Showing results by author "Mark Wandrey" in All Categories

For more than a century, Winged Hussars has been the richest of Earth's mercenary companies, as well as the only one to specialize in space warfare. Led by Alexis Cromwell, they have carved out a reputation in the galaxy for being dependable, unflappable, and lethally efficient. Until people began shooting at them everywhere they went.

Heir to one of the leading "Four Horsemen" mercenary companies, Jim Cartwright is having a bad year. Having failed his high school VOWS tests, he's just learned his mother bankrupted the family company before disappearing, robbing him of his Cavalier birthright. But the Horsemen of eras past were smart - they left a legacy of equipment Jim can use to complete the next contract and resurrect the company.

Buckle up for an explosive ride into the heart of battle with 'Contested Landing' – the ultimate anthology of military science fiction that'll leave you on the edge of your seat! Get ready to dive headfirst into the fray as fearless defenders clash with relentless invaders in heart-pounding actions across the cosmos. From pulse-pounding firefights to jaw-dropping heroics, these adrenaline-fueled tales will thrust you into the heart of interstellar conflict like never before.

The Winged Hussars, the only one of the Four Horsemen mercenary organizations to specialize in space warfare, have succeeded in what is arguably the most difficult branch of the profession. Alexis Cromwell is now the longest-serving commander in Hussars’ history, and her long-term romance with Nigel Shirazi, commander of Asbaran Solutions, has finally resulted in a complicated marriage and two equally complicated children.

The Peacemaker-enforced ceasefire brought an end to the hostilities, but not a resolution, and now it’s up to the Four Horsemen to forge a lasting peace. Alexis Cromwell, despite her pregnancy, heads off to Capital with Nigel Shirazi to obtain justice from the enigmatic Mercenary Guild Council, but when they arrive, they’re quickly embroiled in galactic politics, and find out the situation is far, far worse than they could possibly have imagined.

The plot by the Galactic Union’s Mercenary Guild against the Four Horsemen has culminated in an invasion of Earth. Faced with an overwhelming force, the human mercs had no choice. They’ve fled, leaving Sansar Enkh to go to the Mercenary Guild headquarters on Capital Planet to stand trial for humanity. On the run, Jim Cartwright and Nigel Shirazi have travelled to the Winged Hussars’ secret base of New Warsaw, in an effort to convince Alexis Cromwell to join the fight, while the other mercenaries who escaped the fall of Earth have gone to the perceived safe haven of Karma.

Terry Clark grew up surrounded by his parent’s life’s work, the rescue and rehabilitation of cetaceans. Born just after first contact with the Galactic Union, he’s never known a time when aliens weren’t visiting Earth. At 10 years old, he had a normal life, until a visit from one of the aliens resulted in a ground-breaking discovery. The cetaceans have a developed and complex language...and it can be deciphered by the aliens’ translators.

Peacemakers. The Galactic Union’s most capable enforcers and resolute negotiators, their name alone elicits fear and awe among the Union’s citizenry. It is a time of upheaval throughout the Galactic Union. As the effects of the Omega War ripple outward, a Peacemaker falls silent at the outpost mining colony of Parmick. Sensing danger, the Peacemaker Guild dispatches two new graduates of the Academy to investigate and report. They are a new breed of Peacemaker, perfect for the clandestine infiltration mission.

On Earth, the moratorium on mercenary contracts is disrupting Jim Cartwright’s efforts to stand up the new Terran Federation. Making matters worse, Jim has received intelligence that someone is squatting on asteroids in our Solar System...and Sansar Enkh is pretty sure they don’t have Earth’s best interests in mind. Fearing the aliens have plans for another invasion - or worse - Jim takes his ship, Bucephalus, and sets off to investigate.

Nigel Shirazi, the Speaker of the Merc Guild, knows that war is coming and he’s not ready. He needs to build up the mercenary forces after years of war, and he’s proclaimed the Phoenix Initiative to give people who want to start new companies the opportunity to do so. CASPers are cheaper and financed at lower rates, and the government of Earth is offering bounties to take the mercs from alien races off the planet. Now is the time!

Sixteen-year-old Colt Maier is enrolled at a prestigious mercenary training school aboard a converted space freighter. At least, Colt thinks it's prestigious, until a bounty hunter hired by the Merchant Guild arrests the school's faculty, leaving Colt and his fellow cadets in deep debt to a loan company. Facing the specter of indentured servitude should they fail to pay what they owe, Colt and his friends transform their former school into a legitimate mercenary company.

The Omega War is in full swing. Earth has fallen to General Peepo’s army, and the surviving human mercenaries have taken refuge at the hidden Winged Hussars’ base in New Warsaw. On Earth, the defensive forces fight to keep the hearts and minds of their fellow humans, but Peepo’s plans are slowly converting the people to her way of thinking, and the Mercenary Guild troops continue to root out the forces arrayed against them.

It’s the 22nd century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There’s just one catch: We are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.

In the late 2020s and early 30s, corporations managed to render the major governments of the world obsolete. The big corporations owned most of the territories as well as the majority of the world’s wealth. While many of the old traditions were still observed in various parts of the world, the true power was with the corporations. In the late 30s, what would be known as the Corporate Wars began as larger companies initiated hostile takeovers in a whole new fashion. Employees, armed with corporate weapons, warred for dominance. It was a bloody time.

The Dusman offered to let humanity become their servitors, but the leaders of Earth’s Four Horsemen were unified in their decision: No, thanks. With the Dusman returning in strength, though, and steadily growing their influence and armed presence, humanity finds itself in a difficult place. The Guild War continues to rage, with planets becoming increasingly desperate for nonexistent help, while the Mercenary Guild continues to sit on its hands, despite Nigel Shirazi’s attempts to break the deadlock.

Taiki Sato had long been the genius behind the Winged Hussars’ success. He spent years innovating, discovering new technologies, and generally making a nuisance of himself. But when he took his first trip to 2nd Level Hyperspace, everything changed. He created an innovative pinplant design, which he had Nemo, the Hussar’s Wrogul physician, install. A short time later, he executed a perfectly planned escape, disappearing from New Warsaw.

It's the 22nd century. Humanity has taken its first steps into the galaxy, and we've found ourselves in a vast playground of alien races, environments, and cultures. As the newest players on the universal stage, though, our position is readily apparent - we're at the bottom of the food chain.

It's the 22nd Century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There's just one catch: we are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. Enter the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for money separates Humans from the majority of the other races. Enter a galaxy not only of mercenaries, but also of Peacemakers, bounty hunters, and even a strung out junkie.

They came from the night sky, lighting the heavens like the promise of salvation. But they didn't bring deliverance.... They brought something far, far worse. Something that turns people into mindless, cannibalistic monsters. And it's spreading. A reporter follows her story of unspeakable horror south of the border and finds it's worse than she imagined. A wounded fighter pilot finally gets his chance to return to duty but is faced with a mission that could cost him his wings, or his country its chance.

Jim Cartwright, commander of Cartwright’s Cavaliers and Minister of War for the Terran Federation, has been struggling with all the hats he has to wear. Merc commander, minister, and leader of Earth’s Raknar forces for their allies, the Dusman. The strain’s causing him…issues, and he decides to visit the surviving human colonies to get away for a bit.