds of the Unseen gates, Dash and his people are building new lives, free of war and destruction. Until one of the former Unseen planets shifts in orbit - a small thing, but worth looking into. Close to this erratic world, something incredible opens, revealing a connection to stars so distant that they have no name on the Cygnus charts.

During a standard patrol, Thorn finds the scarred remains of a planet that has been reshaped by an unknown race. Massive machines were used to alter the landscape, and the only thing missing from the site is magic. Whoever is changing the galaxy, it isn’t the Nyctus.

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.

For years, pilots who merely looked like soldiers were adequate. They filled the mechs. They filled roles. They supported Spann and his genetic offshoot of pure-blooded warriors known as the Superba. Spann's dream of absolute power ends with a single, crushing blow as a new enemy strikes at the Realm, leaving no survivors—followed by a mad dash to find fighters who can stand up in the old ways, using the mechs gifted to humanity by their oldest allies. Even in the midst of war, there is hope.

Thorn Stellers and his daughter are a problem, and not just for the Nyctus. With their power taking shape in directions like no one has ever seen, the Orbital Navy is faced with an unwelcome reality: The Starcasters are beyond control. Kira and Damien are assigned diplomatic roles in the growing sphere of galactic relations, leading them to a stunning discovery - humans are not alone in their fight against the Nyctus. Worlds are being destroyed by an unseen foe, with no defense against their attacks.

The Verity are in collapse. Clan Shirna is gone. And all along, the ships of the Cygnus Realm have been pushing back until only the Golden are left. Or so Dash thought. With the discovery of two new races and a sphere of stars embroiled in war, Dash hurls the Forge ever deeper into territory where no human can live free. The Golden are no longer merely advisors - now, they are present in the fights themselves, their silver ships gleaming with menace in a war that threatens to incinerate an entire arm of the galaxy.

Fresh off their first major victory against the Nyctus, the Orbital Navy is moving forward in confusion. Starcasters, led by Thorn Stellers, are not trusted - magic has not replaced the power of steel and naval might, and humanity is at a crossroads. As Thorn and Kira define their roles in the new navy, magic refuses to stay still. When Thorn discovers he has untapped power, Mol Wyant helps him use it. The results will change every rule, along with the known galaxy, for Thorn Stellers isn’t just a magician of unknown power. He’s a weapon of undiscovered fury.

Now at home in the Aquarian system, Dash and his team receive news from a dying ship. With 30 systems under their inhuman control, the newest enemy to free life in the galaxy seeks to engage and destroy the Messenger by any means necessary. The skyhooks are only the beginning of a secret plan to hide Dark Metal, but Dash, the Gentle Friends, and the rest of the Messenger's growing forces will find a way to fight back. Plunging into the swirling deep, Dash discovers an ancient plot to use drones, Dark Metal, and a device so advanced it is only known by one word: the Shroud.