Bøker av Kal Spriggs

"You are put in a corner and you have to get out. I have to believe that you can always get out." --Etgar Keret The Centurions are going home. For Jiden Armstrong and the others who have fought to assemble a fleet capable of liberating their planet and rescuing their refugees, this has been a tremendous effort. It has cost the lives of hundreds and Jiden has tackled one impossible task after the next, so that her people, her family, can return to the world of her birth. Except, this is only the beginning. In defying the Guard, the Centurions have made themselves the target for the most powerful forces in human space. The UN Star Guard will throw spies, saboteurs, and even entire fleets at them if it means stopping them. Because if a group of mercenaries from one tiny planet can thumb their noses at the Guard, then anyone can and that could spell the beginning of the end for them. The Guard are willing to fire on the civilian refugee ships if that's what it takes. Valor will have to safeguard the exodus of Jiden's people, all the way back to their homeworld.

I have been a killer, a spy, and an executioner, now I am being sent on a mission of peace. My name is William Alexander Armstrong. I've worked my way up through the Drakkus Imperial Military Institute. I've made friends and alliances along the way, and I've somehow managed to keep my soul. Now, though, I've received a mission I never would have expected. The Drakkus Imperial Space Korps has sent my friends and I to build an alliance with neighboring star systems. Our ship is on loan, to show the skill and training that Drakkus can provide, even as we gift them ships and weapons. It's a tall order, because in the past, all that Drakkus has brought has been raiders and chaos. Even if our offers of peace and alliance are accepted, there are other threats, enemies old and new that have it out not just for the Drakkus Empire, but have personal grudges against me and my friends. If I don't figure it out, if I don't work out who to trust and show them that there is a way forward, then I might well find myself in the middle of a war. A weapon loaned out is one that may come back in enemy hands.

"We fight not for ourselves, but for future generations, though we may not live to see it." -Izhak KatznelsonJiden Armstrong has fought and bled for her homeworld of Century, now she has to put it all on the line. The UN Star Guard, the self-appointed rulers of humanity, have decided that the Centurions are a threat to their control of human space.The Guard have detained all the refugees from Century for use as hostages. They plan to force the Centurions into the front lines of the fight against the alien Culmor Empire, there to fight and die until none remain.Before they act, Jiden has a narrow window to save her people. It will require extreme risk and a no-fail mission, and that's only the beginning. Because the Star Guard have run roughshod across many worlds and the only way for the Centurions to save their people is to ignite an uprising in the heart of one of the Guard's strongholds.Jiden is taking on the most powerful military in human space. She and her teams have no allies, no support, and no reinforcements. If she fails, then her people and even her newborn children, will pay the price. Because the Guard realize they are losing control and they will kill entire planets if that's what they have to do to remain in power.Valor must carry the uprising because the alternative is the destruction of all that Jiden knows and loves.

"There's no trust, no faith, no honesty in men; all perjured, all forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers." -William Shakespeare I am William Alexander Armstrong, and against my better judgement, I have sworn an oath to serve the Drakkus Empire. I have given my word to serve the dreaded Imperial Intelligence, because it is the only way I can see to protect my friends. But a plan is afoot, and I might be the only one to stop it... or to help it along. A powerful nobleman plans to overthrow the Emperor. Only, I'm the one Imperial Intelligence will send to stop him. Every instinct I have tells me that I should walk away, that the Drakkus Empire is rotten to the core and there's no saving it. It may not be just the lives of my friends on the line, it might be the fate of billions of people across the Drakkus Empire. It is down to me to figure out whether I should stop the coming civil war, to throw myself into the way of danger again, or to stand aside and be forsworn.

"He who would be free must strike the first blow." -Frederik Douglas Jiden Armstrong faces a threat bigger than any she has ever seen before. The Star Guard dominate human space, and they have decided to destroy the Centurions. They plan to throw the Centurions into battle, again and again, until none are left. The Centurions are left with a choice... to bow to the stronger forces of the Star Guard or to strike a first blow and be free. It falls to Jiden to make that first strike, to lead a commando raid to seize the ships needed to fight the alien Culmor Empire. Because if she doesn't, then her people, her planet, and their very way of life will vanish forever.

There is nothing common about valor. That goes doubly true on the world of Drakkus Prime, where scheming noblemen and slaving pirates fight for power and wealth. My name is William Alexander Armstrong, I am the son of murdered parents, an escaped slave, and I have hidden in the last place anyone would think to look for me: among the children of the elite at the Drakkus Imperial Military Institute. I have made allies of a renegade princess, a talking civet, a host of orphans, beggars, outcasts, and a mad artificial intelligence who happens to be my sister. Right now, that puts me in a position to avenge my family against the Drakkus Pirates who want to kill me and my friends. Which is a good thing, too, because their shadow wars on the streets have erupted into full-scale gun battles. If no one stops them, they could engulf the Drakkus Empire in civil war and kill billions. I might be able to act to stop them. The only problems I face are an intelligence agent determined to find out my secrets, enemies who hate my guts, and a multi-star-system plot that has just embroiled my homeworld in war on a scale not seen in generations. For me, it is just another day.

"Blood is inherited and virtue is acquired, and virtue in itself has a value that blood lacks."-- Don Quixote Jiden Armstrong has lost nearly everything. Her home world and most of its people have been captured by alien invaders. All too many of the cadets and personnel she served with have been killed in the defense of their planet. The Century Planetary Militia's starships and fighters thrown away by Admiral Drien to cover his cowardly retreat. All that is left is a meager inheritance for the survivors: a handful of ships, off-world accounts, and refugees willing to give all they have to save their homeworld. Multiple factions of survivors compete to control those resources. Some, like Jiden's grandmother, want to build up a force to liberate their planet. Others, like Admiral Drien, want to gain the support of a stronger power and let others do the bleeding to save Century. Jiden, as before, is in the middle of it all. She will have to manage meager resources while she trains up new recruits to save Century. Because whether they can acquire more resources or not, the Centurions are going to save their people. Jiden knows that in the end: all the wealth and power of Century doesn't matter; the true inheritance of Century is the willingness to shed blood to save it.