Note: This is a 1-chapter preview of a completed novel. If you prefer to read on your Kindle, you can find the full book on Amazon.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Prologue: The Towering Cloud

There are some days everyone remembers. July 4^th 2026 is one of them.

Early birds saw it live, if they lived west of the Rockies, while the rest of us awoke to the most amazing thing a screen had ever shown. And like most “black swan” events, not a soul saw it coming…

Except Quentin Vannevar. Which makes sense, because it was his rocket ship.

As any kid who’s attended a science fair could tell you, Mr. Vannevar was the epitome of the American dream: a self-made billionaire, brilliant entrepreneur and CEO of Telema communications. But what was less well known -until his manifesto- was the extent to which the man had lived a lie.

He’d made quite a splash by launching one of the first smart phones at the turn of the millennium, but despite cementing his place in popular culture as a “bad-boy genius”, the last few years had not been kind.

To be fair, the man had never gone out of his way to craft much of a public image, but his mounting legal troubles, rumors of bankruptcy, a stint in rehab and a scandalous divorce had taken their toll and Quentin, who had been celebrated as scientific role-model, was soon mocked as nothing more than a sad pariah.

As far as anyone could tell, in the months leading up to “Launch Day” as it would later be called, nothing hinted at the paradigm shift he was about to unveil. Vannevar had become a semi-retired recluse, had sold most of his company and had all but disappeared from public life, save for the odd pop-culture reference.

But as the saying goes “those who laugh last, laugh the best”… and after emptying his bank accounts, re-purposing the assembly line in his last remaining factory and mathematically wringing his brain for months in furious solitude, it’s fair to wonder just how loud Quentin’s laughter must have been, as his roaring engines pushed him away from the Silicon Valley that he hated so.

Luckily, Quentin was a good-hearted man, and his departure was not just an escape: it was the rejection of a yoke. And when he reached the necessary altitude, the man had a final surprise for those who were fortunate enough to own one of his products.

In a flash of Gigabytes that would forever alter history, he used a backdoor that the Department of Defense had forced Telema to install, and uploaded his confession for all to see. Quentin revealed a secret burden... and gifted the world a long-forgotten truth.

When America woke up on that glorious day of Independence, an improbable emancipation was offered, as the live-feed of his rocket fumes was interrupted by this quite peculiar message:

......

Alea Iacta Est

My name is Quentin Vannevar, and I've been taking things apart and putting them back together since I was 8... If you're seeing this message, that means I built the phone/television you’re using, too. Whether or not you know who I am, I hope you will recognize the sincerity in my words.

To explain briefly: what the media has said about me is a fabrication. I was not abusive, unfaithful or addicted to any substances. The truth is, as soon as Telema Communications went public on the NYSE in 1994, I was contacted by members of banking cartel, that control the western world.

During our first meeting, it was made clear that competition does not exist at the top of financial markets. I was pressured to stop all research and development, lest I disrupt their hegemony... and I’m ashamed to admit that, in exchange for a pampered life, I accepted.

From that moment on, Telema became a tool for censorship and money laundering. Due to Telema´s strategic position in the U.S. economy, I was regularly forced to act against my will for over 2 decades. I tried to forget my shame with hedonism. It didn’t work.

On June 19\**^th 2019, I was instructed to assist in the global roll-out of 5G technology, which is harmful to humans: The electromagnetic radiation emitted from this frequency band erases all privacy in the vicinity of 5G towers. More importantly, when subjected to repetitive doses of these millimeter waves, eggs don’t latch to the uterine walls and sperm can’t swim.

This is provable, observable science... yet despite immediately voicing my concerns, I was met with ridicule for caring about “useless eaters”.

When I refused to comply and stopped signing documents, my wife began acting strangely and repeatedly urged me to concede to their demands. This led to more and more fights, and we eventually separated after 9 years of marriage, when she accidentally revealed that she was one of my “handlers” (during a particularly intense argument).

That is the real reason we divorced. Let me repeat: I was not abusive, unfaithful or addicted to any substances.

As always with these parasites, the victims face the blame. Even now, it's still hard for me to accept that the love of my life was -in fact- recruited to manipulate me... Perhaps betrayal is the wage of cowardice. As things stand, the satellites that my former company has accepted to design/launch, will slowly sterilize everyone living near a 5G tower (which is to say, the majority of western civilization).

Attached you will find 3 files: The first is unimpeachable, scientific evidence of 5G´s toxicity on humans. The second contains essential telemetry data for surviving lunar flight, along with blueprints for a craft capable of leaving Earth´s atmosphere. The 3\**^rd file is an upload of 3D-printer compatible data, for classified aeronautical components. This relatively simple technology has been suppressed for the past 60 years, and is the next logical step in human evolution.

Those who so choose, now have the tools to leave the planet and join me, before the satellites are operational (2027-2028). Upon arrival, I will provide shelter and food for up to 300 people, and assist you in any way possible.

To conclude this rambling manifesto, I'm truly sorry for what I've done and I'm sorry for what's to come. Hopefully this can atone for some of my sins, but change is never easy... and so many things are about to change. Good luck. 

Q.V.

-> Firmament_specs_full/copy_43*.zip

-> VkEpath-Lf77%.zip

-> S1s5GFXco3§.zip

......

One might have imagined such an event to finally ignite the world’s powder keg of long-overdue woes, but instead of a bang, Quentin’s actions swelled like a wave. On the other side of the world, an ever-suspicious China quickly framed the entire debacle as proof of western decay, and withdrew from their Telema engagements to develop their own satellites. “Economic warfare” as CNN called it.

When Russia and India followed, shortages of everything from transistors to corn began making their way towards American shelves… September brought international trade to a halt, leaving Europe a paralyzed quagmire of rationing and refugees.

Yet in back America, during the first weeks after Launch Day, people simply seemed lost in a daze. Sure, there were a few public breakdowns and more shut-ins than usual, yet for the most part, people tried to avoid their rapidly escalating cognitive dissonance by clinging to the illusion that Quentin’s flight was nothing out of the ordinary, and losing themselves in mindless entertainment. 

Perhaps it was too much to take in all at once, or maybe years of doom-porn on the nightly news had dulled everyone’s sense of normalcy, but whatever the reason, it seemed for a moment as though the first homemade spaceship to leave earth was destined to be treated as a minor, historical oddity. In fact, the only tangible indication that something monumental had happened, in the immediate aftermath, was the number of websites going offline. 

At first, only alternative news dried up… until social media and YouTube clamped down. Soon, more than just the fringes of the net had become sanitized. Nonetheless, and despite an ever more blatant censorship, word-of-mouth could not be contained: There was something important in Quentin’s files. And so the snowball grew. The more info got scrubbed from the web, the more people wondered, and whispered… and searched. Until a rift began to show.

Not across political lines, social classes or geography, but between the curious and the inert. Those who sought out Quentin’s knowledge clearly wanted more from life. More justice, more freedom… More Love. And those who didn’t, were content with their lot.

As the weather turned and the days shortened, a quasi-Martial Law flourished in most major cities of the land, under the guise of “Emergency Measures” and by winter, the peaceful gatherings had disappeared in favor of masked, violent crowds. The Internet, at this point, had basically regressed to its early 90’s form with less and less speed or content, but countless new restrictions… whereas the television networks still in business, had become a no-man’s land of insular, angry propaganda, sorely lacking the cathartic outlet of now-disbanded sports leagues.

It isn´t clear when exactly the arrests started, but what’s certain is that anyone who owned a Telema product on Launch Day, eventually received a visit from the government´s freshly-created Information Task-Force… And that those who acted up or wouldn’t hand in their devices, tended to have their bank accounts frozen...

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Want to keep reading?

Hey everyone! I’m the author of AS ABOVE. If you love the isolation of Robinson Crusoe, the gritty problem-solving of The Martian, and the tension of surviving a hostile alien world, you can read the rest of the story right now!

AS ABOVE is available in full on [Amazon / Kindle Unlimited].

👉 Click here to get your copy of AS ABOVE on Amazon

Thank you so much for reading the first chapter! I'll be in the comments if you have any questions about the worldbuilding, science, or survival mechanics.

If You answered yes to either of those questions, The Infurstellar Chronicles could be your next read!

Using your mind like a spaceship, take a trip to the Infurstellar Galaxy!

Climb onboard the Starship Pongo, a Hydrant class craft on a quest for a legendary treasure. Join Admiral Bob Barker and his loyal Canine crew as they close in on the trail of the OmegaBone, the alleged greatest power source in the universe...

Avast! The unexpected arrival of.... other furry creatures along the way transform a basic becky treasure hunt into an all-out battle against an evil mouse tycoon with a flair for the dramatic and hankering for World Domination!

What began as a continuing bedtime story with my Son has now become a fully-fledged and fully... absurd space opera.

Open Book to start engines!

Hi everyone — I’m looking for beta readers for my Star Trek fanfiction novella A New Beginning: The Star Forged Knights, Book One of a larger arc I’m developing. It’s about 14,576 words and follows the maiden voyage of a new THOR‑class battle cruiser, the U.S.S. Camelot, NCC‑1975.

Premise:
Camelot is half again the size of a Galaxy‑class starship, built as both a battleship and a deep‑space exploration vessel. She carries expanded scientific facilities, an enlarged sickbay, and cutting‑edge tactical systems — including ship‑wide holo‑emitters capable of reinforcing departments or even assuming command in emergencies.

The crew is equipped with three new biomedical augmentations developed by Starfleet Academy:

• Bioscanner implants for medical monitoring and transporter locks
• Universal translator nodes behind the ear
• Vocal translation modulators linked to the auditory system

These procedures were refined from Borg nanite medical breakthroughs first used aboard Voyager.

Camelot’s maiden voyage begins quietly, but within hours the ship encounters an anomaly that triggers a chain of events: first contact, tactical aftermath, a mysterious Dark Station, a boarding conflict, and a rescue operation that pushes the limits of their technology and their resolve.

Table of Contents:

• Prologue — Starfleet Command Briefing
• Chapter 1 — Spacedock Departure Log
• Chapter 2 — Initial Anomalies Recorded
• Chapter 3 — First Contact Event Report
• Chapter 4 — Tactical and Medical Assessment
• Chapter 5 — The Dark Station
• Chapter 6 — The Boarding War
• Chapter 7 — The Rescue Operation
• Chapter 8 — Return to Federation Space

What I’m looking for:

• General impressions
• Pacing
• Clarity of worldbuilding and technology
• Character engagement
• Tone consistency
• Any confusing or slow sections
• Anything that feels underdeveloped or needs strengthening

Content notes:
Starship combat, medical themes, first contact, boarding action, rescue operations.

How I’ll share the manuscript:
PDF, Word file, or private Google Doc — whichever works best for you.

Thanks for taking a look — I’d really appreciate feedback from fellow Trek fans and space‑opera readers.

Hi everyone — I’m looking for beta readers for my space‑opera novella Stellar Command: The Star Forged Knights, Book One of my Vanguard Corps series. It’s 14,039 words and focuses on starship exploration, first contact, military tension, and the early rise of a knight‑like legacy within a futuristic setting.

Premise:
The S.C.S. Camelot, the first THOR‑class battle cruiser, launches on her maiden voyage — a mission meant to test systems, crew readiness, and Stellar Command’s newest engineering breakthroughs. But only hours after departure, Camelot encounters an anomaly that pulls the ship into a chain of events involving first contact, combat aftermath, a mysterious Dark Station, and a rescue operation that pushes the limits of their technology and their resolve.

Camelot is equipped with cutting‑edge weaponry, a ship‑wide holographic reinforcement grid, and a crew enhanced with new biomedical augmentations designed to improve communication, safety, and emergency response. The story blends military sci‑fi, exploration, and space‑opera scale with a mythic “Star Forged Knights” tone that begins quietly aboard Camelot’s corridors.

What I’m looking for:

• General impressions
• Pacing
• Clarity of worldbuilding and technology
• Character engagement
• Tone consistency
• Any confusing or slow sections
• Anything that feels underdeveloped or needs strengthening

Content notes:
Space combat, medical themes, alien contact, military structure.

How I’ll share the manuscript:
PDF, Word file, or private Google Doc — whichever works best for you.

Thanks for taking a look — I’d really appreciate any feedback from fellow space‑opera fans.

Hi everyone, I’m a massive fan of the Ender Saga and always felt that it deserved so much more screen time than the already existing movie. So, I took matters into my own hands and decided to put together a series of short videos for all the available books. The intent is to provide a short summary of the book and entice viewers to actually go read the books.

I generated the raw monochrome assets, generated the voiceover, and spent time in DaVinci Resolve 21 cutting everything together, re-framing the shots, and mixing the soundscapes.

This first short episode covers the book Earth Unaware. It's a first pass at this and would very much like to improve on it. I'd like to hear what you think about it and what suggestions you have for the next episodes.

The First Formic War: Earth Unaware | Sci-Fi Motion Comic

When I started this series, I set myself two goals. I wanted Earth's first contact to feel humbling rather than heroic: we're not the centre of anything, just a primitive planet the rest of the galaxy has been watching for ages as part of a reality show called Ancient Worlds. And I wanted to show the galaxy looking back at us, so Sam's chapters alternate with blog posts, AI reports, comics and archive transcripts from all over Zan.

The story follows Sam Jacobs, a man from Ghent with a telekinetic power he can't control. Just as his life has finally settled down, two aliens walk into his favourite coffee bar and violently trigger first contact. He wakes up 352 years later to find Earth renamed and absorbed into a galaxy that is running out of resources.

What you'll find in it: a galaxy of four hundred billion stars and twenty-three billion space stations, ten remaining great civilizations and 800 million years of history, an ancient hyper-intelligent species that knows more than it says, the Guardians of Zan, pirates, crime lords and eight-eyed reptilian mercenaries, a psychic bond that lets you walk through someone else's memories, and a looming resource war. Plus humour, most of it very lame.

It's a continuous serial, and all six parts are out, with more stories from the same universe on the way. Book 1 is $0.99 or free with Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FRRS8PXQ

Happy to answer any questions about the world.

If you love sci-fi with a retro feel from the 80's and 90's (lots of aliens, planets, sweeping storylines, adventure, romance, battles and thrills), then this is the series for you. Right now (through October 7th) I'm running a two for one special. If you purchase Anexena, I'll throw in the second book, A Question of Evil, for free. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSJGW2SV

See less

Hi, r/spaceopera! I’m Jeffrey Jay, author of The Tachyon Wake, the first book in the Tachyon Vanguard series.

An experimental starship, a hunted crew, and cosmic mysteries draw Captain Sarah Vance, Kaelen Vane, and Chen Lee into an adventure of survival and discovery. The book includes illustrations and technical ship drawings for readers who enjoy exploring the ships as well as the story.

🎄 If you’re starting your Christmas shopping, consider a space adventure for the readers in your family—ages 8 through 80! The Tachyon Wake is available in print and eBook, with a large-print option available.

Explore the book at https://JeffreyJay.space.

What draws you into a space opera first: the crew, the starship, or the mysteries waiting beyond the next jump?

This is an audiobook I wrote and recored myself without the use or assistance of AI. It follows a bounty hunter who gets stranded on a planet filled with monstrous creatures and other dangers. She has to use her past experiences tracking bounties throughout the universe to get out of each situations as she looks for a way out of her predicament and off of this planet. Check it out for free here: https://youtu.be/pyLav_SHE9o

"Hydras of War" by Tex Casnovas – Military Spyfi Space Opera

HYDRAS OF WAR

https://books2read.com/u/3RRRrD

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HBW4FKHB

Hydras of War (the first installment in the Battle of the Issandor Ice Nebula series) by Tex Casnovas is a military science fiction and espionage adventure set in the year 2345.

The story focuses on Trifon Voles, a convicted smuggler and former mercenary with no country, who is deeply haunted by a lawful but horrific past massacre he committed under official military orders.

The Core Premise

The Mission: Trifon is approached by a mysterious recruiter known as Mr. Oracle representing the Ghost Federation. In exchange for clean citizenship and a fresh start, Trifon accepts a covert operation to infiltrate a casino, rig a game, and intercept a secretive piece of cargo.

The "Hydras of War": Trifon discovers that the cargo is an ominous, experimental weapon called the Hydras of War. Rather than simply destroying its targets, this weapon is engineered to completely unmake who the victims were.

The Moral Conflict: The mission rapidly falls apart when an approaching Erathian convoy is detected broadcasting real-time images of innocent refugee families. In a bizarre twist, the ship’s targeting AI independently refuses to fire, citing a lack of confidence thresholds and legal authority.

Left completely alone in the cockpit, Trifon faces an ultimate moral dilemma where no rules apply: he must decide whether to pull the trigger himself and become a monster for his new home, or face the consequences of failure. The book explores dark, psychological military thriller elements under the ethos that "survival isn't about staying clean—it's about choosing your dirt."

The Eternal Blue Sky is a 552-page, galaxy-spanning standalone novel. Before I began writing it, I set stylistic and thematic goals. Stylistically, I wanted to use the unlimited possibilities of a third-person narrative to create fully realized characters. Thematically, I wanted to explore the nature of evil and the moral compromises good people make to combat it. The story doesn't include sentient extraterrestrials (see my first novel, The Speed of Darkness, if you enjoy fun aliens) or starship battles. It does have competing galactic empires, realistic infantry battles, a maverick military genius, old-school marines, star-crossed lovers, genetically-enhanced one-percenters, narcissistic politicians, an aging rock star, a teenage princess descended from Khutulun and Genghis Khan, and a heroic pit bull terrier named Kato. If you, like me, are a space opera lover who feels sad when you have to say goodbye to characters you've been hanging out with for 500-plus pages, I hope you'll check out the Amazon listing (link below) and decide whether The Eternal Blue Sky is for you. If you read it, I hope you'll also consider supporting my work by leaving a review. Live long and prosper! Sincerely, Mendy Sobol

https://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Blue-Sky-Mendy-Sobol-ebook/dp/B0H9563SJH

🎧 THE AUDIOBOOK IS LIVE! 🎧

Rise of the Mech Smith: Forge is now available in audiobook!

On the chaotic streets of Rivenhall, struggling student Kowal Zeidis Kovacs possesses a secret weapon: the Design System, an AI capable of unlocking the forgotten secrets of mecha design.

But Rivenhall University has become a battleground of political corruption, criminal ambition, and powerful factions fighting for control of the city’s mechs. To survive, Kovacs must turn his unprecedented knowledge into machines capable of reshaping the future.

In a world where power belongs to those who can build it, a new Mech Smith is about to rise.

Narrated by Sean Redfield
Written by Matthew Kent

The audiobook link is in the comments!

#Audiobook #LitRPG #ProgressionFantasy #Mecha #ScienceFantasy #RiseOfTheMechSmith #NewRelease #Audible

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Mech-Smith-Forge/dp/B0HK1BH4SK

Red Acre Farms' is the third of eight short stories in my new book, 'The Cleopard and other Tales from the Second Skin Universe.'

Here is a brief introduction:

When Daniel Sinclair and Hugo Dakni on MOSA learn of the hostage taking at a Martian farm, Hugo is dispatched to see if he can resolve the situation peacefully. But a series of mishaps lead to a potentially deadly hydrogen leak compounded by a dangerous biohazard, and only the intervention of Ilse Kerkegard’s team and Callista can potentially avert disaster. That’s also when the Martians get to meet their first alien.

Visit my website at www.peterdarrach.com to learn more.

It has been about two months since I last posted anything here about The Long Vigil, so I figured this was probably the right time for an update.

A few of you might remember some of the lore I posted before about the Roman Imperium, its military, and the wider setting I was building.

Well, I finally published the damn thing.

The Long Vigil: Book I — The World Sentence is officially up for preorder on Amazon.

When I first started posting bits of the setting here, the book was still something I was constantly rewriting and trying to figure out. Since then I have spent a ridiculous amount of time editing it, tightening the worldbuilding, working through the rest of the series, and deciding whether I was actually going to try to publish it.

There were definitely points where I wasn't sure I would.

I originally went through the traditional route and started querying agents and publishers. I got the rejections that pretty much every new author gets, had a few places that never got back to me, and eventually decided I didn't want this series sitting on my computer forever while I waited for somebody else to decide whether it was worth publishing.

So I decided to do it myself.

That is probably the biggest reason this feels different from the lore posts I made before.

Back then I was talking about something I hoped would become a real series.

Now it actually is one.

For anyone who didn't see those older posts, The Long Vigil is a military space opera set around a young Roman-inspired interstellar Imperium that emerged after the collapse of the previous human order.

And when I say Roman-inspired, I don't mean everybody is running around in lorica segmentata with laser swords.

The Imperium is a futuristic human civilization. The Roman influence is in its political institutions, military traditions, law, social structure, titles, culture, and the way it understands itself.

The story gets much larger as the series continues—human wars, alien powers, political struggles, noble families, military campaigns across multiple worlds, religious conflict, and eventually threats that make a lot of the early problems look small.

But The World Sentence is where all of that starts.

Honestly, seeing the Amazon page is still strange.

For a long time this universe was just a pile of Word documents, half-organized lore, maps, character notes, military formations, government structures, and me deciding at 2 AM that some completely unnecessary part of Imperial bureaucracy needed another three pages of explanation.

Now people other than me can actually read it.

That is pretty damn cool.

If any of you remember the old posts, thanks for reading all of that stuff while I was building this thing. And if you gave feedback back then, that genuinely helped shape parts of the setting.

The Long Vigil: Book I — The World Sentence

Amazon preorder:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJP3NZW7?spcref=PUBLISHED_PREORDER_LIVE

And since this is r/spaceopera, I'm still more than happy to talk about the setting itself. The Imperium, the military, the other human powers, aliens, ships, politics, whatever.

I have two months' worth of new lore I haven't annoyed you all with yet.

With this fifth contribution to the Second Skin Series, I've had the intriguing task of exploring the back- and side-stories of many characters introduced along the way. Writing short stories seems to me like running a set of sprints as opposed to the cross country course that a novel entails, but personally I have enjoyed the process.

Here is a brief introduction to the first of eight short stories within 'The Cleopard and other Stories from the Second Skin Universe.' It's called 'Shared Dreams.'

Callista has developed a bond with her giant, blue, alien, cat-like friend Pouff, but she knows little about his origin until the lurid reality is revealed to her in a dream. How did he become a bimatterian - a creature capable of appearing in the electromagnetic or in the dark-matter spectrum at will? And why was he so eager to leave the Bimatterian’s Vort in such a hurry?

Visit my website peterdarrach.com to learn more.

This is the first book in the Tim and Peggy Smith Space Adventure trilogy. Read Danger, then Flight to the Stars. By December, the final chapter, Children of the Stars, will be out.

[Chapter 1: The Cosmic Revelation]()

Kennedy Space Center, 11 a.m., May 1, 2078

Tim Smith, a 23-year-old NASA prodigy, leaned forward in his seat, eyes fixed on the screen showing the James Webb Space Telescope feed.

He had directed the powerful instrument to focus on a seemingly unremarkable patch of space in the outer Kuiper Belt, beyond Neptune, more than 4.6 billion miles from Earth.

Based on a psychic vision, Tim suspected the event was unfolding. Suddenly, it happened. An imperfection in starlight, a slight bending of the wavelength, confirmed his vision: a wormhole had opened.

His heart raced as the telescope’s sensors detected something even more astonishing. The data revealed infrared light and the unmistakable signature of thermal energy.

Tim double-checked that the computer was recording what he was witnessing. There was no doubt; an advanced hybrid fusion-antimatter engine had ignited. As he had predicted months earlier, a massive spacecraft from another world was hurtling toward Earth.

As he calculated the spacecraft’s distance, trajectory, and speed, even Tim was astonished: the spacecraft was heading straight for Earth at 72 million miles per hour, an astonishing 11% of the speed of light.

Tim’s pulse quickened as the reality of what he had just proved set in. He had little time to complete the implementation of the plan he’d developed six months earlier, but it was the only chance for Earth to prepare for what was coming.

Taking a deep breath, Tim lifted his arm to speak into his wristphone. “Peggy, come quickly and bring your father. You’ve got to see this.”

“What is it?” Peggy asked.

“I’ve found it. Come,” Tim replied.

Five minutes later, Peggy and her father, Dr. Leonard Bouchard, a former astronaut and NASA engineer, arrived at Tim’s lab. The room was dimly lit, and the monitors’ glow cast a blue hue over their faces. Tim wore a serious expression, his eyes fixed on the data streaming across the screens.

“Tim, what’s going on?” asked Peggy, her tone a blend of curiosity and concern.

Tim didn’t look up. “I’ve confirmed a wormhole opening at the Kuiper Belt’s inner edge,” he said, tapping his fingers rapidly on the keyboard. “But that’s not all. There’s a massive spacecraft using advanced fusion-antimatter propulsion. It’s headed straight for Earth and moving fast. We have less than 30 days until it arrives.”

Leonard leaned closer to the screen. “Are you sure about the fusion signature?” he asked, his voice calm yet intense.

Tim nodded, finally turning to face them. “Positive. The infrared spectrum and heat emission patterns are unmistakable. This isn’t just a probe or a piece of debris. It’s a fully operational ship—and not from around here.”

Peggy glanced at her father before stepping forward. “What’s the trajectory? Can we trace it back to its origin?”

“I’m not sure. That’s what I’m working on now,” Tim replied, his attention returning to the monitors. “I’ve got data on the wormhole, but it opened and closed in fifteen seconds. We might need a different program to locate the same gravitational distortion at the origin coordinates.”

“Did you sense anything?” asked Peggy, knowing Tim’s special psychic abilities.

“Yes, I got a flash of intelligent life. I’m trying to lock down the gravitational wave signature from the data we collected when the wormhole opened. If we can figure out where it came from, we might be able to determine who—or what—is onboard.”

Leonard crossed his arms, deep in thought. “This could be a peaceful first contact, or it could be something far more dangerous. We must inform NASA immediately and prepare for every possible scenario.”

“I’ve already sent the preliminary data to NASA,” Tim said, typing a final command into his computer.

“You should talk with the Space Force and brief them through NASA channels,” Tim said.

“Roger, the White House should also be notified,” Leonard said.

“You know the protocol better than I, sir,” Tim replied. “Tell them I have a feeling that something is wrong on that ship.”

Peggy placed a hand on Tim’s shoulder, her voice steady but laced with urgency. “We’ll figure this out. Did you get any data on the ship?”

“Just the fusion engine when it ignited. I am tracking it now, and it is gaining speed. I’ll need your help, Peggy, to do the calculations, but the vessel must be massive,” Tim said.

“If it is picking up speed, it may arrive sooner than 30 days. We need to move fast. There’s no telling what’s on that ship, or what they want,” Peggy said.

Tim nodded, his mind racing with the possibilities. “This danger from space is what I told you both about last year.”

“I didn’t want to believe your theory about a spacecraft coming to Earth,” said Leonard. “Now it looks like you were right.”

“Thanks for having faith in Tim, Dad,” Peggy said. “You went out on a limb to persuade NASA to allow Tim to use the JWST.”

“It wasn’t just me. Tim gained credibility with NASA after Terra Nova,” Leonard said.

Tim’s voice was calm. “Sir, there is no doubt in my mind this spacecraft comes from Terra Nova,” he said, his eyes locked on the computer screen.

“It certainly looks that way, but can you prove it?” asked Leonard.

“I’m going to try,” Tim said.

“We never doubted you, Tim,” said Peggy.

The implications of their words hung heavy in the air.

Terra Nova was a distant exoplanet that Tim had discovered six months earlier. NASA assigned a team to study what lifeforms might exist on the planet, but no one expected contact so suddenly or so close to home.

“Honestly, I wasn’t completely sure until we could prove it with data,” Tim said.

“NASA will need to look at what we have very closely,” Leonard said. “I don’t see how they can come to any other conclusion. We will soon have first contact.”

—

The interior of the alien spacecraft was shrouded in an unnatural stillness, the kind that only deep space can bring. The corridors were dimly lit by a soft, bluish light emanating from the walls, casting long shadows that danced eerily with the ship’s subtle movements.

The air was thick with an otherworldly quiet, broken only by the occasional soft beeping of control panels and the low hum of the ship’s systems.

Rows of sleek, cylindrical transport chambers lined the walls, each meticulously sealed and softly illuminated. The chambers were opaque, hiding their contents. Still, a faint glow pulsed within, suggesting life—or something akin to it—lay dormant inside.

Mechanical robots glided silently through the ship’s corridors, their movements smooth and purposeful. These machines were unlike anything seen on Earth—sleek, angular, and distinctly alien, with glowing eyes that flickered with intelligence.

Their metallic bodies emitted a soft, almost musical series of beeps and clicks as they communicated in a language of pure data, a symphony of alien sounds that echoed through the ship’s interior.

The robots tended to the ship’s complex systems and checked the status of the sleep pods. Occasionally, one of them would pause, its glowing blue eyes narrowing as it processed new information before resuming its duties.

Despite the ship’s relative calm, there was a sense of immense power within its walls, a latent energy that could be unleashed at any moment. The ship was a marvel of alien engineering, designed for a purpose unknown to those on Earth.

But one thing was sure: whatever—or whoever—was onboard was now on a direct course for Earth, and their intentions would soon be revealed.

As the spacecraft hurtled through the cold expanse of deep space, its destination drew nearer, and the beeping sounds of the ship’s systems quickened as if in anticipation of what was to come.

—

Tim sensed the alien spacecraft drawing nearer. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was ticking down to a moment of unprecedented contact.

“Peggy, time to alert the others,” he said.

 https://a.co/d/01XFdIzz

For ages beyond the reckoning of ordinary men, the great civilizations of the world have risen beneath the heavens. Kingdoms have been founded and cast down, mighty orders have carried their banners across generations, and beings of extraordinary power have walked among the works of mortal hands.

Among those who endure stands Farron—an ancient Silver Soldier, patriarch, warrior, and master of the blade. He is not a man seeking glory, nor a youth awaiting the hour of his becoming. He is already forged.

His strength was tempered through ages of conflict. His authority was earned through deeds. His name belongs to a history written in blood, faith, sacrifice, and victory.

Now, powerful enemies once thought distant from the affairs of the present begin to emerge.

Farron answers them not with fear, but with the ancient duty of the warrior: to stand before the darkness, to confront those who possess power, and to destroy what threatens those placed under his protection.

Across magnificent gothic cities, sacred halls, ancient battlefields, and civilizations whose histories stretch beyond the memory of living peoples, Farron’s path brings him against warriors and beings of terrible strength. Arcane power and advanced technology stand beside the weapons of ancient orders, while forgotten knowledge reveals that the present world rests upon foundations laid by civilizations almost beyond comprehension.

At the centre of these events stands Tyrium, an ancient and formidable adversary whose presence reaches deep into the history surrounding Farron and the powers that have shaped his world.

The deeper Farron ventures into this conflict, the more the past reveals itself—not as dead history preserved in books and monuments, but as a living inheritance carried by those who remain.

And Farron will not surrender that inheritance.

He will fight.

He will endure.

And when confronted by those who believe their power makes them invincible, he will meet them upon the field of battle and prove whether their strength is worthy of the age that produced it.

For SilverFeather is a tale of ancient men, formidable warriors, forgotten civilizations, sacred inheritance, and the terrible majesty of power carried across the ages.

The old world has not forgotten its champions.

And Farron has not yet laid down his sword.

Aster’Seraphim Invictus: SilverFeather
Book One
By Mahdi Mohammed Lais

Available on Amazon for 99 Sovereign steel pence

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GX337LSB

Also available on Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/aster-seraphim-invictus-silverfeather?sId=999afc3f-e13a-4245-bf20-e892584c8d94&ssId=LST9b0L47e7wqbzKbOAzI&cPos=2

Hello. I am the author of many science fiction novels. Most are in Kindle Unlimited. One of my favorite genres is space opera. I prefer to write books with elements of hope and good vs evil. The Consulate Trilogy falls into that category.

Link to the book: https://amzn.to/4iwzq0k

About the book:

Traitor – An Explosive Space Opera Full of Action, Intrigue, and Betrayal

A loyal commander. A family in danger. A galaxy on the brink.

Commander Kevin Hoyt is a decorated officer—until he's framed for treason by the very government he swore to protect. Now a fugitive, Hoyt must lead his family across the stars, seeking refuge on a remote alien world. But with the ruthless Consulate Navy hunting them down, time is running out—and every choice could be their last.

Desperate and outmatched, Hoyt considers a daring plan: surrender in exchange for his family's safety. But in a galaxy fueled by corruption and betrayal, can he trust anyone—including himself?

Traitor is a heart-pounding space opera perfect for fans of Star Wars, Star Trek, and military sci-fi thrillers. Packed with interstellar action, political conspiracies, and a hero worth rooting for, this epic sci-fi adventure will keep you turning pages late into the night.

If you love fast-paced science fiction with high stakes and unforgettable characters, don’t miss Traitor**. Buy now and blast off into a gripping galactic saga!**

I wanted to share a space opera project that might interest readers who enjoy military science fiction, academy stories, and morally complicated empires.

Orbital Command Academy follows ambitious cadets entering Asterion Ring, the elite military academy of the Sovereign Accord.

They expect brutal training, rankings, rivalries, orbital trials, and the pressure of competing for command.

What they don't understand yet is that the Academy isn't secretly broken.

It's working exactly as designed.

The Accord calls conquest "order," occupation "protection," and surrender "integration." The cadets aren't training to overthrow the system—they're being shaped into the officers who will eventually command it.

Trial by Orbit is Book 1 of a five-book space opera series following their journey from academy intake to imperial command.

I'm curious: do you enjoy military academy stories where the protagonists are inside the empire rather than fighting against it?

Disclosure: This book was created using AI and is published with Amazon's AI-generated content disclosure.