Across the vast Centauri Cluster, ancient ruins lie hidden beneath the rocks and debris – buried remnants of those who came before us. An endless cycle of civilizations, human and Celestial, rising to glory then crumbling into dust.
Green Worlds
After ten minutes of pitch darkness, amber emergency lighting glowed into sullen life.
Internal comms were dead too. That meant a trek through the Hammercross’s cluttered living space so he could complain to Admin, or at least explain why he wasn’t getting his assigned tasks done.
The trip gave him plenty more to worry about. The main corridor, once a gleaming wonder of polished metal and information screens, was a slum now. All the walls had been opened up. Some of them were active repair sites, oil-stained crews squirrelling into the ark’s inner world to repair vital systems or salvage for parts. Elsewhere, gaps were covered over with cloth awnings and families lived in the cramped spaces behind. No matter how many people the Colonel shipped down to the world below, there were always too many scraping a living in the Hammercross’s deteriorating spaces.
EXODUS PROLOGUE
CONTINUE THE STORY
LEAVINGChapters
Not all arkships arrived in Centauri at the same time, my child, nor did they all have the same success starting a settlement. Those who arrived first – those who evolved into what we now call Celestials – were not always the most gracious of hosts.
The Mara Yama, horrifying Celestials, twisted into monstrous forms, are unlike anything humanity has ever faced in the battle for survival. The Mara Yama feed on fear, delight in cruelty, and revel in the agony of their prey. They aren’t just hunters – they are sadistic predators who savor every moment of psychological torment they inflict.
The power died just as Evan calibrated the receivers, an increasingly time-consuming task given the deterioration of the Hammercross’s long-range communications gear. For a moment he sat there in the dark, listening. The hum of the ventilators was still audible. The blackout hadn’t cut off his air.
Torrance, an engineer from the Ark ship, Tamerlaine, is stealing supplies and selling them on the black market right under the snout of an unlikely detective.
Edith, a brilliant engineer working on an impossible deadline, struggles to reconnect with her teenage daughter before time runs out.
Kendall's job as Chief Technician on the Abandoned Bride forces her to get creative in finding spare parts to keep the ship’s systems running.
Jurgen Barrendown, billionaire financier of the Fortunate Son, hosts a party for his wealthy friends on the eve of the ark ship’s impending launch… but not everyone will be celebrating.