Prequel: Veiled Alliances

Centuries ago, the human race began searching the Milky Way for hospitable planets, hoping to alleviate crowded conditions on Earth. Eleven generation ships filled with self-sufficient explorers set out for the stars, knowing that, at best, their grandchildren might someday find a new home. And now the Caillié, a generation ship on the verge of despair, has discovered something FAR more interesting - an advanced race capable of faster-than-light travel.

The Ildirans not only help the people of the Caillié settle the planet Theroc, they seek out survivors of the other ships launched so long ago. Once they've located most of the remaining human pioneers, the Ildirans send an envoy to the much-changed planet Earth seeking an alliance between the two races. The Earth is now governed by the wizened King Ben, with the shadowy figure of Chairman Malcolm Stannis pulling the strings for the Terran Hanseatic League behind the scenes.

Book 1: Hidden Empire (2002)

Having colonized the worlds of the Spiral Arm, the three branches of humanity -- the Earth-based Terran Hanseatic League, the telepathic Theron green priests of Theroc, and the fiercely rebellious, starship-dwelling Roamers -- consider themselves lords of creation. After all, humans share the galaxy with only two alien species, one harmless and one extinct. The benign Ildirans are an ancient, senescent civilization, while the Klikiss vanished ages before, leaving behind vast ruins filled with technological wonders, but no clues to their mysterious disappearance.

So ambitious humans see the galaxy as wide open for the taking. And when two xenoarchaeologists, Louis Colicos and Margaret Colicos discover a Klikiss device that can convert gas giant planets into new, life-giving suns, the humans promptly put their new technology to the test. The result is hideous beyond imagination. For the supposedly uninhabitable gas giants are the homeworlds of another alien species - the Hydrogues. Infinitely more advanced than the Ildirans, supremely more powerful than the Klikiss, and now the victims of accidental genocide, the Hydrogues don't seek explanations, apologies, or reparations. Instead, armadas of invincible, city-sized warships emerge from their gaseous worlds with a single purpose: to annihilate anyone harvesting their gaseous planets for space fuel or 'ekti' - whether Hansa, Ildiran, Theron, or Roamers.

Suddenly, humans need allies, but the Klikiss can't help them and the Ildirans won't. In their pride, the upstart worlds of Man have misunderstood the brutal realities of the galaxy and now face their own impending doom.

Book 2: A Forest of Stars (2003)

Five years after attacking human-colonized worlds of the Spiral Arm, the enigmatic Hydrogues maintain absolute control over the galaxy's gas giant planets. On Earth, the government is tightening its iron grip on rebellious colonies while seeking to dominate the other humans throughout the galaxy. Reeling from renewed attacks by the hydrogues, the Terran rulers don't realise the other dangers they face. Earth's alien "friends", the seemingly gentle Ildirans, are secretly abducting and breeding humans in enforced breeding camps. Whilst the Terran Hanseatic League begins to build military robots (Soldier Compies) to create cybernetic legions to fight the war, robots that were created using ancient technology found in Klikiss Robots which have exterminated their own makers and may turn on mankind.

Five years ago, humans thought they ruled the cosmos. Today they're the galaxy's most jeopardized species. But when an incredible new race of elemental entities are rediscovered, they are found to desire the destruction of their former enemy. For these beings have suffered genocide for millions at the hands of the Hydrogues.

Now for the humans and the myriad alien factions in the universe, the real war is about to begin.

Book 3: Horizon Storms (2004)
Cover image of Horizon Storms.

The titanic war between Hydrogues - powerful aliens that live within gas giant planets - and Faeros, fiery creatures inhabiting suns, continues to sweep across the Spiral Arm, extinguishing suns and destroying planets. It is a time when Chairman Basil Wenceslas of the Terran Hanseatic League and his figurehead King Peter must unify all branches of the human race to stand together against the threat even if they must resort to deception and oppression to do so.

But the freedom-loving Roamer clans and the forest-dwelling people of Theroc, whose "green priests" can communicate across vast distances through a network of sentient worldtrees, will not give up their independence so easily.

The iron-fist policies of Chairman Wenceslas force the disparate civilizations to forge alliances of their own, creating turmoil that may break human civilization apart, as surely as the destructive Hydrogues will.

Partly as a distraction from their peril, partly as a desperate hope, the Hanseatic League launches an ambitious new colonization program using the new network of alien transportals, instantaneous gateways that take hardy pioneers to settle new worlds once abandoned by the ancient insectlike Klikiss race. But the new territory comes with its own dangers and deeply buried mysteries.

In the ancient Ildiran Empire, Jora'h - the newly crowned Mage-Imperator - must face the awful responsibilities and sinister secrets his predecessors have imposed upon him: from the extensive breeding program forced upon a colony of hopeless human captives, to a surprising and uneasy pact with the beetle-like Klikiss robots that could result in the total extinction of the human race. But Jora'h must also survive a threat no other Mage-Imperator has faced in ten thousand years - open rebellion among the Ildirans, an astonishing civil war and a challenge to his rule that could break apart the entire Empire.

Book 4: Scattered Suns (2005)

The destructive Hydrogues continue their war against humans and the fiery entities, the Faeros -a struggle that kills planets and extinguishes whole stars. Newly crowned Mage-Imperator Jora'h, the leader of the ancient and vast Ildiran Empire, struggles with the knowledge that the Hydrogues are only willing to give them peace if they help destroy the humans. But Jora'h's empire is destroying itself from within, when his mad brother launches a bloody rebellion across the Ildiran planets, appointing Jora'h's own first-born son as its leader.

In the Terran Hanseatic League, Chairman Basil Wenceslas continues his red-herring war against the Roamer clans, eager to achieve a decisive victory, even if he has to invent an enemy out of the Roamer clans. Their homes destroyed, the wandering Roamers scatter into hiding, trying to keep their culture and government intact, even when faced with enemies from all sides. Cesca Peroni, leader of the Roamers, finds herself stranded on a small icy outpost where miners have uncovered a hibernating army of alien Klikiss robots. These robots, along with other, already active ones, trigger another dark and ancient plot, one that could lead to a massacre across all human-inhabited planets. In a galaxy torn by war, treachery, and shifting alliances, it is clear that many of the races are untrustworthy, and that they are likely to turn on each other.

Book 5: Of Fire And Night (2006)

The extermination of mankind is at hand. In a war against alien races, killer robots, and elemental beings, Earth slips deeper into desperation. The Terran government always knew the Hydrogues were a vicious enemy bent on humanity’s destruction, but they didn’t predict how many other factions would turn against them.

With his increasingly irrational leadership, Chairman Basil Wenceslas has driven humanity into a corner. The Chairman’s punitive treatment of Hansa colonies and free-spirited Roamers, as well as his refusal to aid the burned forest world of Theroc, has made enemies all around. Enemies that Earth cannot afford.

Earth’s own Soldier compies have rebelled, taking over much of the military, stealing ships and slaughtering crews across the galaxy. Even the Hansa's staunch allies the Ildirans, led by Mage-Imperator Jora’h, are secretly scheming with the Hydrogues to exterminate the human race.

As the war continues to go badly for Earth, the remaining factions of humanity plan for their own salvation. Worldtrees allied with “green priests” on Theroc have rallied hulking, thorny tree battleships, while Roamers work with powerful water entities, the Wentals, to seed scattered planets with a growing force to challenge the Hydrogues.

After Chairman Wenceslas has alienated and cut off so many potential allies, it seems clear that Earth is not well defended, and that it may be destroyed.

Book 6: Metal Swarm (2007)

The alien hydrogues have been defeated, driven back into the cores of their gas-giant planets by an alliance of the Earth Defence Forces, the ancient Ildiran Empire, the gypsy-like Roamer clans and fantastic water elemental beings as well as the gigantic living Verdani 'tree ships'. But as the various factions try to pick up the pieces and recover, the deep-seated wounds may be fatal. The Hansa's brutal Chairman Basil Wenceslas struggles to crush any resistance even as King Peter breaks away to form his own new Confederation among the green priests on Theroc, the Roamer clans and an ever-growing number of breakaway colonies who have declared their independence.

Like jackals smelling wounded prey, swarms of ancient black robots built by the lost insectoid Klikiss race continue their depredations on helpless worlds with stolen and heavily armed Earth battleships. A race of capricious and terrifying fiery elementals, the faeros, has joined with an Ildiran madman to declare war against all life. And the original, voracious Klikiss race - long thought to be extinct - have returned, intent on conquering their former worlds and willing to annihilate anyone who happens to be in the way.

Book 7: The Ashes of Worlds (2008)

The allied factions of humanity, along with the waning Ildiran Empire and the powerful water elementals and sentient trees, have defeated the near-invincible alien race of the hydrogues, driving them back into the depths of gas-giant planets. But before peace can heal the wounds between the races, two ancient enemies return: the capricious fiery elementals, the faeros, who mean to burn all those who fought alongside their mortal enemies. And the lost hive race of the Klikiss, who intend to reclaim all the worlds they inhabited 10,000 years earlier, worlds that are now home to many human colonies. Meanwhile, the leader of the Terran Hanseatic League, Chairman Basil Wenceslas, intends to pull all of humanity's unruly stepchildren into his iron grip - even if it means he has to hold the Ildiran Mage-Imperator hostage, risking renewed war with an entire alien civilization. THE ASHES OF WORLDS brings to a thrilling conclusion the myriad storylines of galactic warfare and personal betrayals, starlost romances and titanic alien conflicts.

Terran Hanseatic League

* Earth - The Capital of the Hanseatic League, Earth is the centre of Human culture and economy.

* Mars - Mars is controlled by the Earth Defence Forces, and used as their primary base for administration and training purposes.

* Relleker - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League mainly known as a resort world. Due to its reliance on imports the residents of Relleker were hard hit when ekti supplies dwindled. Therefore the planetary governor of Relleker - Jane Pekar - was loathe to lend aid to Davlin Lotze when he arrived requesting help in rescuing the citizens of Crenna and spend any of Relleker's vital resources in the process. When the Voracious Curiosity and the Blind Faith returned to Relleker with the rescued humans from Crenna, Relleker grudgingly gave the refugees sanctuary for a short time. Though when the last of them left with Rlinda Kett, Relleker suffered grave misfortune as it became the site of a Hydrogue attack which wiped out the human settlement.

* Ramah - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League mainly known as an Islamic religious haven.

* Dremen - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League known for its dismal climate. However, the world had enough usefulness in the form of growing crops, though not in great abundance. Although a plan was forwarded to use orbital mirrors to warm the surface of the world, it was dismissed as 'impractical'.

* Yreka - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League, Yreka was the site of a trap engineered by General Lanyan to catch the Roamer pirate Rand Sorengaard and his gang. The planet was later the site of a blockade by the Earth Defence Forces after it was discovered that the Yrekans had been hoarding ekti. The blockade ended when remoras struck food stores and fields of cereal crops, thus giving the Yrekans no choice but to give up their stored fuel. Due to their bitterness at the Terran Hanseatic League for stealing their cache of fuel, the Yrekan governor Padme agreed to set up a black market were the colony could trade covertly with the Roamers. This proved to be beneficial not only for the denizens of Yreka, but also nearby planets (who had been abandoned by the Hansa following the Soldier compy revolt) who desperately needed food and ekti supplies.

* Boone's Crossing - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League that was attacked by the hydrogues due to its forested surface while the Hydrogues were searching for the verdani worldforest.

* Corvus Landing - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League and the site of Beneto Theron's death.

* New Portugal - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League, New Portugal is known for its production of wine.

* Palisade - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League.

* Usk - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League that was made an example of after it broke away.

* Paris 3 - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League.

* Cotopaxi - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League.

* Rhejak - An ocean world, famed for the native algae that is an essential ingredient in anti-ageing treatments.

* Crenna - A member world of the Terran Hanseatic League. Crenna was formerly an Ildiran planet on the very edge of the Ildiran Empire. The splinter colony thrived happily until a disease spread amongst the colonists claiming many Ildiran lives, including the planet's Designate. The disease renders victims blind; a nightmarish condition to Ildirans who are essentially 'afraid of the dark', eventually driving them mad to the point of death. Adar Korin'h evacuated the remaining colonists, as the population was unable to sustain 'thism'. Because the blindness plague only affected Ildirans, Crenna quickly became a new Hansa colony. The Hansa used Davlin Lotze - under the guise of a colonist starting a new life - to covertly search existing Ildiran buildings and items in an attempt to find out more about their Ildiran neighbours, although ultimately yielded nothing. Later, Crenna was the site of an outbreak of non-lethal "orange spot", which was not related to the earlier Ildiran disease. Crenna was eventually rendered uninhabitable when the system's star was extinguished by hydrogue activities.

* Oncier - A gas giant with four large moons. It was selected as the world on which the Klikiss torch was tested in hopes of transforming it into a star and making its moons habitable. After the torch was deployed, an unknown craft - piloted by a race of elemental beings later calling themselves 'Hydrogues' - attacked and destroyed the four moons as well as the nearby Hansa research station. Later a huge battle raged between the Hydrouges and Faeros, eventually extinguishing the new star. The four moons of Oncier were named George, Jack, Christopher and Ben and were pre-emptively named as colony worlds of the Terran Hanseatic League.

Theron

* Theroc - Though a human-populated world, Theroc is a sovereign world not part of the Hanseatic League. Theroc boasts lush vegetation and a variety of large insect animal life. The planet occasionally exported its foods and fibres as luxury items to other planets. However, trade rapidly diminished as the hydrogue war flared. Theroc is the world most heavily populated by the verdani, or Worldforest, and is the cultural and spiritual home of the Green priests. Theroc is ruled as an independent state by its Father and Mother, and usually takes a neutral political stance. The planet and the Worldforest was greatly wounded by an attack by the hydrogues, who were searching forest-covered planets in hopes of exterminating their ancient enemy. The verdani were spared from utter extinction by the timely intervention of the faeros (who arguably made the situation worse), and the native Therons spent many years in a salvage operation, and later with the help of the Roamer clans.

Ildiran Empire

* Ildira - The Capital of the Ildiran Empire, heavily populated primarily due to the fear of isolation. Ildira is in a binary system, however its unusually close proximity to two other star systems, results in seven individual suns being clearly visible with a high degree of magnitude in the Ildiran sky, as a result the planet experiences no night.

* Dobro - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the second born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator. The most notable feature of Dobro is its human population. The humans from the generation ship Burton were taken to Dobro by Ildirans, and initially both species co-existed on the planet in peace. However, after a disturbance on the planet that killed several people the Ildirans imprisoned the humans to be used for their breeding experiments, with the aim of using human DNA to produce hybrid offspring with telepathic abilities superior to that of an average Ildiran. These experiments have been kept secret from all humans.

* Hyrillka - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the third born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator. Hyrillka is located in the Horizon Cluster. It is notable for being the centre of production of the potent stimulant drug Shiing, which has a disruptive effect on an Ildiran's connection to the telepathic web of thism. Hyrillka's populace suffered greatly at the hands of the hydrogues, and again when Designate Rusa'h attempted to rebel against Mage-Imperator Jora'h. The resulting warfare over the planet caused much collateral damage. When a clean-up operation began, lead by the young, newly appointed Designate Ridek'h, the planet was endangered again by a faeros-hydrogue battle at the system's star. The faeros won the battle, thus sparing the system, but Hyrillka was deemed unsafe for habitation.

* Colusa - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the fourth born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator.

* Scotia - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the fifth born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator.

* Alturas - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the sixth born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator. Alturas was the third planet to be targeted by the false Imperator Rusa'h for induction into his thism.

* Galt - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the seventh born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator.

* Kamin - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the eighth born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator.

* Shonor - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the ninth born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator. During the insurrection of the false Imperator Rusa'h, Shonor was the fourth world targeted by the Ildiran, and followed Alturas.

* Heald - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the tenth born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator.

* Vondor Qe - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire, its Designate is traditionally the eleventh born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator.

* Hrel-oro - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire; its Designate is traditionally the twelfth born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator. Hrel-oro is a dry and warm planet with very few vegetation though the world is rich in minerals and is mined by the Ildirans for desirable metals. Due to the arid climate, it is populated mainly by members of the 'scaly' kith. Power is supplied to Ildiran settlements by solar-power stations and wind turbines.

* Dzelluria - A splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire; its Designate is traditionally the thirteenth born noble son of the ruling Mage-Imperator. During Rusa'h's insurrection against Mage-Imperator Jora'h, the false Imperator travelled to Dzelluria with his captured warliners to absorb the planet's population into his thism network. Although the Designate refused to cooperate with Rusa'h, the planet was taken by force and Rusa'h killed the Designate, coercing the Designate-in-waiting to join him.

* Maratha - A planet used as a resort world by the Ildiran Empire with a splinter colony located permanently at the Maratha Prime complex. Maratha has an extremely long day/night cycle, with the day cycle comparable to that of Ildira, and is therefore prized by the Ildiran Empire. A second complex, Maratha Secda, was being constructed by commissioned Klikiss robots on the other side of the planet so that the visiting population can utilise the resort world throughout the year. When the hibernating hive of Klikiss robots buried deep below the surface were awakened, both complexes were destroyed and/or disassembled to build ships and weapons. They were later wiped out by the Ildiran Solar Navy and the original Klikiss race.

* Comptor - A forested planet and is home to a splinter colony of the Ildiran Empire. A former Designate of Comptor, the favourite of the then Mage-Imperator, is remembered in the Saga of the Seven Suns due to his death in a forest fire on the planet.

* Orryx - A former colony world of the Ildiran Empire that was virtually forgotten after its fall. Orryx was, according to Ildiran apocrypha, the first Ildiran world to be vanquished by the Shana Rei who covered the entire world and the septa of warliners that was sent to defend it in a blanket of darkness, killing the Ildirans.

Roamer

* Rendezvous - Although not an actual planet, Rendezvous is a connected collection of structures and hollowed asteroids in the Meyer system and is the Roamer central seat of government. Rendezvous was started when the generation ship Kanaka stopped in the Meyer system to collect vital resources required to continue on their journey, but some of the colonists decided to remain in the system. Rendezvous served as the Roamer seat of government until it was attacked and destroyed in a raid by the Earth Defence Forces.

* Osquivel - A gas giant occupied by hydrogues; its rings are the site of a Roamer starship manufacturing site managed by Del Kellum. These shipyards produced vessels such as the Erphano skymine and were for a long while safe from discovery by the Terran Hanseatic League. They were disguised when the Roamers were notified that the Earth Defence Forces would be sending a battle group to Osquivel after Robb Brindle traced the hydrogue warglobes that attacked Boone's Crossing back to the gas giant. In the battle between the Earth Defence Forces and hydrogues at Osquivel, the humans were soundly beaten and retreated from the planet. Roamers from the Osquivel shipyards managed to recover survivors from the wrecks of Earth Defence Forces ships after the battle, and were subsequently barred from leaving the facility to return to Earth. A complete hydrogue sphere/warship was also found at Osquivel and Kotto Okiah was pulled out from Jonah 12 to study the find. The hydrogue sphere was moved further away from Kellum's shipyards after it expelled high-pressure atmosphere when accidentally opened, sending it careening around. Some time after the battle against the hydrogues at Osquivel, families of the casualties of the battle journeyed to the planet to witness the destruction and construct a memorial. However, the group arrived at the gas giant amid the chaos of a Soldier compy rebellion - engineered by Kiro Yamane - against the Roamers at the shipyards.

* Plumas - An ice-bound planet where Roamer operated water mines are located. Run by the Tamblyn clan, the main settlement on Plumas was deep under the icy surface in caverns lit by artificial suns. The underground lake around which the Roamer settlement on Plumas was built was populated by blood red nematodes. After the death of Bram Tamblyn, the Plumas water mines were inherited by Jess Tamblyn although he left it in the hands of his experienced uncles. Under the administration of the Tamblyn brothers, Plumas served as the base for a short-lived pirating endeavour that started and ended with the capture of traders Rlinda Kett and Robert Branson. Much of the colony's subterranean grottos were destroyed by a possessed Karla Tamblyn - who was infused with the energy of a tainted Wental - and the world was abandoned soon after.

* Braddox - A mentioned planet that is occupied by a Roamer clan.

* Constantine III - A Stormy primordial planet; site of a Roamer facility that extracted certain raw materials, such as long chain molecules (which are difficult to synthesize), from its thick atmosphere.

* Forrey's Folly - A briefly mentioned planet occupied by a Roamer clan.

* Hurricane Depot - A facility used by the Roamers consisting of an artificially constructed station located at the centre of a pair of orbiting planetoids. During its management by Roberto Clarin, the Hurricane Depot's artificial complex was destroyed in a raid by the Earth Defence Forces.

* Isperos - A planet that orbited close to its system's sun and was rich in precious minerals. The Roamer Kotto Okiah planned to build a settlement on the planet in the hopes of mining the minerals, and travelled with Jess Tamblyn to inspect the planet. Kotto's plans were later approved by the Roamer Speaker Jhy Okiah, and a Roamer settlement was built on Isperos, complete with a railgun launcher that sent 'bricks' of material far out into safer zones of space for pickup by Roamer ships. After a meteor passed close to the planet and misaligned the railgun, causing a number of subsequent problems that compromised the safety of the facility and its inhabitants, the Roamers were forced to abandon the settlement.

* Jonah 12 - An incredibly cold planet and the location of a Roamer colony designed by Kotto Okiah after the unfortunate demise of the mining facility on Isperos. Roamers on the planet mined the gases frozen on its surface for use in Roamer industry. The facility was later destroyed when the colonists inadvertently uncovered numerous Klikiss robots hibernating deep within the ice. The robots swiftly attacked the Roamer base and levelled it with ease. Only Nikko Chan Tylor and wounded Cesca Peroni escaped the base alive.

* Sunshine - A photon-bathed planetoid settlement run by the Tomara clan. The settlement consisted of subterranean warrens for habitation whose energy demands were provided by solar collectors. Work was done on the planetoid's surface by the inhabitants only by night.

* Golgen - A gas giant occupied by the hydrogues and the site where they were first encountered by humans when they destroyed the Roamer skymine Blue Sky Mine - owned by Ross Tamblyn. After the death of Ross, his brother Jess Tamblyn staged an attack against Golgen by sending asteroids along carefully calculated decaying orbits from the system's Oort cloud to collide with the gas giant. Golgen was later rendered safe for skymining again when Jess Tamblyn unleashed wentals into its atmosphere, preventing the hydrogues from ever returning (they were presumably driven away by the bombardment of asteroids).

* Ptoro - A gas giant occupied by the hydrogues, and previously the site of a Roamer skymine owned by the Tylar clan before the hydrogues ultimatum, after which it was pulled from service. Later, Ptoro was the site of the first offensive use of the Klikiss Torch by the Earth Defence Forces. Crim Tylar describes it as "cold, windy, bleak."

* Glyx - A gas giant mined by the original Ildiran skymines. Some time after the Ildirans passed over skymining to Roamers, the facility at Glyx was managed by Berndt Okiah.

* Erphano - A gas giant occupied by hydrogues and was the site of a Roamer skymine managed by Berndt Okiah. This skymine was one of the earliest to be destroyed by the hydrogues.

* Welyr - A gas giant occupied by hydrogues and was the site of a Roamer skymine managed by Shareen Pasternak. This skymine was one of the earliest to be destroyed by the hydrogues. Welyr was also the site of a Roamer blitzkrieg raid that took place five years after the destruction of the Roamer skymine and a bombing run performed by Del Kellum which seeded the atmosphere of the gas giant with wental.

* Franconia - A gas giant and site of a Roamer skymine managed by Boris Goff which was probably withdrawn after the hydrogue ultimatum. This gas giant suffered from moon-sized hurricanes.

* Haphine - A gas giant occupied by hydrogues and was the site of an Ildiran skymine that was one of the first two leased to the Roamers. This skymine was the fourth Roamer skymine to be destroyed by the hydrogues. Haphine was also the site of a wental-hydrogue battle after the atmosphere of the gas giant was dowsed in a bombing run led by Cesca Peroni.

Klikiss

The Klikiss race was thought to be extinct and many Klikiss worlds were settled by colonists from the Terran Hanseatic League after the transgate network was reactivated.

* Llaro - The ancient capital of the Klikiss race. "It's not exactly the garden spot of the galaxy, EA, but at least it isn't a hellhole." - Tasia Tamblyn to EA on arrival at Llaro. The ruins of the Klikiss city were discovered by planet prospector Madeleine Robinson and her sons. After the Klikiss transportal network was reactivated by humans, Llaro was one of the worlds picked for colonisation and it was also the site where Roamer prisoners of war were detained after capture.

* Corribus - The world where it was thought the Klikiss race were finally exterminated by an unknown foe and where Margaret and Louis Colicos discovered the Klikiss Torch. It was later repopulated by humans after it was rediscovered by Hud Steinman (through the use of a Klikiss transportal). The colony was attacked by Hansa warships, in the command of the Klikiss robots, who scourged the planet of all humans aside from Hud Steinman and Orli Covitz.

* Happiness - A neo-amish world on which prince Daniel was dumped on by King Peter on which he was killed by the klikiss.

* Hifur - A klikiss world regained by klikiss before being destroyed by klikiss robots.

* Rajapar - A klikiss world retained by an independent breedex.

* Rheindic Co - The world where the first Klikiss Transportal was reactivated by Louis Colicos and the hub of the Hansa colonisation effort. Also the site of Louis Colicos's death and DD's abduction by Klikiss robots.

* Pym - A desiccated world that was once inhabited by the Klikiss. Described to have huge salt lakes and mineral deposits. General Lanyan leads an expedition to Pym rescuing its inhabitants.

* Scholld - A klikiss world that destroyed a small part of the klikiss robot fleet.

* Szurael - A Klikiss world first explored by Dalvin Lotze but deemed unfit for human habitation due to its large predators and acrid air. It was used by the Klikiss robots as a base of operations for their war against humanity.

* Wollamor - A world settled in the colonization initiative the humans were killed by klikiss robots many of which were killed when the Llaro breedex invaded who were in turn killed by planetary bombardment by Sirix and his soldier compies.

* Xalezar - A world settled by humans in the colonization initiative not yet found by klikiss.

* Zed Khell - A klikiss world that was not settled on in the colonization initiative and quickly regained by the klikiss.

Other

* Iawa - Ildirans transported the human colonists from the generation ship Kanaka here. However, after becoming accustomed to a different way of life onboard the Kanaka and their cereal crops suffering from an awful blight, the colonists left Iawa to reunite with the community that had been left to form Rendezvous.

* Dularix - A uninhabited forested world that was attacked by the hydrogues when the gas giant dwellers were searching for the remnants of the verdani.

* Oncier A gas giant at which the the Klikiss torch was tested. Unbeknownst to the humans this invoked the wrath of the hydrogues.

Earth Defense Force

The Earth Defense Force (EDF) is the military of the Hansa. The entire fleet is commanded by General Kurt Lanyan the primary commander. The EDF controls ten defined sections of space within the Hansa territories called grids. Each grid is monitored by an Admiral. The EDF consists of the following ships.

* Remora - The smallest ship in the EDF, however an extremely maneuverable attack fighter. The Weapons consignment on board a Remora consist of Jazers. They are also known to carry a highly versatile foam that is used to make rafts in A Forest of Stars to save settlers from drowning.

* Personnel dropship Used in ground operations such as those as Yreka and roamer complexes. No weapons onboard.

* Thunderhead - Slightly smaller than a Manta, the Thunderhead is a fast and highly maneuverable weapons platform. They are capable of docking a large number of Remoras. The Weapons consignment on board a Thunderhead consist of Jazers, Railguns and later Carbon-Carbon Smashers.

* Manta - The EDF's Mid-sized cruiser class vessel. The majority of the EDF is made up of Mantas, they are fast, powerful and are also capable of docking a large number of Remoras. The Weapons consignment on board a Manta also consist of Jazers, Railguns and later Carbon-Carbon Smashers and fracture pulse drones.

* Juggernaut - The largest and strongest battleship in the EDF. Ten juggernaut class battleships were created in total, one for each grid of the Hansa. The Weapons consignment on board a Juggernaut is much like the Manta and Thunderhead and also consists of Jazers, Railguns, Carbon-Carbon Smashers and fracture pulse drones. The Goliath was the first newly constructed Juggernaut, commanded by Admiral Lev Stromo of grid 0. Others Include. The Jupiter commanded by Admiral Sheila Willis of grid 7. The Eldorado Commanded By Admiral Kostas Eolus of grid 5. And unnamed others.

* Rammer - The heavily shielded kamikaze attack vessel of the EDF, created to destroy Hydroge Cityplexes found in the center of gas giants. The Rammer contains no life support or vital systems, and is crewed entirely by soldier compies. It is designed to overload its engines which provides an explosion many times that of a nuclear warhead. The bridge of the Rammer contains a small craft that may jettison from the bridge before the overload. Also have nukes to weaken the warglobes before impact.

Civilian

* Cargo Ships - These fast transport ships are not mentioned often and the only ones mentioned throughout the series are the ones commanded by Rlinda Kett. A successful merchant with a fleet of five cargo ships such as. The Voracious Curiosity Rlinda's personal ship, The Great Expectations a ship that was stolen by Rand Sorengaard, The Dogged Persistence as commanded by Branson Roberts and others that were commissioned by the EDF.

* Yacht - This luxury ship is large and very fast and is usually adorned by official or ceremonial markings. The uses of the ships are generally for ambassadors, politicizations, military officials, the king and other royal officials. The previous chairman of the Hansa Maureen Fitzpatrick was mentioned to own a personal yacht. The Speaker for all Roamer clans also has a Yacht that has no official markings.

* Hansa Generation Ship - Created by the Hansa these enormous ships carried many humans to unknown destinations. Once launched each generation ship's crew would become self-contained and independent finding their own way across the stars. Each ship was named after a famous explorer, (some of which are fictional/only exist in the SoSS universe). The names were:
o Peary
o Marco-Polo
o Balboa
o Burton
o Caillie
o Amundsen
o Clark
o Vichy
o Stroganov
o Abel-Wexler
o Kanaka

Roamer

Roamers have many types of ship of with all shapes and sizes. Due to their belief in function over form, it is likely that you would rarely see two identical or standardized ships. There are many ships created from recycled parts and hulls that create an 'ugly' yet individual look to each ship.

* Sky Mine - Roamer sky mines harvest vast amounts of hydrogen from gas planets, giant reservoirs of resource accessible for the taking. Running millions of gaseous tons through ekti reactors using an old Ildiran process. Through catalysis's and convoluted magnetic fields the reactors convert ultra-pure hydrogen into an exotic allotrope of hydrogen, Ekti. The Blue Sky Mine was Ross Tamblyns sky mine, operated above the Golgen gas giant. A sky mine can be seen on the UK edition cover of Metal Swarm

* Nebular Skimmers - With their ability to Sky mine Roamers developed these new ships that drift through Nebula slowly extracting the much needed Hydrogen to be converted to Ekti. This ship is mainly sails made of microfiber film which is used to collect the Hydrogen. It is encased in an ellipsoidal ballistic cocoon where is folded and later released into 4 large sails. With a crew of one which live in a habitation module that sits in the center of the structure these ships collect Hydrogen to be later transported and converted.

* Grappler pod - A small, short range craft which can deploy a grapple.

* Ore collector - A short range ship used for collecting mined metals.

Solar Navy

The Solar Navy is the military of the Ildiran Empires. The lowest ranking officer of the Solar Navy is Septar and is in charge of a Septa of ships, a total of 7 Warliners. The next ranking officer is Qul and is charge of a Mantiple, 7 Septas, a total 49 Warliners. The next highest ranking is Tal and is charge of a Cohort, 7 Mantiples, a total 343 Warliners. The entire fleet is commanded by the Adar, second child of the Prime-Designate a halfbreed Noble and Solder Kith. The Solar Navy consists of the following ships.

* Warliner - The largest and most powerful ship in the Ildiran Empire. A Warliner can be described as a large disk tilted on its side adorned with ornamental heat radiator solar sails. The Weapons consignment on board a Warliner consist of Kinetic Missile Launchers, High Energy Cutting Beams and Planet-Splitters. It is pictured on the UK edition cover of A Forest of Stars.

* Cutter - One of the smallest ships in the Ildiran Empire. It is mainly used as a transport for military officials and Soldiers. This small ship is able to dock directly onto the side of a Warliner becoming part of the hull. The Weapons consignment on board a Cutter is unknown however it can be assumed that High Energy Cutting Beams would be the major system.

* Streamer - The fastest ship in the Solar Navy. Its arrowhead design is aerodynamic allowing it to fly at great speeds even in planetary atmosphere. The streamer is used often in celebrations held throughout the Ildiran Empire. The Weapons consignment on board a Streamer is also unknown however it can be assumed that again High Energy Cutting Beams would be the major system.

Hydrogues

The Hydrogues' liquid metal form needs to be maintained. From the enormous pressure in the core of a gas giant Hydrogues compress carbon into pure diamond. The Hydrogues ships are diamond hulled and are described as Warglobes or else CitySpheres. These Warglobes vary in size, from the smallest Emissary size to a city sized sphere. The weapons consignment on board a Warglobe consists of "lightning weapon" as well as a "frost weapon". An image of a Warglobe can be seen on the UK edition cover of Horizon Storms.

Faeros

Not much is known about the Faeros however is known that they travel in powerful and massive ellipsoid ships. These ships much like the Hydrogues are made with an exterior much the same at their environment. The hull is made of a gaseous material that can withstand extreme temperatures of a sun and it also emits heat itself. The weapons consignment on board a Faeros ship is unknown. They have previously destroyed Hydrogue ships simply by ramming into them at high speeds.

Verdani

After bonding with the Wentals the Verdani become energized by the Wentals' seemingly inexhaustible energy which permits them to grow at a rapid rate allowing them to form into gigantic battleships. These Treeships need a human counterpart who can form a mental bond with the trees and therefore become part of the Verdani forever (the Verdani previously used a race of, presumably extinct, birdlike humanoids for this task). There are no weapons on board a Treeship as the Treeship uses its long thorny branches to grapple onto its attacker and crush them. An image of a Verdani treeship can be seen on the UK edition cover of Of Fire and Night.

Wentals

The Wentals' ship remains to be seen however a large water globule ship was created for Jess Tamblyn. Held together by a "skeleton" of coral it was built by Wentals by the entranced sea creatures. In Scattered Suns it was used to destroy hydroge ships by fragmenting and slamming into them.