A Novella of the Orion War (Aeon 14) Rika is a scout mech, once human, now she is the property of the Genevian military. Rika's crime was small, stealing food. But when faced with a five-year prison term, or conscription in the Genevian military, she chose war. She had no idea what that conscription would entail. Now little of Rika's human body remains, and she serves as an SMI-2 scout mech, the meat inside a cyborg body. She, and others like her, are sent in ahead of the human soldiers to tip the scales of war. But the enemy has upped the ante and the mechs of Rika's fireteam will have to go up against unimaginable odds if they want to serve their time and become human again. An Aeon 14 series The events of the Rika's Marauders series occur during the New Canaan time span in The Orion War series. This series may be read at any time after reading Destiny Lost, New Canaan, or Orion Rising.

A cyborg killing machine, created by the Genevian military and cast aside when the war was lost. Now she slings cargo on Dekar Station, falling deeper in debt as she struggles to make enough money to keep her cybernetic body functioning. The local gangs would love to have her join their ranks, and the takings would pay her bills, but the only thing Rika hates more than what she's become, is killing for others. But morals don't buy repairs and she's at the point of utter desperation when her loan holder cashes in her debt and sells her to the highest bidder. When Rika wakes, she's in a warehouse on a planet she's never heard of, and a trio of mercenaries are reassembling her body. Their mission is to kill the world's president, and her mods and abilities are just what they need to get the job done. Whether she likes it or not, Rika is in the business of killing once more as she joins the ranks of the Marauders. An Aeon 14 series The events of the Rika's Marauders series occur during the New Canaan time span in The Orion War series. This series may be read at any time after reading Destiny Lost, New Canaan, or Orion Rising About M. D. Cooper & Aeon 14 M. D. Cooper is a New York Times bestselling author who has envisioned a rich future for humanity,one where planet-sized megastructures house trillions of humans, but traveling between the stars still takes decades, or even centuries. Fans of Alastair Reynolds, Honor Harrington, The Expanse, or Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War will feel right at home in this, the first book of the Rika's Marauders series. What is Aeon 14? The universe of Aeon 14 is based on the premise that advanced, intelligent, starfaring life takes 14 billion years to evolve. In astronomy an aeon is a billion years. In Aeon 14, humanity is at the leading edge of this evolution in the Milky Way Galaxy. Humanity and the AIs they have created spread out amongst the stars and find that they are alone, though it may not always be that way...

Rika is a Marauder. After years of drifting aimlessly after the war with the Nietzscheans, she has finally found a home with the Marauders—a mercenary outfit comprised of Genevian veterans. Back in the war, Rika hated her government, but always fought for the woman next to her. Now she fights for her teammates in Basilisk, an elite spec-ops team that takes on the toughest missions. When General Mill, CO of the Marauders comes to Rika with a top-secret solo operation, she wants to turn it down. But the mission comes with a chance to save Silva, her old team leader from the Nietzschean war. Without team Basilisk, without the Marauders, Rika must stand on her own against all odds and save the woman who once saved her.

With her own company of mechs, Rika is now responsible for the defense of Thebes, the alliance she had a hand in destroying.

Rika returns to the Albany System, to defend it from Nietzschea once more.

Rika's Marauders continue their inexorable advance on the Nietzschean Empire.

Rika's date with destiny draws nigh.

Rika has bested the Nietzscheans at every turn... ...and the enemy doesn't even know it. The Marauders have sliced through Old Genevia and stand poised for decisive victory. Though Nietzschean Emperor is aware of his defeat at Thebes, Rika's pace and relentless pursuit of any Nietzschean survivors has kept him in the dark. Now, Rika is ready to strike at the heart of her people's former alliance: the Genevian System itself. When she arrives, things turn out to be much more complex—and dangerous—than even she expected. It’s time for the mechs to save their own people. Even if the Genevians don’t want it.