Showing results by author "John Van Stry" in All Categories

With the Battle of Portlandia behind him, Chase is a hero now, and the rank and file truly believe he's the prince the Command Team claims he is. For his part, Chase has made his choice, and now he's committed. As the face of the revolution, he's in it to win it because anything else will lead to his death. The twenty-five million-credit bounty on his head will see to that.

While the Wolfhounds have conquered, or perhaps liberated, a fair number of planets, the core worlds have not yet been touched. Furthermore, the crown jewel of them all, Cor Imperii, still stands under the control of Speaker Phillip K. Neill and the rest of the members of the coup that seized control of the empire over a decade ago. But, Neill's days are numbered, whether he fully realizes it or not, as his dictatorship is slowly dismantled, one piece at a time, and he clings to whatever hopes he has left.

Chase had it all planned out. Do a little time in one of the emperor's jails, say a four-year stretch, for getting rid of some trash that no one would miss, and when he got out, the path to leadership would be wide open. Unfortunately, his b-----d of a father, the same one who left his mother to die in poverty and him to run wild on the streets, took an interest. Seeing him sitting on the bench when his case went to court was a shock. But not as big a shock as being sentenced to ten years in the Imperial Navy.

Nash has got a pretty good thing going on. A hot girlfriend who always takes him back, money whenever he needs it, the respect—no matter how grudgingly given—of his peers, and a safe place to lay his head each night when he goes to sleep. For one of the animal people working the underground of the recently rebuilt Vegas, what more could he want?

Fresh out of college with his Ship Engineer 3rd-Class certificate, Dave Walker’s only thought is to try to find a berth on a corporate ship plying the trade routes between the many habs, orbitals, and moons in the Solar System. The problem for Dave, however, isn't his straight C average; it's that his stepfather, a powerful Earth senator he’s never met, now wants him dead. Forced to take the first berth he can find, Dave ends up on the Iowa Hill, an old tramp freighter running with a minimal crew and nearing the end of its useful life.

The fight has been a long one and a hard one, with many unseen events along the way. The end, however, is here. The last battle of the war. The most important battle of the war. Soon they will leave for Cor Imperii, the capital of the empire. Soon, they will launch a head-on attack against Speaker Phillip T Neill of the Democratic People's Republic of Solaria. Soon, Chase will do what he swore to do: Kill Neill, personally, tear down the DPRS, abolish the Secret Police, the Loyalty Officers, and re-establish the Empire of Solaria. There's just one last battle to fight to win the war.

Chase is finally coming to understand just what being Prince Chase means, and what becoming emperor of the Solarian Empire will mean as well. He's getting better at the job every day. Now if only he could just bring himself to tell Captain Witner and the other members of the command staff that he really is a prince and not the fraud they all believe he is.

Nash and Nate have finished the task set before them by their hataali and have set their foot on the path to healing. Neither one knows what to expect, however, and Nash does have a few concerns about their future. But those will have to wait as the tribal council has more important things for them to do when they get back to Vegas: deal with a bunch of organ-jackers who have been preying on the young women of several of the local tribes. Then, of course, there's still the problem Nate's been having with the good folks of Raycon Corporation, who really want a look inside his head.

Speaker Phillip T Neill has finally gotten his hands on Chase, and he's definitely got plans. First there will be a little lesson taught. Then there will be a show trial! A big fancy show trial with all of the media there as it's broadcast live across the entirety of the Democratic People's Republic of Solaria!