An astronaut, stranded in space, is saved by a mysterious figure

An elite team of interstellar mercenaries navigate a galaxy where death is an everyday fact.

Pursued by the Curtain, a sort of moving ring that encircles a dead planet, humanity is forced to perpetually circle the globe aboard five ships carrying millions of humans, and relentlessly sends out prospectors to inspect the lands on the horizon to ensure the safety of its nomadic cities. These prospectors, known as "after-guards," are tasked with traveling thousands of nautical miles across the horizon in extremely fast vessels. And as humanity begins its 7,999th revolution, one of them discovers an anomaly near the northern rotational center of the Curtain...

Far off in the darkest, loneliest corners of space... Long, long after the last speck of evidence of human existence has been eaten by the Sun... What will be out there? Maybe nothing at all. And who will be there to witness it? Likely no one. These, and other questions, my dear hypothetical reader, may or may not be answered, eventually, somewhere in these pages.

After a series on Guardians and their Ancient Sites, it’s time to look at nebulas (or nebulae, if you prefer), starting at the Galactic Centre. Some of these nebulae belong to a very special and restrict group present in the core of the galaxy: they have not formed any stars, so they can only be seen from the planets and systems around them. It’s clearly an unusual situation, making it a challenge to create visual documents of these bodies.

It’s becoming a trend! In the Veils and at Trojan Belt we feared a single nebula would not justify the journey, and we were wrong. This time, at Dryman’s Point, we knew the single nebula was important, but nothing prepared us for the colorful experience we share in this volume. It’s, no doubt, one of the most exciting places to visit if you are an astrophotographer.

Two beings of pure energy explore the universe, in hopes of finding something interesting.

The Cosmos is a vast, magical, dangerous place. It is filled with the forgotten wonders of ages past, teeming with alien kingdoms spread over innumerable worlds, and haunted by dark powers from beyond mortal understanding. Aching for adventure, one little mortal sets off on a journey greater and more treacherous than he could have ever imagined...

Commander Jeff Harper and pilot Morgan Swanie witness Earth’s sudden destruction during what should have been a routine return mission. With communications lost and their ship damaged, escape is their only option. Stranded in deep space, grief and survival force them to rely on each other as they flee into the unknown—unaware that their flight has set them on a path that will change the fate of humanity forever.

Beyond the mapped stars, past the final Imperial beacons, lies a forbidden expanse known as the Dark Reaches. A scatter of untouched worlds drifts in that darkness — planets bound by an ancient decree older than the Empire itself. By sacred law, they are to remain uncontacted. No ships may land. No signals may pass. No technology may be gifted. No knowledge may be shared. These worlds must rise — or fall — by their own hands. Interference is punishable by death. And yet, the promise of death has never been enough. The Dark Reaches are rich in rumor. Untapped minerals. Lost relics from civilizations older than the Empire. Biologies unknown. Energies unnamed. For smugglers, fortune-seekers, and those willing to gamble their lives, the Reaches represent something irresistible — freedom from oversight, and wealth beyond imagining. To enforce the ancient law, the Empire maintains an order known only as the Judges. They do not govern. They do not negotiate. They observe, patrol, and, when necessary, execute. Their ships move without banners. Their rulings are final. Entire crews have vanished under their watch. Records erased. Names struck from Imperial ledgers. Officially, the Dark Reaches remain untouched. Unofficially… something is always moving in the dark. And in a region where greed outpaces fear, the line between outlaw and martyr grows thinner every cycle.