Authors note: Hey, I've been writing on other projects while building the next parts of this story in my head, so, it's been a while since the last update. As a bit of a catch up for you, here is a summary of the story from book II of Unholy Star:

Tiger

On the forest planet of Skye, Tiger has taken the special medicine provided by his friend, the elder learned Zoro (who he knows as Pachy). The medicine promises to return vigor to his ninety-six-year-old body, but first, he has to survive the night in the druids' burial enclosure amongst a garden of bones. Also a gift from Zoro, Tiger reconnects with the Galaxy (the ubiquitous network connection to the outside world was disabled when he was sent to the aged colony) just in time to be rescued from an attack by the Skyean planet's apex predator, a Baar.

The fierce animal is killed by Reiko, a disgraced hammer-wielding member of the Nephilim (or Neff for short)(he calls his hammer Ugly Boy), a type of genie (genetically enhanced human) Reiko was engineered as a warrior giant for the Church (his role is to pilot mechs). Reiko was sent to a penal ground settlement as a convict (as the Kingdom sends their criminals to the surface without any technology to fend for themselves or die). We leave Tiger following Reiko to the convict's settlement.

King Violaceae II

Regent of the Skyaen Kingdom, the King, with the aid of the Kingdom's alpha processor, decides to take revenge on the Death Squad for the destruction of the New Freedom Opera House and for the Kingdom's subjects killed in the attack. The King sends the Kingdom's most elite force to take out Death Squad 8.

Death Squad 8

Hosted by a local priest, Avan at a small church (St Valentine's) on the outskirts of the misty capital of Geolan, Tun da Main, Sam leads a mass for all members of Death Squad 8 (including the remaining crew of the Ascent, and the crews of Father Koopa's Dominator and Father Race's Black Wing). There she rallies and gains support for Dean Eiko's revocation of the terminatio die (the law that prescribes death for anyone who exceeds eleven gefreshes) just as a war grouping of Skyean warships launch an attack.

Admiral Vulpini, Golden Druid of the Tuath Dé was the latest in a long line of captains to take the helm of the mighty and ancient ship Duilleag, the Blade of the Skyean Fleet. Vulpini orders her elite squad of space raiders led by Colonel Gulo Gulo to take out the 'death dealers' now found to be wreaking murderous havoc on the small Kingdom colony.

But the Death Squad's havoc was just a deception designed to distract the fleet's commanders while Sam, Honi, and Lucas (the beamer Acolyte, newly ordained) use their universal access key (provided exclusively to Death Squad members) to gain access, board and take control of the Duilleag.

Inside the Duilleag, the crew, including the Admiral, are found suspended in their virtual networks and, as per galactic protocol, surrender the fleet to the Death Squad. In exchange for the return of the fleet to the Kingdom, Vulpini (on behalf of King) promises protection to the Geolans and to the Death Squad (all members of the New Reformation movement)--The King is not very happy about this.

Sam gives to Lucas the guns, Hieronymus and Bosch that once belonged to Dean Eiko, and nominates the beamer to be a special kind of servant of the reformation, a Knight Protector. A protector is forbidden to take life (or, only in forfeit of their own).

Sen and Zoro

Sen (Senniella Atripliceae, aka Salty, i-III, technopath) is not the most social or gregarious child and is bullied by the other Ethnaa Aashar (other than her bestie Bast). She is rescued and befriends a cool young Learned called Hetasha (Hett), and another Learned called Titus (an alchemist who spends his time simulating new molecular recipes rather than interacting with people).

Sen is summoned to meet with Zoro (Pachy) the 169-year-old elder Learned and self-appointed dictator of the Halls of Learning. In the part titled 'Old Monster', Zoro explains how once the processors were sentient and how, in the Robot Wars, the human race felt threatened by the advancement of the processors and destroyed all sentience. He plans to restore sentience to the processors but first needs Sen to find the last remnants of their (believed to be long lost) sentience routines.

The young technopath uses her powers coupled with the processing power of the Amaran processor to find and follow the clue left in a final stream by the last of the sentient processors at the end of the Robot Wars. She finds a map to the Ouroboros, rouge twin gas giants, where the backup schematics to the processors' sentience routines are to be found.
But all is not as it seems!

Sedek (c-II, p-I Lord of the Maean States and Mawla to the Bast) reveals to Xe'ed that Zoro is behind the New Freedom strife and has ulterior motives relating to his attention to Sen. He outlines a terrible and violent infatuation that Zoro has held for Sen's mother Portia. It is also revealed to Xe'ed that Zoro holds power over Portia as he controls the whereabouts of one of her sons, the alchemist, Seabuck.

In light of the dangers befalling the Galaxy, the two Mawlas plan to escape the living platform with all of the young Ethnaa Aashar (including the Learned Titus, Het, and Shoo-ee) and take them in the Al Dahni (his famous bunker class starship) to his holdings at Greater Mae. His emissary, Margot, is sent to make preparations at his home platform.

This takes us to book III and the next series of weekly installments ... I hope you are liking the story and please don't hesitate to let me know what you think in the comments or via PM ... Happy Reading, Peter Glen :)