One Against an Empire

Only a psionic can survive battle with another psionic. And human psionics become megalomaniacal monsters. These two truths were drilled into everyone in the Reborn Empire. But . . .

Commander Sasham Varan had survived a Zchoradan psionic attack . . . and because of this, Prime Monitor Shagrath brought him into a top-secret project to create a stable human psi. Then a chance flaw in the treatment shows Varan that Shagrath is no hero, but a malevolent, inhuman being bent on the destruction of the Empire. With the help of “Vick,” the alien scientist who invented the psionic treatment, Varan manages to escape, and send a single, cryptic message to Taelin Mel'Tasne, one of the Five Families and Varan's best friend.

Now on the run, branded a rebel and a murderous psi, Varan's hope to save the Empire—and perhaps the Galaxy—rests on his own determination and still-untested powers, two alien scientists with their own agendas, the mysterious trader named The Eonwyl . . . and Taelin Mel'Tasne's faith in his friend.

Revenants Never Let Go . . . 

 . . .  yet Dylan, monster-hunter-turned-revenant, was finally accepting his wife Anna was gone, and a Jamaican vacation was supposed to help—getting him away from O'Reily's coffeehouse and secret halfway house for monsters, giving him a chance to face his past and, just maybe, accept it.

But a murdered European vampire, an ancient fae godslayer, and the demon who destroyed Dylan's mortal family turn his vacation into a race against time. Even with help from his friend Louis, the murdered man's fae wife Aphrodite, and sword-wielding enigma Jared Engelshand, Dylan may ultimately have to battle a living weapon that killed the gods themselves—in a body become suddenly mortal under a demon's highly ironic curse.

When astronomer Stephanie Bronson uncovers a massive alien vessel named Fenrir racing toward the Sun, she must lead a desperate mission to rescue its crew before a catastrophic failure dooms them both to fiery destruction.

It was just a dot of light . . .

. . . a dot of light that appeared out of nowhere. Stephanie Bronson thought she might have found a distant supernova. Instead, what she’d found was something more than a thousand miles across, moving towards the Sun at almost a third the speed of light from the constellation of Lupus, the Wolf. Even more frightening, the object—called Fenrir, after the Norse Wolf of the World’s End—was slowing down. It was not a comet or even a rogue planet.

It was an alien vessel.

And despite the increasingly detailed and insistent messages of greeting from Earth, it showed no sign of responding. As the world braced itself for the arrival of the immense, frighteningly silent alien visitor, Stephanie held hope that they still might communicate with Fenrir—until something happened that no one had imagined: Fenrir flared and its drive died, leaving the huge ship careening out of control to a fiery death inside the orbit of Venus.

There was—just possibly—a chance for Earth to act—to rescue the now-shipwrecked “Fens.” But even Stephanie—or those trying to stop her and the rescue ship Carpathia—could not imagine that not merely the fate of the aliens, but that of Earth itself, would be decided by Fenrir.

It was just a dot of light . . .

. . . a dot of light that appeared out of nowhere. Stephanie Bronson thought she might have found a distant supernova. Instead, what she’d found was something more than a thousand miles across, moving towards the Sun at almost a third the speed of light from the constellation of Lupus, the Wolf. Even more frightening, the object—called Fenrir, after the Norse Wolf of the World’s End—was slowing down. It was not a comet or even a rogue planet.

It was an alien vessel.

And despite the increasingly detailed and insistent messages of greeting from Earth, it showed no sign of responding. As the world braced itself for the arrival of the immense, frighteningly silent alien visitor, Stephanie held hope that they still might communicate with Fenrir—until something happened that no one had imagined: Fenrir flared and its drive died, leaving the huge ship careening out of control to a fiery death inside the orbit of Venus.

There was—just possibly—a chance for Earth to act—to rescue the now-shipwrecked “Fens.” But even Stephanie—or those trying to stop her and the rescue ship Carpathia—could not imagine that not merely the fate of the aliens, but that of Earth itself, would be decided by Fenrir.

Rich Man's Sky

by Wil McCarthy

1636: Calabar's War

by Charles E. Gannon and Robert E. Waters

Starborn & Godsons

by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes

Castaway Resolution

by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor

The Initiate

by James L. Cambias

Armageddons

edited by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann

Dinosaurs!

edited by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann

Godswar I

When Ingram and Quester had seen their clients, Lady Victoria Vantage and her young niece Urelle Vantage, safely to their new home, they had thought their work finished, the time come to find new Adventures—despite the not-well-hidden interest between Ingram and Urelle.

Then Ingram receives an impossible message: he, a fugitive and exile from Clan Camp-Bel, is desperately needed by the Clan in distant Aegeia, a thousand miles and more away, for a mission so secret it cannot be included in the recall. And the very night he and Quester set out, Urelle discovers there are assassins already on their trail and rushes to warn them—and following her, Victoria, a retired Adventurer forced once more into the field.

But more is at stake than they can realize, for the ancient Cycle of Aegeia—the living morality play between the Reason of Athena and the Passion of Ares—is in peril of destruction; a monstrous impostor has taken the place of the God of War, and begins to orchestrate an ending to Aegeia itself.

And the false Ares knows that one of the four travelers is the only thing standing between him and the downfall of the gods . . .

Originally Published in the anthology Mountain Magic. Baen October 1, 2004

Clint Slade is nervous. First, because he’s bringing his very New York City fiancée Jodi Goldman home to meet his very rural Kentucky family. Mostly, though, his anxiety stems from a different source. How—if he should do it at all—can he explain to his wife-to-be the secret behind the Slade family’s wealth and secluded lifestyle, which they’ve kept for almost two centuries. A secret involving diamonds, an extensive system of caverns . . . and a race of very inhuman beings who guard the treasures below.

But when Jodi and Clint arrive, he discovers that his anxiety was pointless. The secret can’t be kept any longer. Something has stirred up the denizens of the underground world and made them hostile. And even if Jodi, Clint, and the Slade family can find a way to stop the hostility from turning into violence, there is another, deeper secret waiting in the cavernous depths—one that could spell doom for millions of people!

The Hero in Her Hands

Doctor Jennifer Hsui thought she was a good therapist, and tried her best to be a good single mother to her daughter Yukari—something scarier than it had been, before the world had turned out to harbor werewolves, vampires, shadowy dragons . . . and now, just five years before, superheroes and their superhuman adversaries. But all her training and experience hadn't prepared her for the client that literally flew in her window one evening: the first and greatest of the heroes, Legend himself.

Now she finds herself becoming part of a world of people with godlike powers . . . and all too human problems. Legend has made the right choice in coming to her—but even she can't imagine how he will change her life.

And behind and beyond her office and home, something else is rising, something that has broken free of death and turned the power of the afterworld to their own purpose. And in the end, the safety of the world may not rest on the shoulders of Legend, or her own skill, but on the hopes and hearts of two children—one of them her own.

A Fugitive Against an Empire

Imprisoned as a hostage or a bargaining chip, Sasham Varan must rely on his friends The Eonwyl, Sooovickalassa, and Guvthor Hok Guvthor to find proof of the impossible truth: that Prime Monitor Shagrath is one of the legendary Demons, manipulating the Empire and others to destroy every civilization across the Galaxy. Even if they succeed and Varan gains his freedom and the Zchorada as allies, they will still need to assemble the largest fleet the Galaxy has seen since the days of Atlantaea to face the most powerful force in the Galaxy: the Reborn Empire.

And if they do all of that, still they will have to somehow expose the truth to all the Empire, or everything will still fall. In the end, Varan knows, he, alone, will have to face Shagrath . . . with the fate of tens of thousands of worlds the price of victory or failure!

NEW ENTRY IN THE BOUNDARY SERIES BY ERIC FLINT & RYK E. SPOOR

Surviving crash-landings and monsters and island-eaters was only the beginning!

The Kimei family and a second group of castaways, led by Sergeant Campbell, had finally joined forces after both had been forced to land on the bizarre planet Lincoln, whose "continents" were huge floating coral colonies, inhabited by even stranger lifeforms. They had survived crash-landings and venom-filled bites and disease, their own despair, and even the destruction—and consumption!—of one of their floating islands, and had learned to live, even prosper, in their strange new home.

Far away, Lieutenat Susan Fisher slowly pieces together the mystery of what happened to the starship Outward Initiative . . . and begins to believe that—just possibly—some of the survivors might have escaped to a mysteriously unsuspected star system.

But even her preparations and the resourcefulness of the castaways may not be enough . . . for Lincoln has far worse in store.

Beowulf's Children

by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes

House of Assassins

by Larry Correia

Forced Perspectives

by Tim Powers

Ship of Destiny

by Frank Chadwick

Man-Kzin Wars XV

created by Larry Niven

Castaway Resolution

by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor

Carpe Diem

by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

NEW ENTRY IN THE BOUNDARY SERIES BY ERIC FLINT & RYK E. SPOOR

Surviving crash-landings and monsters and island-eaters was only the beginning!

The Kimei family and a second group of castaways, led by Sergeant Campbell, had finally joined forces after both had been forced to land on the bizarre planet Lincoln, whose "continents" were huge floating coral colonies, inhabited by even stranger lifeforms. They had survived crash-landings and venom-filled bites and disease, their own despair, and even the destruction—and consumption!—of one of their floating islands, and had learned to live, even prosper, in their strange new home.

Far away, Lieutenat Susan Fisher slowly pieces together the mystery of what happened to the starship Outward Initiative . . . and begins to believe that—just possibly—some of the survivors might have escaped to a mysteriously unsuspected star system.

But even her preparations and the resourcefulness of the castaways may not be enough . . . for Lincoln has far worse in store.

Demons of the Past: Volume II

Sasham Varan was a patriot, a true believer in the Reborn Empire. But after a secret project both gave him outlawed psionic powers and revealed that Prime Monitor Shagrath, head of the Monitor Corps and right hand of the Emperor, was a monster hiding behind a human face, Varan became a fugitive and the most-wanted man in the Empire. With the aid of the enigmatic trader The Eonwyl, reptilian psi-scientist Sooovickalassa, and the immense and far too dangerously cheerful astrophysicist Guvthor, Varan must discover the true nature of Shagrath and his invisible allies—and a way to fight them.

And back home, in the center of the Empire, Taelin Mel'Tasne—Varan's closest friend—begins his own perilous quest to work his way to the center of Shagrath's plans . . . without even understanding what he faces!

Varan will meet new allies, old enemies—and eventually must seek out a world that became nothing but legend and myth eighteen thousand years before, to find the answers he must have . . . before returning to face an even more terrifying danger!

Now with an all new picture, deleted chapters of Phoenix Rising that provide backstory, and a short story by Ryk E. Spoor!

A new breakout fantasy epic filled with strong world building, engaging characters, and wondrous adventure.

Kyri: a highborn young woman whose life is shattered by the murder of her kin. But even as Kyri flees her beloved land Evanwyl, she knows that she is her family's only hope for justice, and Evanwyl's only chance to escape a growing shadow of corruption and destruction.

Now Kyri must venture across Zarathan, a world on the brink of a long foretold Chaos War. It is a struggle that may usher in a long age of darkness— that is, if Kyri and her companions do not succeed in holding back the tide of evil that is rising. Those companions include valiant swordsman Tobimar Silverun, Prince of Skysand, exiled on the turn of a card and a prophecy, who is now seeking his people's lost homeland; and Poplock Duckweed, an unlikely hero whose diminutive size is as much a weapon as it is a weakness.

Kyri's quest is as simple as it is profound: find a legendary ancient weaponsmith, take up the sword and armor of a new order of warrior defenders, and bring the power of justice and vengeance to the evil and corruption that has darkened her native land.

What Would You Give to be a Hero?

Stephen Russ never expected to have to answer that question; he went to work, he stayed in his apartment, sometimes had friends over, and the worst thing he'd had to face was looking for a new job after losing his old one.

But that was before a child's desperate scream led him into an alley filled with faceless winged things that almost killed him, before the strange white rat spoke to him, calling itself Silvertail Heartseeker and telling him that this was but the beginning, that the Stars were almost Right and the forces of Azathoth Nine-Armed would soon be unleashed against the world… before Silvertail said that his courage and willingness to risk himself made him the perfect choice to be one of the defenders of the world against this evil.

A defender named Princess Holy Aura, the first of the five Apocalypse Maidens.

Now Steve understands the choice: not whether he is willing to die, but whether he is willing to live… by giving up "Stephen Russ" to become the one chance that the world has against the monstrous forces that wait on the other side of forever.

Alliance of Shadows

by Larry Correia and Mike Kupari

Fleet Insurgent

by Susan R. Matthews

Command Combat: Slammers Down!

by Todd Johnson

1636: The Vatican Sanction

by Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon

Shadow of Victory

by David Weber

Princess Holy Aura

by Ryk E. Spoor

What Would You Give to be a Hero?

Stephen Russ never expected to have to answer that question; he went to work, he stayed in his apartment, sometimes had friends over, and the worst thing he'd had to face was looking for a new job after losing his old one.

But that was before a child's desperate scream led him into an alley filled with faceless winged things that almost killed him, before the strange white rat spoke to him, calling itself Silvertail Heartseeker and telling him that this was but the beginning, that the Stars were almost Right and the forces of Azathoth Nine-Armed would soon be unleashed against the world… before Silvertail said that his courage and willingness to risk himself made him the perfect choice to be one of the defenders of the world against this evil.

A defender named Princess Holy Aura, the first of the five Apocalypse Maidens.

Now Steve understands the choice: not whether he is willing to die, but whether he is willing to live… by giving up "Stephen Russ" to become the one chance that the world has against the monstrous forces that wait on the other side of forever.

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

by Lois McMaster Bujold

Chain of Command

by Frank Chadwick

Castaway Odyssey

by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor

The Monster Hunter Files

by Larry Correia and Bryan Thomas Schmidt

The Complete Psychotechnic League, Volume 1

by Poul Anderson

Combat Command: Cut by Emerald

by Dana Kramer

Honor Among Enemies

by David Weber

With new content by Ryk E. Spoor!

It was supposed to be a simple test flight, one that pilot Ariane Austin was on only as a last-ditch backup; intelligent, superhumanly fast automation would handle the test activation and flight of humanity's first faster-than-light vessel. But when the Sandrisson Drive activated, every automated system crashed, the nuclear reactor itself shut down, and only the reflexes and training of a racing pilot saved the test vessel Holy Grail from crashing into the impossible wall that had appeared before them, a wall which is just part of a monstrous enclosure surrounding a space twenty thousand kilometers across. With all artificial intelligences inert and their reactor dead, they had to find some other source of power to reactivate the Sandrisson Drive and—hopefully—take them home.

And that was only the beginning. As Ariane, Dr. Simon Sandrisson, darkly enigmatic power engineer Marc C. DuQuesne, and the rest of the Holy Grail's crew explore the immense artifact, they discover that they are not alone; they have entered a place the alien inhabitants call "The Arena," and there is no way out without joining one of the alien factions . . . or winning recognition as a faction in their own right, playing by the Arena's rules—and by the Arena's rules, one failed challenge could mean death or worse—perhaps for the entire human race. Surrounded by alien factions, each with its own secret plans and motivations, some wielding powers so strange as to be magical, Ariane sets out to beat the Arena at its own game. With DuQuesne's strategies, Sandrisson's genius, and her own unyielding determination, she's going to bring the Holy Grail home—even if she has to beat every faction in the Arena to do it!

In January of 2011 we started posting free short stories we thought might be of interest to Baen readers. The first stories were "Space Hero" by Patrick Lundrigan, the winner of the 2010 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Contest, and "Tanya, Princess of Elves," by Larry Correia, author of Monster Hunter International and set in that universe. As new stories are made available, they will be posted on the main page, then added to this book (to save the Baen Barflies the trouble of doing it themselves). This is our compilation of short stories for 2017.

As is usual with such copyrighted material from Baen, the contents may be copied and shared but NOT sold. All commercial rights are reserved to Baen Books.