Showing results by author "Craig Martelle" in All Categories

A serial killer the likes of whom hasn't been seen in centuries. A pretender who has outdone the master. Fifty planets. The dead are screaming for vengeance and only Rivka and her team can hear their cries. The Singularity. The Magistrate and her crew. How many more must die before the killer can be brought to justice? The battle of wits has begun, and only one can survive. Win or die trying. Rivka has to dig deeper than ever before into her investigative skills to figure out who's next and how to stop the one masquerading as . . . Jack the Ripper.

The Vestrall fight back, but Leviathan stands in their way. And Major Payne opens a new front in the war. His goal is nothing less than turning the Vestrall's allies against them to bring peace to the galaxy. The Vestrall exist, and they have secrets. The war will continue because it suits them. Humanity must confront the real enemy. They must win or the war will continue for another thousand years. There's only one ship that can do what needs to be done.

In this anthology, you'll find 17 tales of conflict and heroism, exploration and discovery, endurance and triumph. Flee the apocalypse of modern-day Earth, fly a fighter in the cold emptiness of deep space, and find new life on the distant shores of an alien world. You might even discover something about yourself as each author opens a window on the soul of mankind.

The ship survived, but over time the original crew died out. Their children were left to continue the fight for their home against their sworn enemy, the vicious alien Malibor. They’ve lived their whole lives in space. Their idea of heaven is open air, blue skies, and the quiet of peace. But they'll never have that if they don't take it by force.

Dismantling the Blood Trade wasn't the end, but the beginning. Everything the Magistrates do has been called into question. Do they have probable cause? Are they respecting a suspect's right against self-incrimination? The ambassadors have questions, and they think they know the answers, but only the Magistrates know the truth. Called before the Federation Council, the collective body for discussing matters that affect all member planets, Magistrate Rivka Anoa is put under the spotlight to answer for all she had done.

Die Leviathan steht allein gegen zahlreiche Gegner in einem tausendjährigen Krieg. Die Vestrall haben die uralte Zivilisation der Progenitoren aus der Galaxis vertrieben und nun sind sie drauf und dran, auch die Menschheit in die Knie zu zwingen. Doch das uralte Schlachtschiff unter dem Kommando von Declan Payne gibt sich nicht geschlagen und gemeinsam beginnen sie eine Suche nach den Herrschern des Blaze-Kollektivs. Die führt sie tausend Lichtjahre hinter die feindlichen Linien zur ehemaligen Heimat der mysteriösen Aliens. Werden sie die Spuren finden, nach denen sie suchen, um den Feind aufspüren und vernichten zu können?

The Singularity enters the Federation. Its citizens are AIs. And no one knows how to treat them. From collaborations to master-slave, every relationship is different, when they shouldn't be. The AIs fight back, but on a level none of the other members understand. The fight starts slowly, but when the realization of what's happening hits too close to home, more extraordinary measures are called for. What is the legal framework in which everyone can coexist peacefully? Who better to build it than Rivka and the Magistrates?

Das uralte Schlachtschiff Leviathan ist längst in Vergessenheit geraten, als Major Declan Payne mit seinem Team an Bord geschickt wird, um es zu reaktivieren. Das Blaze-Kollektiv, ein Zusammenschluss feindseliger Alienspezies, bedroht den Fortbestand der Menschheit, und der Major soll herausfinden, ob eine der mächtigsten Waffen aus der kriegerischen Vergangenheit einer früheren Zivilisation noch funktioniert.

A planet in dispute. Farmers vs miners, and no one knows the full story. The Federation sends Rivka and her team to resolve a case of settlers squatting on a remote planet when the owners finally came calling. Not what it seems. Three generations of settlers and more. A planet that isn't as welcoming as it appears. Crops coming ripe. Miners ready to dig. Tempers flare as the sides face off. Until the Magistrate gets in the middle of it with all the firepower at her command—the law, a calm voice, and a good railgun.

The High Chancellor puts Rivka on the trail of serial art thieves. Dismantle the ring. Recover the art. Put the thieves behind bars, thieves who stay one step ahead. Insiders? Or maybe outsiders with inside knowledge? No suspects. No clues. Rivka has to use all the resources at her command—her gift, her people, her ship, and tools that no one else has access to. Rivka has to chase the criminals across the galaxy to exotic planets with their own challenges when it comes to solving the crime. The big question is can Rivka find the criminals before they disappear forever?

Rivka and her crew take a much-deserved vacation, but find themselves on a jungle planet, cut off from the rest of the galaxy. Part by design, but mostly not. Isn't that what a good vacation is supposed to be, disconnected from the rigors of everyday life? Until no one can hear your calls for help. The team has to resolve Yindle and Yangor's dispute before they can find a way home. A vacation turned into a case morphed into a fight for survival.

Glory rises from the carnage of the Battle for Earth. Humanity is shell-shocked by how close they came to extinction. Humans don’t know what to do, but they trust their leaders, who are turning to Admiral Jack. And he looks to Glory, Captain Drake, and her crew. With the loss of the planet killer, the Paragon will seek vengeance. They have become even more dangerous because they no longer have to maintain the veil of subterfuge. Their goal hasn’t changed. Death to humanity. Humans. The scrappiest fighters of all the sentient races. But can they stand up to the technologically superior Paragon?

Glory barely survived its last battle twenty years ago. Captain Drake resigned rather than face court martial. But the enemy is back, and humanity needs everything that can fly. Maybe it’s not the ship at all but the crew. They hold the key. Drake rallies old and young alike to comply with orders so secret even he wasn’t allowed to see them until after the ship left the junkyard. Would it leave? That was another question. The core hadn’t been fired in twenty years.

No respect for life. Or the law. It's the trade. In sentience. Run by the Corranites, creatures that have always traded in intelligent alien life. Bought and sold. Nothing more than property. Rivka is having none of it. With an eye toward taking the entire supply line down, she launches into the greater galaxy. All the way to the heart of the Federation. It's bigger than anyone knows. She calls all her friends and finds that she has woefully few. With a snarl and a mandate, she dives head first into the firepit of the Slave Trade.

Rivka's latest case has her hunting fugitives. Red is on a mission to find them and make them pay for what they've done. Her search leads her through dark warrens of political intrigue and ecological disasters. All the while, Rivka is swinging the scales of justice, judging the guilty, and delivering punishment. Villainy and scum have toe-holds throughout the galaxy, but Rivka doesn't mind stepping on their toes even when she's not judging them. She considers it her job because no one is above the law.

Trapped in Ga'ee space, Leviathan runs for its life. And the lives of its crew. Declan Payne and Harry Wesson decide to go on the offensive. They have no choice. They can't go home. It only delays the inevitable. The Ga'ee march relentlessly into the space of the seven races while turning an inward eye toward the interloper, the ship they call God1. They direct tens of thousands of Ga'ee carriers to destroy Leviathan. The silicon-based life forms have to be stopped. Declan Payne comes up with a plan, and no one is sold on it, but it's the only plan they have.

Alien ambassadors are dying. The locals are in over their heads. Or are they turning a blind eye? The Magistrates band together to learn about the law, each other, and even themselves. They still need outside help to solve the case. Who do they call? And Barnabas stops by to refuel and spin a tale. More training for the Magistrates. But duty takes them away. Another Ambassador is brutally murdered. Rivka takes her team to find the perp and end the violence.

No one runs a racket and gets away with it. Not in the Federation and not when it steals business from The Bad Company. Punish the interlopers! But justice must be served. Is it a racket? Or are they just better at business? Send in the Magistrate to investigate and apply the law. What will Rivka uncover? What justice will she deliver? Keep pulling the threads. See what unravels. They keep leading her . . . somewhere. She knows she has to follow. Even if it smells like a trap.

Rivka Anoa has a gift and a galactic mandate. She's a lawyer accused of a murder she did commit. She stands ready to accept her fate, even though her victim was a murderer. A second chance appears. Become more than a lawyer. Be one who judges and punishes the guilty. Could she look herself in the mirror after meting out justice? She's about to find out. Rivka heads to space to be the Judge, Jury, & Executioner. Criminals have nowhere to go.

Aliens are seizing planets at the edge of Berantz space. Earth Fleet sends an armada to investigate. They're never heard from again. Word reaches the Vestrall home planet of the encroachment. Declan Payne knows what has to be done—convince Leviathan to investigate. Peace through superior firepower, through the threat of annihilation. But Lev is retired. And so is Payne and his team. The choice is taken out of their hands.