Crest of the Stars

In the far-distant future, mankind has traversed the stars and settled distant worlds. But no matter how advanced the technology of the future becomes, it seems the spacefaring nations cannot entirely shed their human nature. Jint Lin finds this out the hard way when, as a child, his home world is conquered by the powerful Abh Empire: the self-proclaimed Kin of the Stars, and rulers of vast swaths of the known universe. As a newly-appointed member of the Abh’s imperial aristocracy, Jint must learn to forge his own destiny in the wider universe while bearing burdens he never asked for, caught between his surface-dweller “Lander” heritage and the byzantine culture of the Abh, of which he is now nominally a member. A chance meeting with the brave-but-lonely Apprentice Starpilot Lafier aboard the Patrol Ship Goslauth will lead them both headfirst down a path of galaxy-spanning intrigue and warfare that will forever change the fate of all of humankind.

Sparks continue to fly as the proud Abh Empire and the zealous United Humankind clash over the fate of planet Clasbule, and of the entire Milky Way, in this, the epic conclusion to Crest of the Stars. Can Jint and Lafier elude the enemy’s concerted efforts to capture them? Can they trust the strange bedfellows that are their new “allies”? And with all odds against them, have they the sheer grit necessary to flee the thick of the fire and live another day in this internecine war? What does destiny have in store for them? Witness the end of an era, and the beginnings of a legacy like no other as the story picks back up in the long-running continuation series, Banner of the Stars.

You journeyed with Jint and Lafier through three volumes of interplanetary-scale action and intrigue in CREST OF THE STARS. Through pain and companionship, they forged their way through an impossible ordeal unscathed. But that adventure, though grand, was just the introduction to a larger, decades-spanning chronicle of galactic war. Join our two heroes, now bona fide starpilots appointed to a warship in an Abh Empire fleet, as they participate in their very first official military operation. They are tasked with helping defend a strategically crucial star system from the Three Nations Alliance. Complications arise, however, when they learn that their commanding officer is none other than the sister of the Abh baron they killed three years prior!

Lafier has been appointed the interim liege of yet another newly conquered star system, with Jint her ill-defined adjunct. Only the planet of Rohbnahss is by far the most vexing of the Empire’s latest acquisitions—because it’s a giant prison on the verge of a world-scale uprising! Can the iconic duo form a working government there? What will become of them and their bond once the enemy’s offensive and her Abliar obligations force Lafier to abandon Jint on a powderkeg ready to blow? Find out in this, the second exciting installment of Banner of the Stars!

The Countdom of Hyde, Jint’s star system of birth, has been freed from enemy occupation. The Empire must now reestablish its dominion there, with Jint as its liege by birthright. Yet the self-sufficient planet Martin is as fiercely and hostilely anti-imperial as ever. Moreover, he has to negotiate with the planet’s heads of state... his own foster parents! While he may have Lafier and more former comrades of his to help him in his struggles, only he can ultimately decide where his true loyalties lie - with Martin, or with the Empire.

Lafier is now the captain of a state-of-the-art raid ship, and her brother, Duhier (who is still wrestling with his inferiority complex) has finally enlisted in the Star Forces. Meanwhile, the galactic war is reaching a turning point, as the Hania Federation asks to join the Abh Empire. Will the Empress accept their offer? And might Hania have ulterior motives?

The unthinkable has happened: the imperial capital is under siege by the Three Nations Alliance thanks to a surprise attack, which will divide the Empire in two. The Empress and the Empire’s paltry forces at the scene must rally in a bid to evacuate what people and structures they can, and buy time for the capital’s relocation. Lafier and Jint are charged with saving the Empire’s culturally significant artifacts, even while Lafier’s brother Duhier is stranded behind enemy lines.

Around a decade has passed since the Fall of Lahkfacar, and the Empire is now split into two distinct regions. Crown Princess and fleet commander Lafier is tasked with the operation to annex the People’s Sovereign Stellar Union and reunite the Empire while at the same time facing supply shortages and crew inexperience — and she might need to flout orders to get it done.