by J. N. Chaney
HUMANS – SARKONIAN EMPIRE
Emperor-Joden Proscerios IV: The teenage leader of the Sarkonian Empire. He has a slight obsession for all things related to Earth, particularly ancient relics. Because of this, he was more than willing to give Jace the entire Aldera system in exchange for a few hundred Earth artifacts.
Major-Pascal Sanchez: The proxy sent by the Sarkonian Emperor to oversee the Empire’s interests when it comes to Alliance activities. He’s quite astute, respectful, and highly capable. For these reasons (and more), Jace suspects him to be a Sparrow, the Sarkonian equivalent of a Constable, though no true evidence has ever come to light.
Dr. Davon: Sarkonian scientist with working knowledge of old Earth technology. He has been working with Dr. MaryAnn Dressler side-by-side and remains one of the only other scientists that she respects. His main concern is learning and understanding anything and everything to do with Earth, the Eternals, and the Celestials.
HUMANS – NEW ETERNALS
Leif Wisand: Leader of the Eternals who have been roaming uncharted space to escape the Celestials for hundreds of years. Leif arrived in a broken space station with his people through the slip tunnel at the center of the Earth, immediately warning Jace of the Celestial threat. Leif often works directly with Karin, assisting in managing Earth’s growth and day-to-day operations.
HUMANS – DESCENDANTS
Karin Braid: A young (relative to other Descendants) but highly capable leader. Karin’s mother Lucia taught her everything she knows. She and her people are descendants of a group of Eternals from a lost scientific research colony, though they do not retain all of their ancestors’ genetic abilities. Having spent a great deal of time with the Cognitive Janus, Karin is well-versed in ancient technology and remains a highly effective engineer, should the need arise.
Lucia (deceased): Over a century old, Lucia was still highly capable and one of the best hand-to-hand fighters alive. Her expertise with a staff made her a valued asset on any mission, though she died defending her friends as they escaped the invasion of Tartarus. Lucia is survived by her husband and daughter. She was a good friend to Jace, despite their banter, and he continues to think of her often.
Josef (Jo): Karin’s father. He spent years living in a cave, far from his family, hoping to find a Tritium core to save his people. After so long in isolation, Josef has chosen to embrace his new life on Verdun, spending as much time with his friends and family as possible.
Chelanah: Capable pilot and fighter who is tasked with teaching new trainees.
Petra: Freddie’s fiancé. She lost an arm to the trilobites and was outfitted with a cybernetic replacement. This gave her superior strength though she is still getting used to it.
COGNITIVES
Athena : The Cognitive in charge of Titan, a seed colony moon-like ship. Originally from Earth, Athena is a fully sentient intelligence over two thousand years old. Using hard light technology, Athena can manifest a body in any room on Titan, often popping in out of nowhere, surprising the crew. Years ago, when Titan’s Tritium core failed, Athena sent her crew out into space to colonize the stars. In time, they forgot about Titan and the Cognitive who lived there, but Athena did not forget. She waited, remaining in low power, until the day she received a signal from Earth. The transmission said only one thing: “Earth is restored. Initiate Project Reclamation.” With that, she attempted to contact the descendants of her former crew, but no one responded. After decades of unanswered transmissions, Athena decided to awaken the only remaining crew member, a young Eternal infant who had been left behind and discarded by the other humans—a girl who would grow to be called Lex. Athena sent the child away, still asleep, and hoped that whoever found her would follow the trail back to Titan.
Sigmond (Siggy) : Originally, a standard artificial intelligence given to Jace upon his acquisition of the Renegade Star. After receiving a personality program and name, Sigmond became a valued asset and long-time companion to Jace. He was eventually given several additional upgrades by Athena, allowing him to become exceedingly more efficient and, shortly thereafter, caused him to show signs of cognition. During the final confrontation with the Cognitive Hephaestus, Sigmond sacrificed himself to save Jace and the rest of the crew. At this time, he was believed to be lost forever. Shortly thereafter, however, Sigmond reappeared on Titan, manifesting himself before Jace as a fully realized Cognitive whose appearance was unlike any other.
Janus (deceased): The Cognitive in charge of Karin and Lucia’s former home. He was originally created to oversee three facilities on the same planet, each with its own distinct assignment. After the facilities were overrun by an outbreak of Boneclaws (genetically modified Eternals), Janus lost all contact with Earth. He was left with only a few thousand survivors, whose lives became his only priority. It wasn’t until the arrival of the Union that Janus lost his life, defending the colonists during the evacuation to Titan. His final request was for Jace to look after his people and defend them against those who mean to use them. It is a request that has stayed with Jace, always in the back of his mind. After his death, Athena was able to salvage part of Janus’s shell, which she gave to Sigmond in order to give him additional functionality. This was the beginning of Sigmond’s Cognitive evolution.
Algaia (deceased): The Cognitive in charge of Tiche and several facilities across Earth space. She was killed and her shell absorbed by Hephaestus, granting him access to Algaia’s supply depots.
Hephaestus (deceased): The Cognitive in charge of the defense network and the drone factories. After two thousand years, Hephaestus is a shadow of his former self. His mind has deteriorated so much that he relies entirely on protocol, defending the Earth from all Transient vessels. After encountering Titan, Hephaestus shows aggression towards the ship, ultimately mounting a major assault against Jace and his crew. Thanks to the efforts of an upgraded artificial intelligence known as Sigmond, Hephaestus and his data storage Capsules are permanently destroyed.
Gaia: The Cognitive in charge of Project Reclamation, which includes the re-terraforming of Earth’s ecosystem.
Carl: The Celestial Cognitive who is tasked with running Tartarus. He turned against his people after interacting with Athena and seeing that other lifeforms were important as well.
OTHER TERMS
Celestials: Genetically perfected humans who believe all inferior life should be eradicated from the cosmos. They will stop at nothing to ensure they are the only beings to exist. Four classes of the Celestials have been discovered.
Primus: The highest class, considered the smartest, and those that most closely resemble their human ancestors. They control all other classes and oversee genetic manipulation.
Scouts: Tall, thin, and light, they are built for reconnaissance missions. Their main hard light weapon is a pair of wings.
Berserkers: Hulking creatures built for heavy combat. Their primary hard light weapon are two swords from cuff embedded into their forearms.
Rangers: Sniper class who favor hard light projectiles in the form of glowing blue orbs that shatter into a dozen lines of deadly light.
Descendants: Survivors from the destroyed ice planet. They are hardy survivors and deadly warriors who have harnessed the power of fusion cores, a smaller version of the larger Tritium cores. Fusion cores are used in their weaponry.
Eternals: Advanced humans who have been genetically modified with advanced healing and extremely long lifespans. After a few centuries, an additional mutation caused the Eternals to develop albino features, giving them a distinct appearance. They are responsible for most of Earth’s advanced technology, including the seed colony ships, such as Titan, as well as Tritium cores, slipspace drives, and Cognitives.
Transients: Normal humans who do not possess the Eternal gene. After Eternals arose on Earth, Transient humans were delegated to the lower class, unable to accumulate wealth or obtain high-level positions in either business or politics. This stagnation led to a rebellion in which the Transients demanded equal
opportunity. To satisfy this need, the Eternals offered them a deal: venture out into the far-flung reaches of the galaxy and colonize distant worlds, taking their lives into their own hands. The Transients agreed, and so began the greatest mass exodus in Earth’s history.
Slipspace: A dimension beneath our own in which faster-than-light travel is possible. While it is not fully understood, many theorize that slipspace tunnels are in a constant state of nuclear fusion and fission, destroying and creating atoms simultaneously at all times. It was believed that slip tunnels were a naturally occurring phenomenon, but this is incorrect. In truth, the slip tunnel network was created by ancient ships from Earth as they expanded across the galaxy. While some tunnels collapsed over time, many remained to this day, providing modern ships with a faster-than-light means of transportation. Since modern ships cannot create their own tunnels, they must continue to rely on the existing network to travel. Titan is the only known ship capable of forming new tunnels.
Slip Gap Point (S.G. Point): The location between tunnels (i.e. the space between two tunnel entrances). Often the location of colonies and refueling stations, they serve as the intergalactic road stops of the slip tunnel network. While the busier S.G. Points are often heavily policed, the less active locations remain somewhat dangerous due to frequent attacks and surprise raids.
Turn-key: A special communications device created by the Eternals. Only those with the appropriate tattoos can operate them.
The Sarkonian Empire: A smaller, but still capable collection of planets. Located on the opposite side of the Deadlands from the Union, the Sarkonians are known to claim planets randomly and without warning. Recently, they struck a deal with the Union for the promise of more territory, should they deliver the Renegade Star.
The Union: The most powerful military force known to exist, the Union has control over dozens of star systems. They remain in pursuit of Titan, hoping to reacquire Lex so that they might use her genes to enhance their own soldiers. They claim to do this to protect their borders and their people, but all past actions show an empire whose only goal has been territorial expansion.
Earth: Often believed to be a myth, Earth is said to be the original cradle of humanity, home to lost, unparalleled technology, the likes of which have not been seen in nearly two thousand years. Unfortunately, not much is known about Earth’s history after the Great Transient Exodus, resulting in a massive gap in information, but that hasn’t stopped the Union from sending every available ship to find it. At the same time, Jace Hughes and his crew are determined to get there first to keep whatever awaits them out of the hands of their enemy.
Verdun: The first and only colony on Earth, built and occupied by Jace and his companions. It rests atop an elevated city, which is supported by heavy scaffolding. Not much is known about these platforms, except that they are the last remaining evidence of technology from a lost civilization. It is believed that these cities once housed the Eternals so that the Earth could be terraformed below them, though this remains only a theory.
Renegade Star Universe
The Renegade Star Universe
Click the titles below to reach the book’s Amazon page
The Renegade Star Series
They say the Earth is just a myth. Something to tell your children when you put them to sleep, the lost homeworld of humanity. Everyone knows it isn't real, though. It can't be.
But when Captain Jace Hughes encounters a nun with a mysterious piece of cargo and a bold secret, he soon discovers that everything he thought he knew about Earth is wrong. So very, very wrong.
Climb aboard The Renegade Star and assemble a crew, follow the clues, uncover the truth, and most importantly, try to stay alive.
The Last Reaper Series
When a high value scientist is taken hostage inside the galaxy's most dangerous prison, Halek Cain is the only man for the job.
The last remaining survivor of the Reaper program, Hal is an unstoppable force of fuel and madness. A veteran amputee-turned-cyborg, he has a history of violence and a talent for killing that is unmatched by any soldier.
With the promise of freedom as his only incentive, he’ll stop at nothing to earn back his life from the people who made him, imprisoned him, and were too afraid to let him die.
The Orion Colony Series
Humanity’s Exodus is about to begin.
When half of mankind revolts and demands more opportunity, those at the top decide on a compromise: they will build the first colony ships and allow those who are willing to discover new worlds to leave and start over.
Twelve ships are built, the first of which is called Orion. Many are eager to go, but only one hundred thousand are chosen for each vessel. Far from Earth, a new life awaits, and it promises the prosperity they’ve always wanted.
But still, resistance stirs, eager to sabotage this new expansion effort, threatening the promise of a new life. As Orion moves through the void of space, towards a distant world, its passengers must fight for survival in an unprecedented conflict.
Win or lose, their future will be forever changed.
The Fifth Column Series
After a soldier is left for dead, Eva Delgado's life begins to unravel.
The truth of what happened remains a mystery, and the government will stop at nothing to keep it buried.
Together with the unit's medic, Eva finds herself branded a terrorist and enemy of the State, hunted by two opposing governments.
When the pair uncover a plot that could have ramifications for the whole galaxy, they know they have to act, but it will take all of their training, cunning and just a bit of luck to do what no one else has achieved.
But what do you do when every secret begets another? And how far will you go to find the truth?
Nameless (Abigail’s Story)
Abigail and Clementine were just a couple of orphans looking for a home.
But when the two girls witness something terrible, they have no choice but to leave their orphanage and go into hiding. The only person willing to take them in is a man named Mulberry, but his home isn't the safest place for two innocent children.
Abigail and Clementine quickly discover that their new caretaker is the head of a guild of assassins, and the two are thrown into a whole new world of danger. To survive, they'll need to adapt, focus, and learn how to survive in a world of killers.
The Constable (Alphonse’s Story)
My name is Alphonse Malloy, and I see everything.
From a simple glance, I know your hobbies, what you ate for breakfast, how well you slept, and whether or not your wife is secretly seeing the high school biology teacher when you're not around.
I can't explain how or why I get these feelings, only that I know they're true.
All the little secrets you're too afraid to tell.
Sometimes, that means helping people. Other times, it means staring down the barrel of a loaded gun.
I wish I could tell you I was using this ability for good.
I wish I could tell you a lot of things.
The Constable Returns
Alphonse Malloy may just be the smartest man alive.
A year has passed since Alphonse joined the Constables, but his work is only just beginning. In order to graduate and achieve full Constable status, Alphonse will need to complete one final mission.
When new information about an old enemy arises, Al and his mentor Dorian must head deep into the Deadlands in search of answers.
But in a galaxy of secrets, the truth is often more elusive than it seems.
As the search continues, Alphonse's talents will be pushed to their absolute limit, and he'll need everything he's learned to make it out of this one alive.
Warrior Queen (Lucia’s Story)
On a lost world, far removed from Earth, a group of humans struggle to survive.
Two thousand years after their ancestors lost control of a hidden genetics research facility, the descendants of mankind have been reduced to a tribe of two hundr
ed survivors. They fight, kill, and die in an endless cycle, all in the hope that things will get better.
Lucia is one of these colonists and the daughter of the tribe's leader, the Director. Together with several other candidates, she must soon undergo a trial to decide her father's replacement. The winner will shape the future of the entire colony.