Cirrus@Austlit

'Humanity has fallen.

'It's a phrase everyone thinks, but no one dares speak.

'Barely two weeks following the Cymic Parasite invasion, Central's carefully orchestrated system of stations and communication networks is obliterated. Some estimates say more than a third of humanity is dead, and those who survive are counting the hours until the invasion arrives on their doorstep.

'Mitzi is a disgraced ex-military officer. In this new, desperate world, her dishonourable discharge is no longer a black mark against her employment, and she's managed to get a commission for one last job.

'Her mission is to attack a planet overrun by Cymics and detonate a fuel reservoir in an effort to kill them. If she fails, Central loses a vital communications centre, and its last retaliation efforts will collapse.

It's a crazy, desperate, reckless plan... just the kind Mitzi likes.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Maren's career isn't doing so great. She was trained as a defence technician - a specialised fighter commissioned to protect stations - but the only job she could get was as a maintenance worker on Station 334. She's not complaining, though. Not too much, anyway. She's made friends on the communications outpost, and the job isn't without thrills.

'But there are whispers of something terrible and deadly creeping closer...

'Gin, Maren's friend and 334's communications lead, has been receiving an exceptionally high number of emergency help requests from remote stations. Their governing body, Central, has lost contact with the response teams it sent. And a single frantic sound bite suggests humanity's situation is far more dire than anyone thought.

'Maren's defence training might prove useful after all.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Kala never wanted to be a hero. She was a junior scientist studying under the highly-respected Commander Stanos when her station was attacked.

'The threat is unlike anything Kala could have imagined: the aliens are fast, overwhelmingly strong and pathologically intent on killing any human they encounter. Worse, they have a flawless disguise. Once they kill a human, the aliens absorb its body and assume its skin.

'But Kala thinks she's discovered their weakness. And her knowledge might be humanity's only hope.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'For Charles, responding to Station 332's emergency help request starts out no different than any other mission. She's been paired with a near-retirement medic, Robin, and a lax mechanic, Jay. Their job is simple: check the station, kill any threats, provide assistance if needed, then return to Central.

'But this is unlike any assistance request Charles has been on before.

'Someone or something has destroyed the station, smashing the control panel and upending equipment. They find two dead bodies in the bedroom, and the third staff member is missing.

'Robin labels it a murder-suicide, but Charles has doubts.

'Something is killing Central's best fighters, leaving humanity defenceless. It's spreading quickly. And the danger lives closer to home than anyone ever expected...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'It wears our skin...

'Station 331, situated on a remote moon near at edge of the known system, isn't a prestigious place to work. Its three-person staff has one basic job: kill the plant-like lifeforms that come off space rubble and meteors.

'Jen just wants to get through her eight-month shift without going crazy from the tedium or her co-workers' bickering. That plan crumbles when Carly discovers a strange lifeform during a routine patrol.

'The small, fluid creature nestled in the base of a crater doesn't match any of the entries in their database. Protocol says they should call for backup, but Carly insists they can deal with the lifeform themselves.

'It's a simple choice for Jen, but her mistake will unleash unimaginable horror...

'...and the nearest help is three days away.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.