Prologue and Part I of the two-volume epic science fiction saga, A Gathering of Rebels.In a cosmos filled with myriad and diverse species, freedom is prized above all else. But freedom means nothing without life, and the corrupt are killing the free, planet by planet, system by system, against all rule of law. To stop it, enforcement requires cooperation from Alta Andromedi, the oldest and most powerful empire in the Omniverse. Isolationist to an extreme, though, the Andromedans refuse to intervene, so a group of disparate rebels, each powerful in their own right, concoct a plan to force them to, plunging all involved into a cataclysmic conflict that could unravel the very geopolitical institution both sides hope to save.
They were a gathering of rebels Thrown together, not by happenstance, But by design and intrigue- The Ben Drom's design And the Cadre's intrigue- Except for one wild radical, One unpredictable element, Who threatened to undermine The efforts of all sides involved, and all because of one small minor- A Syrene who belonged to None other than the Ben Drom. They were a gathering of rebels, Fighting one another and themselves In a clash of titans.REVIEW: "One of the best SF I've read in years."In the tradition of Frank Herbert, Aeros has built a science fiction epic that ebbs and flows like the metaplassen that propels the ships of the multiverse. On a grand stage, of which the human-like Terrans occupy only a small portion, a story of oath and intrigue is told against the backdrop of interstellar and multi-dimensional space. From the beginning, it is clear that Aeros built the worlds we travel from the atom up, with unrivaled detail paid to every aspect of the story. Whether it be naming conventions, or the passage of time, or even the nature of the seemingly alive ships themselves, the reader is immersed in a rich, colorful, and remarkably comprehensive tapestry. If you like quick reads, no. If you like reads you dream about, yes. ...It's one of the best SF I've read in years. --Shawn Jones, Hard SF Author of The Warrior Chronicles
About the Author: If you want humans, well, there are a few sprinkled in here and there, but, true to reality, most of the cosmos is filled with species of different ilk and kind. The stories offered here are written by, for, and about aliens. I am so totally sick of aliens portrayed as one-sided assholes with the humans written as the victim and the hero. Our universe has better examples of intelligence out there everywhere. Did you ever think that, maybe, humans have been isolated...for their own good, for their peace of mind? I mean, humans are, in many ways, a totally disreputable animal-predatory, barbaric, close-minded, provincial, and as xenophobic as they come, though, admittedly, they do have many good points, too...if they could just get over themselves. As an author, I like to stretch the possibilities. I like to ask: what's beyond the limits of our perceptions of reality. So I write about stretching possibilities. My shorts are, basically, small incursions into my warped mind-snapshots of images inside it. My books? What I do is tap into universes populated with myriad species, each one different, each one unique. But each has one commonality with us and with each other-emotion. Everyone experiences emotion. That, to me, is the defining expression of being.