Twas the night before the contest and all through the ship, all the creatures were stirring, because of a mouse.The crew of the Atalanta Empress never expected to revisit the planet they virtually destroyed with their inadvertent deposit of perpetually pregnant rodents, fertisrats – but here they are.In the first government-sanctioned killing contest, the Atalanta Empress crew are favorites to win. The cash prize might keep their ship afloat for another heavily mortgaged mo...

It's that time of the month for things to go bump in the night.Gail thinks she's a pretty big deal on the Atalanta Empress. She's the Mover of Very Heavy Things which is important for a courier ship. And, she's done it as a frail human octogenarian, replacing many failing body parts with mechanical ones.When Gail is attacked during a job – a scary, full moon, stormy night sort of job – the ship's crew becomes concerned. Not only does someone else have to go out in the rain ...

Turns out, owning a planet isn't as easy as it sounds.When the crowd-funded planet Hephaestus doesn't qualify for membership in the Planetary Owners Association, it's suddenly open to many dangers-including unsanctioned music festivals and reality TV show bounty hunters.The Atalan crew will have to shut down the tribute Pyre Festival, check in for the night at Hotel Beramuda, and sit through a bureaucratic origin story if they ever hope to get back to busin...

Losing their jobs to IT!™ is one thing. Losing grasp of known reality is another.Trapped in subspace, the Atalanta Empress floats outside regular space-time -- and into the middle of a multidimensional smuggling operation.It has IT!™'s name written all over it. Seriously, it's stamped on the boxes.As captain, Frankie decides to hide from the shenanigans, until the psychic triplets hear from their sister. She's in trouble, and time -- regular time --...

In a universe of opportunities, Captain Frankie and the crew of the Atalanta Empress are coming up empty.Their day started off OK, but a giant ship attacked their little ship; they lost their jobs to a gimmicky transport scheme; and their mechanic quit after they crash-landed on a planet overrun with an invasive rodent species.OK, the rodents might be their fault.The capture of a Kieron fugitive on the planet could finance their escape. Unfortunatel...

Turns out, owning a planet isn't as easy as it sounds.As a new co-owner of Hephaestus, Frankie's dream of business-as-usual crashes when the planet doesn't qualify for the Planetary Owners Association (POA), leaving the planet open to many dangers-including unsanctioned music festival companies.The tribute festival, Pyre Festival, threatens to drown the planet in rainbow-colored hashtags, ruining any chance of POA-approval. The co-owners are desperate, and ...

Quantum space is a tricky thing, especially if you're doing the tricking.Things are looking up for Captain Frankie and the crew of the Atalanta Empress. First, they've returned to the mostly empty, vastly limiting, and highly loved regular spacetime. Second, they landed a new job (OK - ganked a new job) to finance their mission to save the triplets' sister.However, upon arrival, they find their destination on the auction block, and possibly on the brink of ...

Every journalist seeks out the story of a lifetime, but Lisa's story might put an end to hers.Tasked with yet another fluff piece praising healthcare company Lysent Corp, headstrong Lisa Pearson feels more like a public relations specialist than a newspaper reporter. But when she receives inside information suggesting a nefarious connection between the company and recent viral outbreaks, Lisa sets out to uncover the truth.The Zari virus is sweeping the country. In its wake,...

Everyone's lost someone to the outbreak.Audra has a shot to get hers back.With zombies roaming the country, the cure developed by the Lysent Corporation is an afterthought. Too little, too late.But for Audra, it's a chance to save her sister, Belinda, from the viral clutches of cannibalism and decay.Unable to afford the treatment, Audra offers Belinda as collateral and signs up as a tagger, finding people's wandering zombie family members to be cured. If she ...

Audra escaped the clutches of Lysent Corp, but a new enemy threatens her freedom.Promising to cure anyone infected with the zombie virus, Audra builds her rebel community outside Lysent Corp's grasp and proclaimed safety. But their group realizes just how small they are when they meet Jack and Jill, who lead an army of zombie soldiers.When the two kidnap one of Audra's scientists to advance their experiments, Audra will risk her life and the fledgling community's future to ...

Die together or die alone.At the brink of war, Osprey Point might first collapse from within as the final wave of the z-virus sweeps through the community.While Audra resolves to upend Lysent corp without the aid of others, Lysent singles her out too. They target her forgotten zombie tags for collection. People she found and did not help.Audra must face long-standing mistakes and gather her shattered community for a final move – one that will prevent humanity's fall...

Audra no longer runs from zombies. She chases them.Eighteen-year-old Audra’s quick wit and fast feet keep her alive in the deep, zombie-filled South, but it doesn’t seem worth it if she can’t avert her sister’s decline into cannibalism.Audra’s only chance is to set up as a tagger, finding the wealthy’s wandering sick to be given Lysent Corp’s new antiviral. If she delivers on the steep quota, she’ll earn her sister’s cure. If she can’t, there might be anoth...