Cold War
(2024)(The second book in the Messenger Corps series)
A novel by J N Chaney, Terry Maggert and D Glenn Seguin
Thanks to Lawson Sawyer and the Archetype, the Ravennox invaders suffered a crushing defeat, ending their threat to humanity.
For now.
Because the Ravennox are still out there. But thanks to Darius Spann and the Superba, Lawson and the other forces of the newly-restored Cygnus Realm face another, far more immediate threat. Spann and his Superba allies still hold sway over a huge swath of human territory, declaring it all Imperial space. So humanity is split, the Realm on one side, the Empire on the other, both claiming to be led by the Messenger. With neither able to land a decisive blow to knock out the other, a cold war now simmers between these two competing visions for the future.
Philosophies clash. Border skirmishes flare and fade. Schemes and intrigues abound. People die.
But Spann is determined to break the stalemate and reunite humanity under the iron grip of Superba rule--with him as its leader. To do that, he will travel into the spinward reaches of the Sagittarius Arm, seeking new and powerful allies. First, though, he resolves to recover some of the ancient war machines of the enigmatic Unseen, powerful mechs each nearly as mighty as the Archetype itself--or die trying.
Meanwhile, Lawson and the Cygnus Realm realize that the Ravennox threat is far from ended. They must mount their own spinward expedition, both to learn more about the mysterious aliens, and to counter Spann's efforts to recruit allies who themselves could pose profound a threat to a divided humanity as the Ravennox.
As the two factions jockey for power and prepare to launch themselves into the vast galactic unknown, one thing is starkly clear.
Only one of them can prevail. The other will wither and die. Will humanity be governed as envisioned by the First Messenger and the Unseen, with egalitarian wisdom, or will it be ruled by ambitious powermongers who see themselves as humankind's "better" future?
The survival of humanity itself, in the face of implacable alien threats, hinges on the answer to this, the most important question ever posed.
Genre: Science Fiction
For now.
Because the Ravennox are still out there. But thanks to Darius Spann and the Superba, Lawson and the other forces of the newly-restored Cygnus Realm face another, far more immediate threat. Spann and his Superba allies still hold sway over a huge swath of human territory, declaring it all Imperial space. So humanity is split, the Realm on one side, the Empire on the other, both claiming to be led by the Messenger. With neither able to land a decisive blow to knock out the other, a cold war now simmers between these two competing visions for the future.
Philosophies clash. Border skirmishes flare and fade. Schemes and intrigues abound. People die.
But Spann is determined to break the stalemate and reunite humanity under the iron grip of Superba rule--with him as its leader. To do that, he will travel into the spinward reaches of the Sagittarius Arm, seeking new and powerful allies. First, though, he resolves to recover some of the ancient war machines of the enigmatic Unseen, powerful mechs each nearly as mighty as the Archetype itself--or die trying.
Meanwhile, Lawson and the Cygnus Realm realize that the Ravennox threat is far from ended. They must mount their own spinward expedition, both to learn more about the mysterious aliens, and to counter Spann's efforts to recruit allies who themselves could pose profound a threat to a divided humanity as the Ravennox.
As the two factions jockey for power and prepare to launch themselves into the vast galactic unknown, one thing is starkly clear.
Only one of them can prevail. The other will wither and die. Will humanity be governed as envisioned by the First Messenger and the Unseen, with egalitarian wisdom, or will it be ruled by ambitious powermongers who see themselves as humankind's "better" future?
The survival of humanity itself, in the face of implacable alien threats, hinges on the answer to this, the most important question ever posed.
Genre: Science Fiction