This 108,000-word novel will appeal to fans of military SF, Galactic Empire and Space Opera genres. It is available in Kindle Unlimited. Book 2 of the series entitled Phoenix Rebirth, is now available for pre-order.

The collapse of the breakaway System States Alliance leaves the corrupt and rickety 800-year-old Federation victorious but nearly bankrupt. Among the military equipment it is forced to abandon on the planet Poictesme is the ultra-secret super-computer codenamed Merlin, that managed the strategic, tactical, logistical and administrative aspects of the interstellar war so well. The terrible secret it contains, that the Federation is now doomed to slowly slid into anarchy and chaos that will last for centuries, has to be kept secret to prevent an even faster and more violent collapse. But it also contains another secret. To avoid a new Dark Age, a new SSA must rise from the ashes of the old one. Can a few surviving SSA veterans find a way to make the Phoenix rise again?

Excerpt: Zareff watched the aircar veer off to head in the direction of Storisende and raised his com unit. “This is the Colonel. She’s on her way back. You’re free to open fire. Out.” There was no reply, and he wasn’t expecting any. The two contra-gravity, laser-armed tanks stationed near the lake that Major Vincennes’ aircar would be flying over in a few minutes had orders to disable the aircar so that it plunged into the lake. With no inhabitants around for hundreds of miles, no one would see the crash, and her disappearance would become a mystery. As one Intelligence officer to another, I regret doing this to you, Major, but you’ve made yourself too big a pain in the ass, thought Zareff. The laser beam that hit the aircar had enough power to burn through tank armor, but the aircar had no armor. The beam pierced it and came out the opposite side, vaporizing everything in its path, including the human body that happened to be in the way. The aircar’s weakened frame then gave way, breaking the vehicle into two pieces, which plunged into the lake where they immediately sank to the bottom. **