Kirjahaku

Princess Mercedes de Arango, the future empress of the Solar League, and her common-born classmate, Thracius "Tracy" Belmanor have at last secured their dream of becoming part of the elite officer corps, but they have lost the love they declared for each other. Mercedes has agreed to a loveless political marriage in order to secure her claim to the throne. Tracy is stationed far away on a battleship, struggling to help ordinary settlers crushed by an uncaring League.Now Mercedes, miserable in her marriage, faces decisions that will test her soul and perhaps destroy forever her strained friendship with Tracy. In a society where every alien and most humans are second-class citizens, Tracy and Mercedes wrestle with a stark decision: violate their own principles or betray a government they both swore to serve.In evil times, treachery might be the only option, but will they also betray each other and the love they once shared?

For fourteen years, Thracius "Tracy" Belmanor has struggled to make a life for himself after being betrayed by the woman he loves. Court martialed, disgraced, and removed from the military he survives as the captain of a small trading vessel dealing in black market goods beneath the very nose of the elites of the Solar League.Tracy's betrayer, Princess Mercedes de Arango, has problems of her own. She is facing the intrigues of the nobility opposed to her ascent to the throne. Especially because she has failed to produce an heir to secure that throne. Her situation is made worse by the actions of her unfaithful husband who has had no problem producing a bevy of illegitimate children and has been involved in corrupt business dealings.Desperate to hold off a coup, Mercedes embarks on a military campaign to earn the allegiance of her people through victory. But victory is rarely certain, and instead she finds herself once more faced with the man she betrayed. Can they find the strength to forgive and prevent the League from falling into civil war.

It's been two hundred years since the Solar League has faced an alien threat, but now one is on their doorstep, and it has fallen to the Empress Mercedes de Arango to inspire and lead her people even as the aliens rain down death on League worlds.The need for competent military officers is desperate, so Mercedes reaches out to her secret love and begs Tracy to return to active duty - even though that might risk Tracy learning the truth about the crown prince of the Solar League.In the midst of this war against outside invaders there is also a looming threat of civil war with both Mercedes' youngest sister and her son being pawns in this game of thrones.Once again it is Tracy who rescues both the sister and the son only to discover a devasting secret that will threaten the stability of the throne.

Thudydides Trap: A point when one great power threatens to displace another, war is unavoidable....Thracius "Tracy" Belmanor has struggled to do his patriotic duty in the wake of the loss of the love of his life the Empress Mercedes de Arango. Amid a desperate war, the Solar League cannot afford his grief, not the political instability of admitting the depth of their relationship.It is for duty alone, both as a soldier and a father, that Tracy has entered into an arranged marriage that makes him part of the royal family and will hopefully stabilize the throne even as civil war looms.However, a new danger has been revealed that will lead to extinction on a galactic scale unless the humans can find a way to defeat the looming threat. Not only from this mysterious force destroying all in its path, but also from a secret about the human race itself.Against a backdrop of war and loss can Tracy and Mercedes ever find their way back to each other?

For fourteen years, Thracius "Tracy" Belmanor has struggled to make a life for himself after the woman he loved ruthlessly betrayed him. Court martialed, disgraced, and removed from the military, he scrapes out a living as the captain of a small trading vessel smuggling black market goods beneath the elite noses of the Solar League. Princess Mercedes de Arango has problems of her own. She has failed to produce an heir to secure the throne and faces the escalating intrigues of the nobility seeking to bring her down. Worse, her unfaithful husband, along with fathering a bevy of illegitimate children, is accused of corrupt business dealings. Desperate to hold off a coup, Mercedes embarks on a military campaign to earn the allegiance of her people through victory. But triumph is rarely certain, and instead she finds herself once more faced with the man she heartlessly betrayed-and who loathes the very sight of her. And who might be the only one who can save her. Can Tracy and Mercedes forgive long enough to work together or will the League plunge into civil war?

Thucydides Trap: A point when one great power threatens to displace another, and war is unavoidableThracius "Tracy" Belmanor has struggled to do his patriotic duty after losing the love of his life: Empress Mercedes de Arango. Embroiled in a desperate war, the Solar League has no pity for his grief and he cannot afford the distraction of longing for a woman he can never have.For duty alone-as a soldier and as a father-Tracy enters into a marriage of state. Now a member of the royal family that once shunned him for being a commoner, he fights to stabilize the throne threatened by civil war. That the throne belongs to Mercedes, and he's forced to see her every day, is fresh salt in an old wound.Tracy and Mercedes face an even greater danger than their unrequited love, however. A mysterious force is destroying all in its path and will lead to extinction on a galactic scale unless it's stopped.Against a tragic backdrop of war, loss, and longing, can Tracy and Mercedes ever find their way back to each other? Or will long-kept secrets about the human race itself see an end to life as they know it...

Since the first moment that humans left the trees and began to walk upright, a secret war has been fought.On one side of this ancient battle are the Old Ones, malign entities that feed on the suffering of humankind. Their weapon? Magic and religious fanaticism. The only force able to hold them back is the ancient order of the Lumina. Dedicated to the liberation of the human spirit, they employ reason, understanding and technology to stop the superstitious rampages of the Old Ones.When Officer Richard Oort of the Albuquerque Police Department rescues a mysterious teenage girl from a trio of inhuman hunters, he's hurled into the crush of this primal battle. Recruited by the Lumina to serve as their newest paladin, Richard joins a handful of unlikely allies, including an adolescent sorceress, an enigmatic billionaire, a sexy coroner, and a wandering god with multiple personalities.And then there's Richard's boss. Damon Weber is a handsome, intelligent, and honorable man and Richard falls hard for him. Even knowing his feelings will never be reciprocated.The Old Ones and their righteously intolerant pawns seek to destroy Richard - or subvert him to their cause - ruthlessly expending all the powers of magic and organized religion at their disposal. As the gates between the universes shred apart, it may be up to Richard to save humanity from the endless horror of the next Dark Age.

Malignant creatures from alternate universes engulf the world in chaos, converging to feast on humanity's worst instincts.The only person standing against this invasion is the unlikely hero, Albuquerque police detective, Richard Oort. One of the few humans capable of wielding an ancient weapon with the power to destroy both magic and monsters, he's become a Paladin, fighting for the ancient order of the Lumina.And if saving the world wasn't enough of a challenge, Richard has become the CEO of Lumina Enterprise, a secretive, worldwide operation devoted to spreading knowledge and technology to battle the evils of ignorance, superstition, magic and religious fundamentalism.As Richard struggles to lead a gang of unlikely allies in this desperate battle, he must conceal the damaging secrets that will cost him the respect and love of his cold, judgmental, and distant father-and try to hide his love for Damon Weber.Will Richard collapse under the pressure or can he learn to accept and stop hiding that he is gay, saving both himself and all of humanity?

When you're Paladins, there's never a day off.On the eve of his ward's graduation from M.I.T., instead of celebrating, Paladin and warrior Richard Oort finds himself rescuing a young scientist from attack by horrific monsters from an alternate dimension. His ward, Mosi, Paladin-in-training, helps to save the physicist, Fox Erskine. They soon discover why Richard's ancient enemies, the Old Ones, targeted Fox: the Brit is on the verge of developing faster-than-light-speed travel.Because nothing goes smoothly for Richard, his husband Damon, and Mosi, more mysterious enemies attack the graduation ceremony leaving dozens dead.The coincidence is too great, and it seems the twin attacks may be intended to stop humans from escaping the confines of Earth. When a rocket carrying a critical component is destroyed on the launch pad, and there are attempts to kidnap Richard and Mosi, it seems certain.While Richard, Mosi and Damon are dealing with multiple crises, Fox discovers that his efforts to develop a workable model for faster than light travel has birthed fully sentient A.I.. With the A.I.'s assistance, what was merely theory becomes reality.But Fox's breakthrough represents a profound danger to the other multiverses, and an Old One arrives, not to kill Richard, but to beg for his help. Promised the stars, humans will only trigger devastating genocide.Faced with a terrible choice that could cost humanity their future among the stars, Richard considers a desperate step which may well forever trap humanity on Earth -and that will require that Richard make the ultimate sacrifice.But Damon and Mosi may not be willing to let him pay that price.

Richard Oort, Paladin and a warrior capable of wielding an ancient and mysterious weapon, has sworn to defend the world from invasion by the horrific Old Ones. If he can. Alone and overwhelmed after a series of catastrophic defeats, Richard must still find a way to save the world, no matter the cost to himself. However, if he pays the ultimate price and dies without a new Paladin to replace him, humanity will plummet into the next Dark Age, bereft of reason and hope.At the darkest moment, and against all odds, a new Paladin arises. There's just one problem: Mosi is only nine years old. A Navajo girl who lost her entire family to the machinations of the Old Ones, Mosi is alone in the world. To keep her safe, Richard - a single man with zero parental instincts, and who is in constant danger from his work as both a detective and a Paladin - must become her guardian.When Richard is betrayed by his own side, he flees with Mosi, and the man he secretly loves, Damon Weber. They, together with a group of scientists, take refuge with a secret society in Turkey, safe at last. But tragedy strikes when Richard loses his sword, the weapon that gives a Paladin their power, and time is running out.Despite the increasingly dire circumstances, Richard receives help from the most unlikely of sources. The man Richard has adored in secret for years unexpectedly declares his feelings for Richard. With that love, and the faith of a little girl who's become like a daughter to him, Richard finally discovers the strength to do what he must.