Gunslinger Trilogy

Not long from now, in our own Milky Way... The name's Sam Kletchka. Perhaps you've heard of me: captain of the Star Runner, military contractor for Earthfleet, and interstellar privateer. But before all that, I was a hired gun, freelancing across the galaxy one gun slinging job at a time. This, my friends, is how I went from being stranded in the armpit of the galaxy to becoming the luckiest human being in the universe. Not that it was easy, of course. I've looked death in the face so often, he's practically an old buddy of mine. But when all your worst enemies are immortal, that's a buddy you want on your side. Stay frosty, my friends. You never know what you'll find at the next star.

My name is Jane Kletchka, and I'm here to set the record straight. Jane Kletchka here. By now, I'm sure you've heard how my dear husband Sam saved the Gorinal star cluster and stopped the Immortals from throwing the galaxy into chaos. Unfortunately, he didn't thwart their plans; he only accelerated them. As the galaxy fell into chaos, Earthfleet commissioned us to find out what was happening before Earth became the next planet to fall. Little did we know, it wasn't just the Immortals we had to contend with, but an enemy from beyond the Milky Way. I never expected to be out there on my own. Actually, that's not true: I still had Tarak the telepath, Imutab the empath-shapeshifter, and an unexpected stowaway. But after Sam went MIA, the full weight of the mission-and perhaps the fate of the galaxy itself-fell on me. This is my story. Hang on for the ride.

Where were you on the day the Earth disappeared? So there I was, on an awkward first date with my secret crush, when the colonies went into revolt. They nuked the moon and hijacked half of Earthfleet-and that was just the opening salvo. Then I learned that my date was one of the terrorists (or patriots, depending on your political beliefs), and I had to make a choice: join her, or spend the next few days stuffed in an EVA suit locker. I chose the former, and that's the only reason I'm still here. The name's Rex Carter. On the day the Earth disappeared, the civil war had just broken out, and I didn't know which side I was on. All I knew was that my homeworld had been swallowed by an alien anomaly, and I had to get to Jane and Sam, my gunslinging sister and brother-in-law. Unfortunately, the Kletchkas are no longer with us. But that's part of my story, too.