Orion War

The war will come-it is inevitable. After centuries of struggle, the ISF Intrepid has finally brought its colonists to New Canaan, a star system better than any they imagined. They made landfall and began to build their new home, far from the troubles of Sol and the Inner Stars. Yet no one in the Orion Arm has forgotten that the colonists possess the most valuable technology known to humankind, least of all Tanis Richards-as she secretly prepares to defend New Canaan against any and all aggressors. Now things have come to a head. A Transcend fleet has invaded New Canaan, and a Hegemony of Worlds fleet on its way. Tanis Richards must defeat a rogue AI that has its own designs for humanity's future, while saving her people from invaders. General, governor, commander of twenty thousand warships, Tanis Richards stands on the edge of a precipice. If she jumps, she will draw all of humanity into total war.

The Battle for New Canaan is over, but the war has just begun . . . Tanis and Sera have taken the I2 to Khardine, the new capital of the Transcend, and must now travel to the Inner Stars and meet with Scipian Empress, Diana-who they hope will be an ally to the Transcend. With the Trisilieds Kingdom, the Hegemony of Worlds, and the Nietzschean Empire all aligned with the Orion Guard-not to mention a civil war brewing in the Transcend-they will need all the help they can get to secure the Inner Stars. But Empress Diana has her own plans for the Inner Stars, and while they may dovetail with the Transcend's for now, they may not always do so . . .

The drums of war thunder across the stars . . . The final negotiations between the Silstrand Alliance and the Scipian Empire are complete, and it's time for Tanis and Sera to part ways. Sera must return to Khardine, where new challenges await, and preparations for the march on Airtha begin. Meanwhile Tanis turns toward the Praesepe Cluster. There, a handful of interstellar nations hold out against the encroaching Nietzschean Empire. Sera's Hand agents are certain that the Nietzschean's are backed by Orion, and Nadine is sent in ahead to connect with agents in Septhia before the I2 arrives. Tanis and Bob have an additional goal. They want to learn more about the technology that Peter Rhoads used to control his fleet. Technology that had its origins in the former Genevian Alliance, and may still exist in a group of mercenaries known as the Marauders.

The Allied fleet has stopped the Nietzscheans at Pyra, but the battlefront grows wider day by day. While Sera distributes the Transcend's fleets to protect the alliance, Tanis must come to grips with what happened to her on Pyra's surface. In addition, Bob conveys a number of hard truths that will force her to re-think her role in humanity's future. But the allies' enemies are not sitting idle. General Greer, Justin, the Caretaker, and Airtha are all advancing plans to see their visions of the future come true. Tanis must take the next step if she's to hold back the tide of war that threatens to swallow the galaxy.

In the core of the galaxy, a darkness begins to feed . . . The Allies have solidified their hold on the Large Magellanic Cloud and turn their sights on the Inner Stars and Perseus Arm. With forces spread thin, they must depend on superior technology and quantum entanglement communication to retain their edge. But their enemies have not been idle. Ascended AIs move to destroy Tangel, as Garza and the Orion Widows strike out at both Tangel and Airtha. Deep in the Transcend, Justin readies his new stasis ship for an assault on Vela, and the League of Sentients dithers on whether to join the fight. In the midst of it all, Tangel alternates between savior and diplomat as she endeavors to keep the Allied forces on track. Old enemies will fall, and new ones will rise as the fight to bring peace to the stars teeters on the precipice of darkness.

Tangel is still reeling from her battle with the ascended AI, but she still needs to complete her negotiations with the League of Sentients and bring them into the Alliance. Once that agreement is in place, the Alliance will be in a position to hit the Hegemony on multiple fronts, beginning the process of defeating humanity's oldest empire. But unbeknownst to Tangel, a force of Widows is present on Lunic station, eager for the opportunity to derail that agreement though Tangel's death. Three thousand light years toward the galactic core, Sera is preparing for her assault on Airtha, a deadly mission that will take the best the Alliance can muster and pit it against the ascended AI in an effort to end the civil war wracking the Transcend. But Lisa Wrentham's Widows are moving into Airthan space as well, fully prepared to destroy the entire ring if it will mean the destruction of the ascended AI that rules it. Both of those missions are in peril from more than just the threat of the Widows; the core AI Epsilon is moving against Tangel's forces, and Cary will face a threat far more insidious than she'd ever expected. One which may take her to their enemy's seat of power. But Bob and Tangel can only be in one place at a time, and someone is going to be on their own.

While battles rage across the Transcend and the Inner Stars, Tangel's focus shifts to Orion space.

In an effort to end the war, Tangel prepares starfire.

Time is of the essence. The race to the end is on. The Alliance has suffered an unimaginable loss: Tangel is dead. The crew of the I2 struggles to carry on, dealing with the impending occupation of New Sol and surrender of the Orion Freedom Alliance. But Bob harbors a suspicion, a kernel of hope, and sends the Falconer in search of additional survivors. Back at Star City, Finaeus and Earnest reel at the news that Tangel died to save her family and people-until they are visited by a mysterious AI from the past who presents them with a way forward. Now the race is on. Sera chases after a Caretaker ship headed to the galactic core while Finaeus and Earnest travel beyond the galaxy to save a future Bob can no longer see.

New Canaan is under attack. Driven by Uriel, the Hegemony and its last remaining allies have sent their fleets against the ISF's homeworld. It's a final solution, little more than an attempt to bring about mutually assured destruction. Of course, the humans of Sol don't know that their leader is under the control of core AIs who do not care which side wins, so long as humanity is weakened. Tanis and Tangel have returned from the core, ready to defend their homes, but they lost a month in a temporal jump, and the core AIs are ready for them, led by one of Epsilon's lieutenants. Now the final battle begins, the fight that will see the Orion War grind to a halt-either through the destruction of Sol and New Canaan's ... or perhaps, if Tanis and Tangel have their way, with a glimmer of true peace.

The final novel in the Orion War series, Return To Sol sees the I2 and her crew return to where it all began...