Dark Beyond the Stars ((Beyond the Stars: Space Opera Anthologies #1) - A Space Opera Anthology

Rysa Walker

Auto publicado

2015

344 páginas

11h 28m

ISBN-10: B0147F216Y

From humanity's first contact with alien life, to the challenges of space travel, to colonies established light years from Earth, this anthology celebrates the wide sweep of space opera at its most sublime. Eleven of today's bestselling authors join forces to bring you these tales of action, adventure, and brilliant imagination.

There are worlds beyond worlds out there to explore, and millions of stories spinning across the galaxies. So sit back and be transported... ... to the dark beyond the stars.

Containment (Susan Kaye Quinn)

The Mining Master of Thebe is all alone… not counting the scavenger drones, foundry nanites, and magtread tractors buzzing across the tiny Jovian moon. So when a spindly tower of rocks mysteriously appears at the pole, it’s enough to vex the Mining Master’s machine-sourced intelligence like dust trapped in a harvester joint. Reporting it could mean reassignment to the Outer Belt… but probing the mystery further threatens to unlock something that might have been better left… contained.

Nos Morituri Te Salutamus (Annie Bellet)

The war with the Spidren is going badly; the United Fleet faces utter destruction. To snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, Commander Moira Ilvic and her hand-picked team undertake a desperate mission that might turn the tide of war in their favor. Their odds of success are low. Their odds of survival are worse. But if they don't succeed, humanity itself will be lost.

Protocol A235 (Theresa Kay)

Beth is a maintenance tech on the Genesis, the spaceship that will carry her, along with fifty thousand other passengers, to a new home in deep space. But when she comes out of cryosleep to serve her thirty-day solo shift, she finds the ship in disarray, its systems malfunctioning. Worse yet, a previously undisclosed protocol has been put into effect. Protocol A235. And now Beth finds herself facing much more responsibility than she signed up for.

Winner Takes All (Elle Casey)

Langlade, captain of the Kinsblade Fleet, has pulled into a station for some repairs to his ship—and to share a little down time with whatever willing female he can find to warm his bunk. But on this stop it’s not just a dockside dolly tempting him to stay, it’s a game of chance. There’s a card game with a very interesting proposition from the girl across the table: his number three ship anted up against the gift of her innocence. And one would be hard-pressed to determine which is the more valuable pot out here in the badlands, otherwise known as Centurion 4, the farthest Dark Settlement Station in the Triangulan Galaxy.

Carindi (Jennifer Foehner Wells)

Stranded in a ship orbiting a dying red giant, Ei’Pio is alone and without hope—until she discovers the child, Carindi. Despite being of two different species, the two form a bond and build a life together. But that life will be a short one unless they can find a way to get their ship in motion. The star they orbit is about to go supernova.

Animal Planet (Patrice Fitzgerald)
Earth is hot and crowded, and Jane is ready to leave that old rock in the dust, embarking on the grand adventure she’s always dreamed of, zipping across the galaxy to colonize a new planet. But when she arrives, the people are gone, and the Animals have taken over.

The Event (Autumn Kalquist)

Zenith has been forced to live one thousand lives. Now she must escape before she loses her own.

Dragonet (Sara Reine)

The inhabitants of Drakor III shouldn’t have seen the invasion coming, yet when Allied forces arrive for an assault on the dragons’ homeworld, the planet is teeming with life. After a desperate crash landing that leaves her Carriage destroyed, Aja Skytoucher doesn’t stand a chance—unless she can find a way off the surface.

Lulu Ad Infinitum (Ann Christy)

Lulu is a copy of the original Lulu who once lived on Earth. Her home is a self-replicating ship, and her entire purpose is to create new worlds like Earth. But when her ship is all but destroyed by a catastrophe, she’s left with only a dog for company and too much work to do. And getting her mission back on track will require a little bit more than just tanking up some new copies of her crew.

To Catch an Actor (Blair C. Babylon)

The only immortals now are the performers—the musicians, dancers, and actors who sell themselves to ride the near-lightspeed century ships to the many suns of the Known Worlds. If Police Detective Cordelia Hernandez can’t get actor Daveen Kelly to confess to a murder a hundred years old, he’ll board another ship and escape justice forever. But he doesn’t realize just how far technology has advanced while he’s been away.

2092 (Rysa Walker)

The Elisi Alliance is facing defeat in its struggle against the Lor, when Mila, an Elisi requisitions scout, uncovers evidence of a time-altering technology that could reverse the course of the war. The device is on XE7, a small planet Mila fears will be destroyed if pulled into the conflict. Can she retrieve the technology without sacrificing XE7? As a bonus for readers of The CHRONOS Files, this story answers the question Katherine never would: What really happened in 2092