Verdant String Series by Michelle Diener

Sofie lives in the shadow of Felicitos--the tethered way station built to funnel Garmen's mineral wealth up to the top of the atmosphere, where it's loaded onto space ships. Because Garmen is a breakaway planet, not part of the Verdant String Coalition, the companies that control it are free to run things as they see fit, and Sofie is part of the resistance that wants to end their rule... moreSofie lives in the shadow of Felicitos--the tethered way station built to funnel Garmen's mineral wealth up to the top of the atmosphere, where it's loaded onto space ships. Because Garmen is a breakaway planet, not part of the Verdant String Coalition, the companies that control it are free to run things as they see fit, and Sofie is part of the resistance that wants to end their rule. Her main goal, though, is to get away from Garmen altogether, and leave the drudgery and violence behind her. That goal is complicated by her involvement with Leo Gaudier, a shadowy crime lord whose ability to cheat the companies that own Garmen is something she admires. And when she stumbles on a terrible new direction the companies are taking, a secret alliance that will endanger everyone she cares about, she sees her chances of escape slipping away. Leo is all too aware he doesn't know enough about Sofie, something his own security detail is not slow to point out, but he can't keep away. When Sofie reveals her links to the resistance, and shows him those in control of Garmen have begun swimming in dangerous waters, he realizes his plan to overthrown them in a careful operation of a thousand cuts is no longer workable. The time has come for a single, lethal strike--and that will not be without consequences . . . less

He's on a mission . . . She's running for her life . . . And if they get off-planet alive, she'll have to trust he won't reveal her darkest secret. Tally Riva is not what she seems, and even she's not happy about it. Infected, invaded, she's not quite sure how to describe it, but on a disastrous mission to a ghost ship, something burrowed its way into her body. Into her mind... moreHe's on a mission . . . She's running for her life . . . And if they get off-planet alive, she'll have to trust he won't reveal her darkest secret. Tally Riva is not what she seems, and even she's not happy about it. Infected, invaded, she's not quite sure how to describe it, but on a disastrous mission to a ghost ship, something burrowed its way into her body. Into her mind. When her commander decides the best cure for what he thinks is Tally's trauma is to send her on the famous Veltos Trail, Tally goes without revealing what's really behind her mental anguish. Anything to be seen as normal again, anything to ignore what she's afraid is happening to her. But Veltos isn't the safe place it seems. The chosen military personnel lucky enough to be offered the chance to walk the Trail are supposed to be the only people on Veltos. But Ben Guthrie, a captain in Arkhoran Special Forces, knows they're not. He and his team have been on Veltos for a month already, tracking suspicious enemy activity, and he's gone undercover on the Trail in search of a satellite his superiors are sure has been shot down. When Ben's worst fears become reality, and they find themselves hunted by a cunning enemy through the thick forests of Veltos, Tally and Ben fight together to survive. And Tally has to decide if accepting the changes inside her will save them both, or be her doom. TRAILBLAZER is the third book in the Verdant String series and can be read as a standalone. Other books in the series include the novella box set, Interference & Insurgency, and two novels, Breakaway and Breakeven. less

Flying the head-of-planet around isn't a job for the faint of heart. Especially not on Faldine, the planet in the Verdant String whose magnetic fields actively fight against technology, bringing down the ships of the unwary or the incompetent.Hana thrives on the challenge, though. Thrives on everything about her job. It keeps her from thinking too much about what happened to her during the war, and what she is becoming... moreFlying the head-of-planet around isn't a job for the faint of heart. Especially not on Faldine, the planet in the Verdant String whose magnetic fields actively fight against technology, bringing down the ships of the unwary or the incompetent.Hana thrives on the challenge, though. Thrives on everything about her job. It keeps her from thinking too much about what happened to her during the war, and what she is becoming. A relationship with the head-of-planet himself, though, is more than she wants to deal with.Iver Sugotti feels like he fell into the role of head-of-planet by default. He knows he's good at the job, and he's enjoying the challenge of making tech work on a planet that eats tech for breakfast, but the one thing he really wants--Hana--seems out of his reach.His pilot has made it clear she's not interested, and he can only respect the boundaries she's set. But when someone wants him dead, he and Hana are plunged into an all-out race for their lives. Iver discovers those closest to him have betrayed him, but also, that his pilot is not as disinterested as she seems.As they try to outwit their enemies, they discover they are far better together than they are apart, and that Hana really is at her best when she's flying high. less

Isolated . . . Verdant String scientist, Anja Farucci, is frightened. Her calls for help from her remote coastal research station on the moon Fynian have been going unanswered, and strange things are happening with the leviathan pod she's studying. Out of options, she sets out on the dangerous three-day journey to Rinc, Fynian's only city.Stranded . . moreIsolated . . . Verdant String scientist, Anja Farucci, is frightened. Her calls for help from her remote coastal research station on the moon Fynian have been going unanswered, and strange things are happening with the leviathan pod she's studying. Out of options, she sets out on the dangerous three-day journey to Rinc, Fynian's only city.Stranded . . . Cal is a wave rider, and if anyone understands leviathans, it's him, but when Kada, a young leviathan, grabs his boat and strands him on the southern peninsula, Cal is at a loss to understand what is going on.Thrown together . . . When Cal and Anja cross paths, they discover Anja's communications have been deliberately sabotaged. Someone doesn't want anyone coming or going from the southern peninsula. When the people involved start hurting leviathans, though, neither Cal nor Anja can let it go.What they don't know, as they get deeper and deeper into the mystery, is that the secret they discover in the cold waters of Fynian's ocean will change them forever.Wave Rider is the fifth book in the Verdant String series but like the others can be read as a standalone novel. less

Fliss knows all about her ancestors, the Travelers, who were forced to land on Fjern thousands of years ago, but when it comes to the Gyr—the enhanced warriors who protect the people of Fjern from the monsters that inhabit the planet—she’s in the dark, even though she is one herself... moreFliss knows all about her ancestors, the Travelers, who were forced to land on Fjern thousands of years ago, but when it comes to the Gyr—the enhanced warriors who protect the people of Fjern from the monsters that inhabit the planet—she’s in the dark, even though she is one herself. There’s plenty of ceremony and arcane tradition set up around who receives the gyra—the nanotech that makes the warriors the super-protectors that they are—but Fliss doesn’t care about any of that, she just wants to brush off the dust of the tiny mining settlement she’s been protecting all her life and leave the combative relationship she has with her father far behind her.When the Gyr who offered her a way out of her old life dies in spectacular fashion, though, she comes to the attention of a host of powerful people, both the Gyr and the administrators from the institution that controls them, alike. Fliss is about to find out more about the Gyr—and herself—than she ever dreamed of.Gyr leader, Hannu Kardenian, thought he was being called to investigate the strange death of a fellow warrior, but what he finds instead is a woman who breaks every rule he’s ever lived by. Everything about her sets his own gyra on fire, and when she comes to the attention of Gyr Command—the institution that mandates the Gyr’s very existence—he is determined to make sure she never ends up in their clutches, even if he has to upend the very structure of Fjern itself. less

The planet Aponi sits at the outer edge of the Verdant String.For Wren Thorakis, working as an Aponian Special Forces artifacts consultant, it means interesting assignments and unusual discoveries. Being captured and held for ransom by a strange cult while working on the moon Ytla was not something she expected, though... moreThe planet Aponi sits at the outer edge of the Verdant String.For Wren Thorakis, working as an Aponian Special Forces artifacts consultant, it means interesting assignments and unusual discoveries. Being captured and held for ransom by a strange cult while working on the moon Ytla was not something she expected, though. However, while escaping her captors, she stumbles across what could be the discovery of her career—one that no artifact consultant could possibly ignore—a genuine ancestral mothership.The mothership isn’t just amazing in itself, though. Wren finds herself the recipient of crazy-powerful nanotech. It helps keep her alive and one step ahead of those trying to hide the ship’s existence.When Wren starts working out who’s behind keeping her discovery secret, and why, she is plunged into a bigger plot than she ever imagined.A shadowy organization has its eye on Aponi, and isn’t shy to use the Verdant String’s fiercest enemies, the Caruso, to help them take it from the Coalition.When an Aponi Special Forces soldier, Ed Zeneri, who’s existence is also inconvenient to Wren’s enemies, is lured into a trap with Wren and they both come under fire, Wren’s nanotech does whatever it has to to keep her safe—including enthralling Ed to protect her at all costs.Ed knows his reaction to Wren isn’t normal, or even sane, but as the compulsion to put himself in front of anything coming at her recedes, he finds he’s more than inclined to do it of his own volition.He joins forces with Wren to try to stop the takeover of their home planet, and as they race the clock to find the answers they need, he also has to convince Wren that what he feels for her is real.As real as the enemy battleships hovering in Aponi’s nearspace. As real as the deadline to bring them down.As real as it gets. less

Hunted, captured, taken off-planet . . .As a Special Forces Commander, Ethan Hyt is well aware his duty is to protect the Planetary Head of Defense, Velda Shanïha, but when their ship is shot down and they are taken prisoner, he finds it harder and harder to pretend he’s protecting Velda out of duty.Velda knows that as Aponi’s Head of Defense, she’s a good bargaining chip for her enemies, and she’s hoping that fact will keep her and Ethan alive... moreHunted, captured, taken off-planet . . .As a Special Forces Commander, Ethan Hyt is well aware his duty is to protect the Planetary Head of Defense, Velda Shanïha, but when their ship is shot down and they are taken prisoner, he finds it harder and harder to pretend he’s protecting Velda out of duty.Velda knows that as Aponi’s Head of Defense, she’s a good bargaining chip for her enemies, and she’s hoping that fact will keep her and Ethan alive.She and Ethan made a good team before, but their forced proximity has made their connection even stronger, and they’ll need each other to take every opportunity to get free.Because if they don’t, Velda’s afraid they’re going to disappear forever. less