A WORLD IN FLAMES… Emporia has been bombed into disease-ridden ruins, and the planet’s remaining forces have been scattered. Jasper and Nadine Roux are among the few surviving cadets from the Ritza MechWarrior Academy. They and their war-torn peers are all that stands in the way of Tai-sa Takeji Yoshizawa’s plan to conquer their homeworld. Tai-sa Yoshizawa battles dissension within the ranks of his most trusted advisors as he struggles to complete his conquest. Desperate to solidify his hold on Emporia, the rogue Draconis Combine colonel will use every option at his command—including capturing the last surviving heir of Emporia and claiming him as his ward, then ruling the planet through him. It is a race to see who can reach the Ritza family first. With Nadine coordinating the survivors’ evacuation from space, and Jasper on the ground fighting his way across a shattered world, everything rests on what happens when Emporian and enemy forces collide in an epic battle and the winner takes all in this explosive conclusion to the Rogue Academy trilogy.

THE INNER SPHERE UNDER ASSAULT… Since the failure of the interplanetary communications system, the decades-long peace brokered by the Republic of the Sphere has begun to splinter. Power-hungry factions—such as the Steel Wolves—are invading vulnerable worlds to establish their own rule. As a gateway to Terra, the planet of Northwind has strategic value—making it a fiercely-contested target for the emerging factions springing up across the Republic—and Duchess Tara Campbell will not allow her home to fall into enemy hands. Offering military assistance, the Republic sends Paladin Ezekiel Crow and his fully armed BattleMech to help defend Northwind. MechWarrior Anastasia Kerensky, of the infamous Clan Bloodline, has set her sights on Northwind—and what Anastasia wants, Anastasia usually gets. But first, she must contend with the deadly politics of the Steel Wolves before embarking on a conquest that could lead to the very heart of The Republic itself...

CADETS UNDER FIRE… Jasper and Nadine Roux are cadets at the Ritza MechWarrior Academy…the only thing stopping a megalomaniacal Draconis Combine general with aspirations of claiming a piece of space as his own—starting with their home planet. Emporia is at war, and cadets are now frontline soldiers as Tai-sa Takeji Yoshizawa shifts tactics in a brutal effort to subjugate their entire world. It’s up to the siblings and their friends to stop the madman bent on conquest, but while Jasper believes Nadine is too reckless, Nadine believes Jasper is still living in the past. As both struggle to do what they think is right, the Ritza Academy comes under assault once more. It takes a shocking sacrifice to make them both see the true face of the enemy. Reunited by the same purpose, Jasper agrees to Nadine’s audacious plan to make Emporia too much trouble for the leader of the Seventh Ghost Regiment to conquer. Unfortunately for them, Tai-sa Yoshizawa has his own secrets, and nothing left to lose. And even if Nadine’s plan works to perfection, the cunning general has one last trick up his sleeve that could bring about the end of everything Nadine and Jasper hold dear…

THREE COMPLETE BATTLETECH NOVELS FEATURING THE DEADLIEST FOE TO EVER INVADE THE INNER SPHERE…THE CLANS! In the late 28th century, the Star League collapsed, and the Five Successor States were born. For the last three hundred years, these mortal enemies have fought over space, land, and politics, but now a new threat looms just outside the Inner Sphere. The descendants of an old Star League general—the Clans—have returned from their long-ago exile to take what they believe is rightly theirs. They have been bred into the best military force humanity has ever seen. The Clans have come to conquer, and the Successor States must put aside their differences—or face total destruction. LETHAL HERITAGE Two decades after the events that nearly brought the Successor States to the brink of all-out war, the Great Houses exist in an uneasy peace. But from out beyond the Periphery comes a new threat. A swift-moving military force of unknown origin, piloting BattleMechs unlike any seen before. Their power, speed, and ferocity are unparalleled. Nothing the Inner Sphere has can stop them. Some of the finest warriors and ablest units have challenged them and been crushed. No force has faced them and won. They are the Clans! A military juggernaut whose sole reason for existence is battle. A race that selectively breeds itself for combat. Humanity’s only hope is an alliance of mortal enemies. The Federated Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine, interstellar empires at war for 300 years, must now stand side-by-side—or face certain annihilation. BLOOD LEGACY Since appearing in the Inner Sphere, the frenzied Clans have overwhelmed every planet they’ve invaded, brutally crushing any opposing force. Nothing the Great Houses have can stop them. Humanity’s only hope—an alliance of mortal enemies—may be doomed. The Clan invaders have chosen their next objective—Luthien, capital of the Draconis Combine. House Kurita must now fight for survival on its homeworld. Hanse Davion is presented with a situation undreamed of...the final defeat of the Dragon itself. Should he attack his distracted foe and destroy the enemy his family has battled for over 300 years? Or should he reinforce a fellow House of the Inner Sphere against a force that Davion and the Federated Commonwealth might not otherwise defeat when their time comes? And even if the Houses should somehow agree to stand together against the Clan menace, another just as dangerous threat lurks within their midst. ComStar, the semi-mystic sect that controls interstellar communication, schemes to hurl House Davion, House Kurita, and the Clans into a devastating war that will leave ComStar in a position to dominate the Inner Sphere... LOST DESTINY Invaders from beyond the Periphery, the Clans have beaten the forces of the Inner Sphere repeatedly. Now the Clans are driving toward their ultimate objective—Terra, cradle of humankind, and hub of the ComStar communications network. Nothing the Inner Sphere has can stop them. Entire regiments of BattleMechs lie smashed in their wake. The heir to the throne of the Draconis Combine is missing. Rasalhague is overrun. The Clans are sweeping toward the center of the known universe in a relentless tide. Humanity's only hope is the Inner Sphere’s most powerful traitor. ComStar betrayed the Inner Sphere by aiding the Clans in their conquests. Now the mystic sect that controls all interstellar communication must face the Clan hordes—alone. And a mysterious, elderly warrior—along with the untested warriors of ComStar—is the Inner Sphere’s last defense against total defeat.

ANCIENT EVIL STALKS THE KURAI FOREST... The planet Dumaring in the Draconis Combine had been at peace for decades, until strange raids began against the populace’s livestock. A dutiful warrior and officer of the DCMS, Chu-i Uchida, was tasked with ending the attacks, but his hunt for bandits led him into the foreboding Kurai Forest. What he found in the dark wood would defy explanation and leave him a shadow of his former self. Now, only his son can regain his honor, clear his name, and find the truth…no matter how horrifying it may be...

SOMETHING LURKS IN THE SHADOWS… During the chaos of the Word of Blake’s Jihad, the MechWarriors of the Federated Suns will go to any lengths to defend their nation from the Blakists’ unholy terror—including making deals with the devil. But that devil might just be a literal one: an all-black Marauder, hidden for several decades, that carries an aura of dread that infects everyone who encounters it. Many blame it for causing unexplained disappearances, technical failures, and even madness. But what is the so-called Dark One? Is it merely a ghost story told to scare pirates on the edge of the Periphery, or does something truly evil live beneath its cold, blackened armor? This anthology collects the first three of Lance Scarinci’s stories about the Dark One, along with a brand-new fourth story exclusive to this volume.

A NEW ERA IS DAWNING… The Illician Lancers: a mercenary outfit with centuries of honorable tradition, yet somehow always missing the limelight. Especially recently, after their mission failure during the liberation of New Syrtis in 3147 tarnished their once-sterling reputation and left them languishing on the Capellan border. Can Colonel Luciana Araya Morales overcome the shame of those events and restore the Lancers to their former glory? Meanwhile, as Clan Wolf prepares for its invasion of the cradle of humanity, Ya’el Labov, saKhan of the Sea Fox Khanate, hunts for new opportunities in the currents wafting from Terra. Rumors that the Clan Wolf Khan is using mercenaries as part of his attack plan set the wily saKhan’s mind to spinning. How can he take advantage of this, and make Clan Sea Fox’s star rise even further? Two people with very different goals are about to embark on a shared mission that, if successful, will change much in the Inner Sphere. And if they are not, their alliance may be doomed to failure before it can even begin…

A PACK DIVIDED… Clan Wolf has gone to claim Terra to fulfill the promise made by Aleksandr Kerensky centuries ago. But for those left behind, their story is a very different one… Star Captain Jacinda of Clan Wolf Is one such warrior. Stuck on Campbelton in the Wolf Empire due to injury, she commands a sibko training facility while stewing over her lost chance to go with the Wolf touman to attain glory in the campaign for Terra. But heroism comes in many forms, and when a new invader targets Campbelton, Jacinda is able to unleash her primal warrior nature, and defend the Wolf’s pups against all comers…

WIN OR FALL… For Douglas, Jade Falcon Elemental cadet, there is no choice—he must succeed in becoming a warrior or die trying. Unfortunately, he is perilously close to falling—right out of his sibko. Consistently at the bottom of his class, everyone around him—from his trainers to his fellow sibkin—believes he will not survive his Trial of Position, and should quit before he is killed. But Douglas knows he is destined to be a Jade Falcon warrior. And when he meets a man with a checkered past who promises to show him the true ways of the warrior, Douglas embarks on a dangerous path that might bring him the victory he craves…or utterly destroy him in a brutal trial where sudden death is everywhere…