Upgraded to defend her world, Haru-vel is unsurprised to find herself fighting alongside the Kek. She’s shocked when she’s handed to them... permanently. When they faced an incoming invading force, the Myvik turned to the Kek—mercenaries who travelled the stars and fought your enemy... for a price. The arrival date was ten days after the invaders were due to arrive, so they needed to buy themselves time. Thirty years earlier, the Myvik had hired the Kek, and the defenders had left something behind. Children. Haru-vel was named for the father she had never met, and her mother was the planet’s greatest biologist, and she made sure that her daughter was trained and ready to defend her world, along with nineteen others who were treated to a genetic cocktail of unknown origin, except it wasn’t. Her mother knew very well where the material had come from. It had been left after a memorable night thirty years earlier.

Settling into her role as the elder’s assistant, she loses track of time. Sorrow, joy, hope, and the future loom ahead. Habel gets into the swing of her life as the elder’s assistant and is ready to play host to any of the magical races who arrive at the tower. When the fifty-year union of the races takes place, she heads down to fetch the latest delegation only to find her family waiting. It only takes her a few minutes to realize that they don’t recognize her until the elder calls her name. No one is born an elf. Their reunion can only last the day, but she makes it memorable. A romantic link that was inevitable was struck, with an unlikely partner. She knew who he was at his touch, but she wasn’t supposed to know. So, what does she do now when she hovers between duty and desire? Decisions, decisions.

Life is busy when you are half-ghost, half-human, and fully booked rescuing the haunted from their loved ones. Hecate knew she was never supposed to walk in the world. She hadn’t been an afterthought. She was an act of desperation. Growing up in a small town was rough, but having her family pretend that she didn’t see ghosts made things harder. As soon as she had enough money, she bought a place out of town and got to work. All day, every day, she had her phone on, and she waited for the call that would summon her to someone whose deceased loved one was draining them or terrifying them. Each one called for separate techniques, and she got very good, very quickly. Her sister’s engagement complicates Hecate’s life as she is suddenly visible to the paranormal society at large with her introductory visit to Oak Point Way. The Nexus Guard is friendly, the gnomes are frisky, and the pixies are a flying menace. Ghosts were a breeze next to the paranormal.

Cracker's life after the explosion was textbook. She only had one broken leg from the blast, but she was sent to the arena at the request of some retired generals, and there, she was altered into a lost leg with a tether running through it.She was delighted when communication with everyone as possible, and even if she had to hide her equipment, she had friends to talk to again. She hid her situation as best she could, but the day that she met the first-gen cyborg, she thought that things might just be turning around.With a tiny drop of hope in her life, she asked Lucky for programs that would help her out of her situation, and her friend delivered.Cracker was now back in action.

Duped with a spa day, Billa finds out that she is the chosen offering to an ancient being from the stars. The massage wasn’t that good. Billa has made her way with menial tasks to get her from world to world. She has learned to defend herself against other crewmen and switches ships when she needs to. Her latest ship is unremarkable, but they have a two-day layover, and Billa wants to spend some of her transport money. She has made arrangements at the only hotel in town that would take reservations and had a spa. Spa days are what she lived for. Billa runs into an ancient rite and finds herself with a starring role in the festivities. When a drake emerges from a hole in space and tries to take her as his tribute, the offering makes a run for it, with temporary success.