The battle for Sol is now. The sphere ship gave Earth knowledge of the universe, but it came with a warning to stay away from the Star. After losing two children to the First Contact Federation, Empyrean sends a fleet of plasma ships and allies to Sol. Their one mission: to destroy humanity. Can Earth defend itself against the imminent threat, or will they be destroyed so soon after starting to explore the universe around them? Join many of today's top indie science fiction authors as they each write a story about the battle for Sol in the most ambitious shared-universe collection to date: Explorations: War. Contents: Prologue / short fiction by Nathan Hystad Nine Thousand Seconds to Earth / short fiction by Robert M. Campbell Field of Fire / short fiction by Ralph Kern A Million Points of Light / short fiction by C. C. Ekeke Friendly Fire / short fiction by C. Gockel The Hand of Empyrean / short fiction by Scott Moon Minimum Safe Distance / short fiction by Scott McGlasson The One Who Waits / short fiction by Scarlett R. Algee Shot in the Dark / short fiction by Richard Fox The Path to War / short fiction by Josh Hayes The Last Battle / short fiction by Jay Allan Epilogue / short fiction by Nathan Hystad .