Synopsis

An Artificial Intelligence is tasked with transporting colonists from an ancient civilization to a new planet, but when an accident kills her crew and leaves her ship stranded in a distant galaxy, she must arm herself to protect against possible threats. Before she can acquire the rare materials needed to repair her ship and return to finish her mission, she encounters two fledgling interstellar empires embroiled in war. Both will do anything to acquire her advanced technology, but betrayals, alliances, and innocent civilians complicate matters. Can she assist refugees of war without sacrificing herself? Can she repair herself and return home to complete her mission? What lengths will she go to to survive? How many must die before she can bring life to a new world?

Excerpt

In one instant, her resolve almost failed. She had thought about this moment for more than a century, and here she was, about to engage in combat with an unknown enemy force. She had no idea what kind of weapons it had. There was no clue if it had a self destruct that could somehow destroy her as well. Energy shields could absorb the laser radiation, or maybe deflect it back at her. The possibilities were endless. No statistics could apply because she had nothing to compare.

1.01…

The moment passed as fast as it came. She knew even if she died here, she would never allow herself to be captured. She would self destruct before that happened.

1.00

She fired.

Space between The Ship and the Fessen’s Blade was suddenly filled with hundreds of brilliant blue beams of light. The Fessen’s armor collapsed instantly and the metal boiled as trillions of joules of energy poured into the vessel. The metal vapor expanded quickly like a bucket of water that was suddenly dumped out.

She had been expecting the worst. This vessel had only needed a fraction of the energy she spent on it. But the encounter had not improved her situation. The conversation with the captain had been mostly fruitless. There was the small exception that they knew what trinium was and, to some extent, had access to it. She was still drifting, moving only by her initial momentum. Her sublight engines and hyperdrives were useless without the trinium. She could only do what she had already been doing: wait.

Ryan Lesairo and Quinn Hammond work for a massive megacorporation. They enjoy their corporate lives aside from the occasional run-in with their rival, James Gunn. But an opportunity to get one up on James comes with the discovery of an old customer database locked with a digital key. Somewhere in their oldest, largest factory, the key lies buried. The two of them are tasked to find it. But no matter how much James raves and rants in his ivory tower, the true threat lies below. For danger lurks in forgotten places, and the key they seek has been undisturbed for a very long time…

Excerpt

Alex shrugged. “Devlin Incorporated may own the place, but they left it long ago. The destinies of the people Devlin abandoned have been inherited by something else. Something growing at the heart of the factory. Whether aliens, demons, fairies, rainbow-puking unicorns or nothing but figments of our own imagination, we may never know. But it isn’t completely hostile. This machine is proof of that.”

Ryan and Quinn looked at each other. “I think you’re making too much of a magic vending machine.”

“Maybe. Maybe. But you asked me to explain it, and I think while there is a perfect explanation, it might not be found in our lifetime. If ever.”

Quinn downed the last of his cola. “I can live with that.”