Mercy for Hire Mission Pack 1


Book Description

The galaxy’s worst bounty hunter just might be its most relentless hero. Esper is a vigilante Samaritan with more moral fiber than business sense. Any bounty hunter worth the title knows three rules: Collect half the money up front. Never get emotionally attached. Don’t ask nosy questions. But with a heart of gold and her companion Kubu by her side, Esper sets out to make the galaxy a better place, preferably making enough money to pay for the fuel to get from one job to the next. But just because she’s not cut out to be ruthless doesn’t mean the galaxy is going to eat her alive. After all, Esper is also a wizard. Mission 1: Wayward Saint A runaway teen needs protection and Esper takes the job. But a simple rescue and recovery turns ugly when Esper finds herself in the middle of a custody battle with a vicious pirate who’s hired a bounty hunter of his own. Mission 2: Behind Blue Skies On the run from troubles of her own, Esper tries to lie low on a suspiciously Utopian colony planet. Unable to keep out of other people’s troubles, Esper gets a terrifying look into justice on a world where truth is a matter of who you know. Mission 3: House of the Orion Sun Esper’s mission to protect the galaxy’s most vulnerable takes a turn for the seedy when she tracks a trafficking victim. How long can she hold out when her morals are tested at every turn? Mission 4: Break the Chain Esper’s own dark past catches up with her when bounty-hunting wizards corner her. Esper has faced down the galaxy’s worst criminals. Now, she’s going to be forced to stand up to one of the galaxy’s most esteemed institutions—Convocation of Arcane Practitioners. Bonus Short Story: Least Dangerous Game Desperate times call for desperate measures. Esper is stranded on a remote colony world with no job, no terras, a starving megalodog, and a bored teen wizard. She can't afford to be picky about the jobs she takes. Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire follows the exploits of a pair of do-gooder bounty hunters who care more about saving the day than getting a payday. Mercy for Hire builds on the rich Black Ocean universe and introduces a colorful cast for new and returning readers alike. Fans of vigilante justice and heroes who exemplify the word will love this series. Grab your copy and support the cause of justice.




The Praetorian STARShip : the untold story of the Combat Talon


Book Description

Jerry Thigpen's study on the history of the Combat Talon is the first effort to tell the story of this wonderfully capable machine. This weapons system has performed virtually every imaginable tactical event in the spectrum of conflict and by any measure is the most versatile C-130 derivative ever produced. First modified and sent to Southeast Asia (SEA) in 1966 to replace theater unconventional warfare (UW) assets that were limited in both lift capability and speed the Talon I quickly adapted to theater UW tasking including infiltration and resupply and psychological warfare operations into North Vietnam. After spending four years in SEA and maturing into a highly respected UW weapons system the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) chose the Combat Talon to lead the night low-level raid on the North Vietnamese prison camp at Son Tay. Despite the outcome of the operation the Talon I cemented its reputation as the weapons system of choice for long-range clandestine operations. In the period following the Vietnam War United States Air Force (USAF) special operations gradually lost its political and financial support which was graphically demonstrated in the failed Desert One mission into Iran. Thanks to congressional supporters like Earl Hutto of Florida and Dan Daniel of Virginia funds for aircraft upgrades and military construction projects materialized to meet the ever-increasing threat to our nation. Under the leadership of such committed hard-driven officers as Brenci Uttaro Ferkes Meller and Thigpen the crew force became the most disciplined in our Air Force. It was capable of penetrating hostile airspace at night in a low-level mountainous environment covertly to execute any number of unconventional warfare missions.




Starship Eternal


Book Description

----------------------------------------------A lost starship...A dire warning from futures past...A desperate search for salvation...---------------------------------------------- Captain Mitchell "Ares" Williams is a Space Marine and the hero of the Battle for Liberty, whose Shot Heard 'Round the Universe saved the planet from a nearly unstoppable war machine. He's handsome, charismatic, and the perfect poster boy to help the military drive enlistment. Pulled from the war and thrown into the spotlight, he's as efficient at charming the media and bedding beautiful celebrities as he was at shooting down enemy starfighters.After an assassination attempt leaves Mitchell critically wounded, he begins to suffer from strange hallucinations that carry a chilling and oddly familiar warning: They are coming. Find the Goliath or humankind will be destroyed.Convinced that the visions are a side-effect of his injuries, he tries to ignore them, only to learn that he may not be as crazy as he thinks. The enemy is real and closer than he imagined, and they'll do whatever it takes to prevent him from rediscovering the centuries lost starship.Narrowly escaping capture, out of time and out of air, Mitchell lands at the mercy of the Riggers - a ragtag crew of former commandos who patrol the lawless outer reaches of the galaxy. Guided by a captain with a reputation for cold-blooded murder, they're dangerous, immoral, and possibly insane.They may also be humanity's last hope for survival in a war that has raged beyond eternity.




Foresight


Book Description

An experimental starship. An unprepared pilot. An unexpected crew. A fight for the fate of the future. Captain Nicholas Shepherd is a test pilot for Grimmel Corporation's latest experimental starship, Foresight. As a development platform for desperately needed advanced technology, a successful run of the ship's systems is vital to enable humankind's exodus from an alien-occupied Earth. After Foresight suffers a malfunction during its final scheduled flight, the lost opportunity provides the enemy the opening they need for one last attack. With his family caught in the crossfire, Nicholas realizes that the flawed starship is their best chance to escape. But it isn't long before what started as a desperate evacuation turns into something more. Much more. Joined by an unintended crew of survivors, Nicholas is about to embark on an impossible mission that will take them far beyond the outer reaches of known space. If he fails, the future of humankind will not only be lost... It will be completely erased.




Forgotten


Book Description

Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Starship Pilgrim, and expects to die there. Access points to the ship's controls are sealed, and systems that guide her are out of reach. It isn't perfect, but he has all he needs to be content- until his wife disappears. The only clue is a bloody hand print beneath a hatch that hasn't opened in hundreds of years.




Home & Away in Kentucky


Book Description




The Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell Series, Books 4-6


Book Description

Here together for the first time in a fabulous eBook bundle are books 4-6 in Chelsea Cain's New York Times bestselling Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell series. Meet Gretchen Lowell, the stunningly beautiful psychopath The Huffington Post called "the most diabolical female serial killer in fiction," and Archie Sheridan, the police detective whom she caught and tortured...and then let go. THE NIGHT SEASON Heavy rains have flooded Portland's Willamette River, and several people have drowned in the rising waters. And then the medical examiner discovers that four of the drownings were actually murders. Portland has a new serial killer on its hands, and Archie and his task force have a new case. KILL YOU TWICE A corpse has been discovered in Mount Tabor Park in Portland, and Gretchen claims to have inside knowledge about the grisly murder. What game is she playing this time? And more frightening, what secrets from Gretchen's past would someone kill to protect? LET ME GO Undercover in an investigation, Archie attends a party thrown by a notorious local drug kingpin. By morning, Archie is back on pain killers, a guest is dead and Archie quickly realizes that only one thing is clear: Gretchen is back in his life.







Nemesis Class Pursuit Ship


Book Description




The Next Space Race


Book Description

If China's space ambitions continue unchallenged, America will be seriously economically and militarily disadvantaged. This book provides a comprehensive strategy to secure U.S. primacy in the space domain. From Moon landings to plans for asteroid mining, China is beginning to exploit space to achieve its great power ambitions. Its strategy could, over time, severely and adversely impact U.S. economic and military security. The United States needs to structure its approach to space to ensure that it can meet or surpass PRC timelines. Authors Richard M. Harrison and Peter A. Garretson, both from the American Foreign Policy Council, review the literature on Chinese space ambitions and assess U.S. space-related initiatives across the government, military, and private sector to understand the maturity of technology available to support space initiatives. Their first-hand research and findings are supplemented by interviews with industry experts, corporate space leaders, and government and military officials. The Next Space Race describes and seeks to influence the development of American space policy to ensure the U.S. industrial base is ready to meet or surpass PRC milestones, empower and clarify the mission of the newly minted Space Force, provide guidance to NASA and other federal agencies, and incentivize private sector companies to contribute to ensuring American space primacy.