From the Dragon Award–nominated author of Astra One young woman leads a ragtag band of survivors across a fractured, post-alien-invasion America. Hacker Kita Yamasaki would do anything to escape the post-apocalyptic landscape that was the result of the Forever Winter. But for a normal person, the only options are the war-hungry nation-state of Ex Cathedra or the isolationist United California. Fortunately, Kita is anything but normal. When she finds a faded brochure for the BC Oasis—an underground greenhouse capable of sheltering a quarter million people—she jumps at the opportunity, even going so far as to steal a fission battery the oasis requires to operate at full capacity. There’s just one problem . . . The battery belongs to the ruthless judges of Ex Cathedra. Now Kita finds herself the target of a deadly chase. In her race to safety, she picks up three fellow Dallas; his mute daughter, Crouton; and Bishop, a junk hunter. But will they betray her and take the battery for themselves? Is one of them a member of the cultist Iron-Blooded who worship the few remaining alien invaders scattered across Earth’s wasteland? Faced with certain death if they’re caught by the judges’ power-armored soldiers, Kita must put aside her suspicions and make a headlong dash for sanctuary—and the promise of a new life.

From the Dragon Award–nominated author of Astra Academy: One young woman leads a ragtag band of survivors across a fractured, post-alien-invasion America. Hacker Kita Yamasaki would do anything to escape the post-apocalyptic landscape that was the result of the Forever Winter. But for a normal person, the only options are the war-hungry nation-state of Ex Cathedra or the isolationist United California. Fortunately, Kita is anything but normal. When she finds a faded brochure for the BC Oasis—an underground greenhouse capable of sheltering a quarter million people—she jumps at the opportunity, even going so far as to steal a fission battery the oasis requires to operate at full capacity. There’s just one problem . . . The battery belongs to the ruthless judges of Ex Cathedra. Now Kita finds herself the target of a deadly chase. In her race to safety, she picks up three fellow travelers: Dallas; his mute daughter, Crouton; and Bishop, a junk hunter. But will they betray her and take the battery for themselves? Is one of them a member of the cultist Iron-Blooded who worship the few remaining alien invaders scattered across Earth’s wasteland? Faced with certain death if they’re caught by the judges’ power-armored soldiers, Kita must put aside her suspicions and make a headlong dash for sanctuary—and the promise of a new life.

The thrilling conclusion to the Half-Life Empire trilogy pits freedom fighter Kita against traitors, gangs, and the lasting chill of the Forever Winter. Hacker and freedom fighter Kita Yamasaki has a new world to build. The granddaughter of Benjamin Yamasaki, a scientist and ambassador striving to make peace with the invading alien Teth, Kita was raised in the Forever Winter, a freezing, gray post-nuclear wasteland where humankind’s last survivors dodge the murderous alien Vay and ally with the Teth, who arrived on Earth with the A-tech now critical to survival. Accompanied by her lover, Bishop; her adopted daughter, Crouton; and Brecht and Vega, a human and Teth who spent their lives locked in an underground facility before meeting her, Kita has a vision for a better future, and it begins with Sanctuary, a lush safe zone where humanity can regain its dignity and safety. But the Iron-Blooded, a cult of alien-worshippers who swear allegiance to the Vay in exchange for their lives, are out for her hide. Little do they know Kita possesses three Teth eggs, the spawn of three different castes, suspended in cryostasis gel, just waiting for the right opportunity to awaken—and she’s pregnant. Can she help create a new civilization that won’t end up like the ruthless Ex Cathedra or the isolationist United California? And can she protect the people in her care? Does the answer lie in the power armor waiting for her to step into it and fight? “A fantastic read . . . Kita is so much more than a hacker, and the world she moves through isn’t just lethal—it feels uncomfortably familiar, and incredibly close.” —Terry Maggert, coauthor of the Backyard Starship series