Vast Collective

In 2006, Earth faces an invasion by mythic aliens from the planet Cinder. Trained by a human-sympathizer and traitor to his own kind, Rayne and her unit of teenagers find themselves in a desperate struggle against the lethal invaders. The advanced alien army is led by the righteous King Noxdedicated to his relentless pursuit of humanity's subjugation. By day, his human followers prepare for the invasion at his command. And by night, he visits Rayne's dreams to weaken her resolve. Exhausted and wrung-out, the unit of fighters confront the invasion head-on. If they fail, Earth will fall under the shadow of Nox's revenge, and Rayne will lose everything to the dark king's sinister machinations.

Recover. Regroup. Resist. Rayne and the other Progeny inspire uprisings into an army against the Icari, an alien race occupying Earth and enslaving humans. Nox, Icarean King, orchestrates demoralizing assaults on the resistance through his own armies and a cult of zealous humans dedicated to realizing his vision. On the verge of obtaining his most ambitious desires, he will stop at nothing to rule not only his home planet and Earth, but Rayne as well. Rayne's charged with generating a mutually beneficial solution for both races. To do so, she and her friends must travel to exotic worlds, solicit help from higher beings, and trespass on the most dangerous grounds to save her people. Both worlds rely on them to prevent the impending escalation. If they're successful, the surviving humans can heal and rebuild. If they fail, Nox will own Rayne and the two worlds.

Nox has won. Rayne is his captive. Every hour, her prison draws enough blood from her to keep the conduit between Earth and Cinder open-a bridge enabling humanity's enslavement to Nox's people, the Icari. Nox knows his plans are twisted and wrong. He is wrong. But he will stop at nothing to claim his revenge. Once Rayne escapes, it's all out war, and she is the ultimate weapon. It comes at a cost, but nothing will stop Rayne from saving her people-a determination she and Nox share. The heroes have to win to free Earth and unite with the Vast Collective for trade, defenses, and biological enhancements. If the Progeny fail, Nox's plans to incinerate Earth to ash will succeed-and he'll burn Cinder with it, changing the landscape of the galaxy forever. Killing Nox isn't revenge. It's justice. For Rayne. For her people. And for every other planet he has reduced to nothing.

I'm dead. You killed me. But you still need to read this, Rayne. I lived my life as a vicious monster. A weapon. A villain. Now you face the same dilemma. Maybe the story of my life will answer a few of your questions. How does one become a monster? Was it the abusive father, or the subdued mother? Could the tyrannical aliens with their boot on Cinder's neck have contributed to my misery and impressive kill count? All those millennia of fighting for our place in the Vast Collective only to be branded monsters by the very people who made us into assassins. The real monsters reside in Enki. Consider my position, General. The survival of my race hung in the balance. The well-being of my brother and my best friend. What would you do differently? How will you prevent yourself from becoming like me? For the sake of Cinder, the Vast Collective, and the universe - learn from my mistakes. Don't become like me.