It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve released a book—129 days but who's counting?
I am.
Tracking things like that is kinda my thing, but I think a few others are patiently waiting for the next book.
Acheron Redemption – Federation Chronicles Book 3 will be released on December 10th and will conclude this series. My plan for this series was to be three books for the main storyline. However, the universe is always there if I choose to go back to it or if readers demand I write more stories in this series.
Here is a taste of Acheron Redemption.
Sentinel warships were the answer to the Federation Wars. They brought peace and stability…or so they thought.
The Sentinels are a menace, terrorizing spacers across the galaxy in their hunt. But change is coming, and spacers across the galaxy will have to choose whether to fight for their future.
Quinton thought the Sentinels were malfunctioning fleets of warships left over from the Federation Wars, but they’re much worse. They’re an instrument of control meant to hold the galaxy stagnant in its development.
With Sentinel fleets preparing a major incursion, Admiral Quinton Aldren must get the new Alliance space navy into fighting shape. But how can he build an armada when most spacers believe he’s the enemy?
Quinton will fight. All that remains is how many spacers will join him to fight for humanity’s future.
Prologue
A galactic historical excerpt.
Personality Matrix Construct (PMC) was first developed by Miles Harding of the Acheron Confederacy to upload a person's mind to an Energy Storage System (ESS). With the help of a highly complex set of virtual intelligences, they manage the human consciousness to machine interface. PMCs augmented existing combat technology, vastly increasing their effectiveness, surpassing traditional cyberwarfare suites.
PMC technology was first adopted by the Acheron Confederacy to push back against the tyranny of the Jordani Federation. But the technology couldn’t be contained to one federation and spread throughout the galaxy. PMC degradation began to occur with alarming frequency where entire federations lost control of their most powerful warships. Rogue PMCs attacked civilian population centers across the galaxy in an ever-expanding tide of death and destruction, causing the Federation Wars.
Once a highly decorated naval officer in the ACN, Grand Admiral Elias Browning was branded a traitor and war criminal. Browning was believed to be responsible for the corruption of PMCs and the Federation Wars.
To cope with an increasing list of atrocities by PMC controlled fleets, galactic federations devoted their vast resources to the Sentinel initiative to create and repurpose existing fleets. Sentinel warships were operated by highly restricted versions of PMCs, whose only purpose was to hunt down and eliminate all PMCs from the galaxy.
The Federation Wars continued for decades, destroying most federations' core worlds throughout the galaxy. Subsequent skirmishes increased as spacers competed for what little resources were left. All the while, Sentinel fleets roamed the galaxy, hunting for PMCs.
Post Federation War society saw the rise of the salvager unions and mercenary groups. Galactic residents had to adapt to life aboard space stations, colony ships, and planetary habitats on barely hospitable worlds. The central command that controlled the Sentinels had been destroyed during the wars. Attempts were made to disband Sentinel fleets, but all attempts failed, and remnant fleets were no match for Sentinel warships. Spacers soon learned that coexistence with the Sentinels was far less dangerous than resisting them.
Decades after the Federation Wars, Sentinel fleets continue to send scout forces to patrol star systems. The only communication from the Sentinels were to demand the compliance of space stations and starships alike as they searched for PMCs. Something hidden among the vast reaches of the galaxy began broadcasting PMC activation signals, and much to any spacers’ surprise was that there were PMCs who answered the call.
The Sentinels increased their patrols, hunting for PMCs and destroying them heedless of whatever stood in their way. On the galactic fringe, one PMC reactivated who managed to avoid the Sentinels. His name is Quinton Aldren, a Galactic class PMC with authority to command other PMCs. Since Quinton’s reactivation, startling new discoveries were found about the origin of the Federation Wars. Discoveries that will change the galaxy and expose the true purpose of the Sentinels.
Both the ebook and the print books will be available on December 10th!
Final Thoughts.
I hope you consider reading this book and the rest of the Federation Chronicles. It was a fun series of books to write and I’ll miss these characters moving forward. The audiobook version for this book should be available by March.
Happy Holidays.
Ken
