An alliance of species across the galaxy has formed. Led by Liam Donovan, the United Alliance Military has spent years preparing for war against the ruthless Othaul Dynasty. Interspecies Ambassador Ann Donovan arrives on Earth with the alliance’s newest species to find a debate waging in the war council. Should the alliance attack the Dynasty pre-emptively, or continue waiting and building their forces while other planets fall victim to the Dynasty’s terror? Meanwhile, Zale Alday leads the Earth Proxima Security Division against the last remnants of the Humans Only terrorist organization. Her chase after the terrorist leader begins at a casino on Ganymede and takes her across the solar system. But when the terrorist leader, a violent man named Shaddix, recruits an unexpected ally, things quickly take a turn for the worse. As the war council continues its debate, a strange ship arrives above Luna claiming to be from the planet Proxima b. Its passenger warns of an Othaul attack on the planet’s native people. Liam, along with Admiral Debra Sizemore, must authorize a scouting mission to discover the truth to the passenger’s claims before it could be too late.

“Stephen Baxter has been heralded, with some merit, as Arthur C. Clarke’s literary heir, and Proxima certainly reinforces this accolade in spades.”—Concatenation Mankind’s future in this galaxy could be all but infinite. There are hundreds of billions of red dwarf stars, lasting trillions of years—and their planets can be habitable for humans. Such is the world of Proxima Centauri. And its promise could mean the never-ending existence of humanity. But first it must be colonized, and no one wants to be a settler. There is no glamor that accompanies it, nor is there the ease of becoming a citizen of an already-tamed world. There is only hardship...loneliness...emptiness, even as war brews in the solar system. But that’s where Yuri comes in. Because sometimes exploration isn’t voluntary. It must be coerced.

Time is running out for the inhabitants of Proxima Centauri. Unsettling discoveries there and at Luyten’s star now threaten both Proxima and Earth, in a new hard science fiction thriller from Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson. First contact with the seemingly impossible human civilization at Proxima Centauri is not going well. The Earth ships sent to render aid have not been able to reverse the contagion ravaging their population and, worse, many Proximans are now wondering if the humans from Earth are there for other, not so charitable, reasons. Can the extinction-level disaster faced at Proxima be reversed by the combined ingenuity of scientists from both worlds working together? Unsettling discoveries in the Proxima Centauri planetary system beg the questions: What if the evil gods depicted in Proxima’s ancient mythologies were real and far more powerful than even the humans from Earth with their late 21st century technologies? Worse, what if their ancient oppressors never truly left? At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for Travis S. Taylor: “. . . explodes with inventive action.” —Publishers Weekly on Travis S. Taylor’s The Quantum Connection “[Warp Speed] reads like Doc Smith writing Robert Ludlum . . . You won’t want to put it down.” —John Ringo Praise for Stellaris: People of the Stars, coedited by Les Johnson: “. . . a thought-provoking look at a selection of real-world challenges and speculative fiction solutions. . . . Readers will enjoy this collection that is as educational as it is entertaining.” —Booklist “This was an enjoyable collection of science fiction dealing with colonizing the stars. In the collection were several gems and the overall quality was high.” —Tangent Praise for Mission to Methone by Les Johnson: “The spirit of Arthur C. Clarke and his contemporaries is alive and well in Johnson’s old-fashioned first-contact novel, set in 2068. . . . includes plenty of realistic detail and puts fun new spins on familiar alien concepts. . . . There’s a great deal here for fans of early hard SF.” —Publishers Weekly “With equal parts science fiction and international intrigue. . . . an exciting, fast-paced read that you will not want to put down.” —Booklist Praise for Rescue Mode by Ben Bova and Les Johnson: “. . . a suspenseful and compelling narrative of the first human spaceflight to Mars.” —Booklist

While there are many textbooks about the European Union (EU), Clive Archer covers the essential elements of the EU clearly and concisely, outlining the key debates and issues it faces today.

This book is a comparative study which aims to answer the question: under what circumstances does the EU undertake military operations? Since 2003, the EU has carried out six military operations. What accounts for this historic development? The EU and Military Operations examines the dynamics behind the EU ́s collective use of force and situates the EU in the context of a global division of labour with regard to military crisis management. It centres on the study of two main cases of EU military operations: the non-case when an operation was planned in the Lebanon war 2006 but did not occur, and the positive case of EUFOR RD Congo that same year. Drawing upon these findings, the author creates an innovative analytical framework based upon the techniques of defence planning, and applies this to the cases studies with the purpose of identifying the main driving and inhibiting factors behind the operations. Key findings derived from this analysis include the growing importance of local actors in facilitating or impeding the EU ́s deployment of military force and the enhanced role of regional organisations as security providers. The book will be of much interest to students of European security, EU politics, strategic studies, humanitarian intervention, security studies and IR in general.

This key text brings together a team of leading contributors to address the complex issues of security reconciliation and reconstruction in post conflict societies. Security, Reconstruction and Reconciliation is organized into four main sections: the social, political, and economic dimensions of conflict the impact of conflict on women and children reconstruction and past human rights violations disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, post-war reconstruction and the building of a capable state and the role of the international community in the peace process. The chapters offer a detailed and succinct exposition of the challenges facing post conflict societies by articulating the vision of a new society. With a foreword by Francis Deng, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on Internally Displaced Persons, the authors discuss the issues in the context of possible solutions and lessons learnt in the field. This new book is a valuable resource for researchers, policy makers and students in the fields of conflict resolution, security studies, law and development.

A BRILLIANT BLEND OF MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION AND ARTHUR C. CLARKE-LEVEL SPECULATIVE WONDER BY A WORKING SPACE SCIENTIST! NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT Humanity has finally made it to the stars. Colony worlds thrive and there is general peace among the settled systems. Until now. Matte black ships of an advanced design appear in colonial systems. Their drives and weapons are not extremely advanced beyond their Terran counterparts — just superior enough to be utterly devastating. Colonies and their populations are obliterated. Once settled worlds are rendered radioactive wastelands. Earth herself lies defenseless before the marauding enemy. DEFEND THE SKIES OF EARTH Standing against the invasion are two of humanity’s finest starship captains, Winslow Price of the British Space Navy and Anika Ahuja of the Indian Space Forces. Compatriots. Fierce competitors. Former lovers. Now they are on a quest that will plumb the scientific wells of existence itself, where the primordial knot of spacetime may be unraveling. Price and Ahuja are sworn to do whatever it takes to defend Earth and humanity from ultimate obliteration by an enemy that will not even speak its name. Even if it pushes each to the brink of life and death in battle. Even if it leads each beyond space and time—and to the edge of ultimate possibility! TAKE THE BATTLE TO THE STARS About Mission to Methone: “The spirit of Arthur C. Clarke and his contemporaries is alive and well in Johnson’s old-fashioned first-contact novel, set in 2068. . . . includes plenty of realistic detail and puts fun new spins on familiar alien concepts. . . . There’s a great deal here for fans of early hard SF.”—Publishers Weekly “With equal parts science fiction and international intrigue . . . an exciting, fast-paced read that you will not want to put down.”—Booklist About Rescue Mode by Ben Bova and Les Johnson: “. . . a suspenseful and compelling narrative of the first human spaceflight to Mars.”—Booklist