Sci-fi Short Story Space Opera

Stories of the Apex

Name: Stories of the Apex
Rating: 4.73 (231 reviews)
Author: NathanDyer

NathanDyer

4.73 231 Ratings

Ongoing Status

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Synopsis

Author’s Note: This series has been currently suspended on public platforms due to unauthorized monetization (piracy) of the content.

The series, Stories of the Apex, is a collection of self-contained science fiction short stories with different (but sometimes reoccurring) lead characters all following a central plot.

The story begins shortly after first contact with the peaceful Broda, a non-predator alien species that discovers Earth seeking new worlds for trade. Being a violent predator species among a galaxy of prey, humans soon decide to take up the cause of their new friends by opposing the plague species known as the Krador.

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They Answered The Call

★ 4.67

Repulsive-Ardor

When humanity first ventured into space, they discovered the Galactic Commonwealth—an ancient and powerful alliance that barely noticed them. The embryonic Republic of Humanity, a mere curiosity to the far more advanced members of the Commonwealth, was quickly forgotten about or viewed with pity as they struggled to expand and colonize their area of space.

One Commonwealth species, the arboreal Eleani, took an active interest in this fledgling polity as humanity fearlessly cast themselves into the expanse. They reached out in friendship, offering guidance to the nascent Republic. In humanity, they saw a reflection of themselves long ago—and they were determined to help their younger cousin-kin avoid the mistakes they once made.

This unsolicited act of kindness was never forgotten by humanity as they expanded and traversed the void, with the two species becoming fast friends as the Eleani watched their cousin-kin earn their place among the stars with benevolent pride.

Decades later, the Insectoid Empire launched another period of swarming and attacked the Galactic Commonwealth again. An aggressive, spacefaring hive-mind species of wasp analogues controlled by intelligent queens, this time they did not stop after seizing a few uninhabited border planets like they have always done before.

Instead, they tore right into the very heart of the Commonwealth itself, intent on extermination. Killing over 100 billion souls across dozens of worlds as they advanced without mercy, they destroyed over half of the vaunted Commonwealth Navy in a pivotal battle and continued to lay waste to entire worlds.

The depleted and battered Commonwealth Navy retreated to the core worlds, abandoning the periphery and leaving species like the Eleani at the mercy of the swarm. Instead of following the fleet into the heavily defended core regions as expected, the Insectoids swarmed through the now undefended periphery to exterminate the last remaining species.

As the Insectoid fleet headed towards their world, the Eleani broadcast pleas for help to anyone who would listen as they begged the Commonwealth government for protection, which declined to come to their defense. Resigned to their extinction, all hope was lost until they received a message from an unexpected savior, the Republic of Humanity.

The Republic fleet was on its way.

The humans had answered the call.

The Best Defense (near-future HFY)

★ 4.71

NovelNinja

For millennia, two galactic empires have been locked in an interstellar cold war. Dissent to each empire's ideology is considered treason, and neutrality is incomprehensible. As each empire has expanded, newly-discovered sentient species have always joined one side or the other -- whether they want to or not.

In the year 2028, Earth is the latest planet in the path of expansion. It has barely any space capability, no system defenses, and no allies. The nations of Earth therefore must volunteer to be subjugated, or become the latest battleground in a war that began before the construction of the pyramids. There is no hope of any effective resistance. No species has ever succeeded before.

Except humans have a saying. The best defense . . . is a good offense.

Discord link.

Cover by Cedar Sanderson.

The Best Defense is a science fiction web serial in the HFY subgenre -- a story niche that, first and foremost, describes humans being awesome because they are human. You can expect:

- Multiple POVs, including humans, aliens, and AI characters.

- Significant near-future space exploration concepts.

- A dash of real physics next to the ray guns and snarky AI, and a greater scale than what is normally seen in sci-fi.

- A gradual build of humanity from planet-bound to star-faring, eventually resulting in giant space battles.

- Humans shattering the status quo without being OP. Humans have HFY-style advantages, but they are grounded in reality and don't guarantee a win.

Content warnings are limited to Profanity, which will still be light.

This story is also mirrored in the r/HFY subreddit under u/OGNovelNinja.

SHOUT-OUT POLICY: I don't do many shout-outs and I never ask for them. I do make recommendations when I think my fans will like something. If you want me to give you a shout-out, there's a forum thread for recommendations for stories like The Best Defense. Anything I think looks good will get mentioned to my readers.

The Future That Never Was — The Rings Will Rise Again!

★ 4.64

Space Pickle

WELCOME TO THE RETROFUTURE!

The Future That Never Was is a book series project featuring an alternate space age where the Soviets colonized the belt before David Bowie sang Life on Mars; where rogue AIs took over the web; where pizza came in cans. Humankind couldn’t dream of a more exciting future. Yet, as foolishness eventually turned Earth into a nuclear wasteland, shadows began to conspire from the heart of the Moon to beyond the mysterious Planet Nine…

This extended universe in progress includes numerous R-rated titles. All of them will be uploaded on Royal Road for free. Check the Index or the list/links below for the main stories.

🐈 KITTY KITTY - Completed - <READ>

Join sassy space cat Lee and his Desert Eagle-toting, soda-swigging human partner, Ali, in a future stuck in the late 80s/early 90s. Board the dynamic duo’s ship, the mythical Kitty, as they bounty-hunt their way through a dystopian solar system—so lock and load, and shout Cowabunga! because it’s crime-fightin’ time!

🪐 PACHINKO BLUES - <START READING>

Amid the chaos of the Rings Civil War, a disgraced pilot finds himself tangled in a vast vendetta involving a megacorporation, android mercenaries and data-cartels. From Saturn’s Plastic Fields to the fringes of Kuiper, his violent redemption is an 80s-esthetic space western filled with tears, blood and... ducks?

[Back in November 2023]

Other stories related to the first arc of The Future That Never Was:

• RADIO FREAK - Standalone biopunk short story featuring Ali Koviràn, the Data Maiden and Bill Murray

• STELLAR PATRIOTS - Short special with Braun Kamirov, linking KITTY KITTY and the book series

• DATA ONE & DATA ZERO - 2024

• CYBER MACHO - 2025

To support our work or simply read in better condition, visit our amazon shop and patreon!

Shadow of the Spyre

★ 4.69

RabbleRouser

"Those who try to change Form without likewise shifting Function are doomed to a lifetime of agony and mediocrity--or they make the best assassins." -Auld Wynfor Ganlin

An orphan with unique powers not seen in a thousand years, trapped in a world only she can see, her life a waking nightmare. A boy long ago lost to his family, forced to masquerade as the enemy by one of his own, his continued facade his people's only hope of salvation. An immortal trapped in the flesh of a man, a prisoner for something he has not yet done, fleeing something he thought he had killed. A girl abandoned in the mountains, without memories or a note, her people the stuff of legends, but whose villages have never been found. Meet these and many more incredible characters as they engage in a complex struggle for survival in a realm about to plunge in a downward spiral of politics, death, and treachery.

Valor and Violence

★ 4.7

JEPayne

Valor and Violence is a series of short stories following different, yet all equally colourful, characters set in the same world.

Birth of a Legend, the first short, follows Captain Erskine Erwell, a newly promoted Captain in the Calandorian Royal Navy, charged with protecting his people from all who would do them harm. Great news for the Calandorian citizens, bad news for the Skjar reavers that ravage the shores in search of slaves. But when a small reaver fleet slips the net and escapes to the southern jungles of Marduk, Erwell must fight a war on two fronts; one against the raiders, and a far more difficult war against the hostile landscape. If he can't find allies in this strange land, he may end up being the one in need of saving.

The Calling follows Ferez Ahud, an aspiring young battlemage charged with the unsavoury job of 'terminating' a rogue member of his college. But how this nobody of a mage became a fugitive remains a mystery, and when the answer is discovered, the tables are turned and the hunter becomes the prey.

A Family Dissassemblance follows a young woman named Elizabeth. She's a simple young gal; sweet, charming, and with a heart of gold. She loves her family, she loves fun, and she loves making things and people explode!

Blood Reparations picks up Levi's story a little while after he and Erskine parted ways at the end of Birth of a Legend. Read along as Levi struggles to find a solution for his village's woes, battling the attitudes of obnoxious foreign snobs, drakes (again!), and something altogether far more sinister, lurking deep underground...

A Vow of Wind takes us back to the dynamic trio of Ferez, Ingrid, and affable idiot, Leo! This time, the happy couple's comfortable lives of hiring their services out as battlemages is interrupted when Leo asks to tag along on a job. Things escalate quickly in a life or death race from Aderath all the way to the frozen north.

For King and Country is currently in the process of being uploaded. It follows Captain Erskine Erwell as he escorts a servant of the Crown attempting to piece together the truth of a Royal Army unit's disappearance within Calandor's borders. What starts out as a routine hunt to purge corruption and treason escalates as the captain uncovers signs something sinister is happening in the mountains.

BONUS STORY - 'TIS THE SEASON. This has nothing to do with the other stories in the anthology, its just a fun little Christmas story that popped into my head one day that I decided to jot down and throw up for your (hopeful) enjoyment. It follows a young mercenary standing guard over demonic badlands on Christmas Eve. Things start off bad and get rapidly worse as he faces off against threats mere humans were never meant to face. But as the bloody night continues and the body count rises, salvation may come from an unexpected corner...

Content Guidelines: coarse language and violence.

Tinea and Leah [Cyberpunk, Alien Incursions, Murder and Mayhem, Sapphic Romance (WLW)]

★ 4.67

Eleeyah

Tinea...had an ugly childhood full of pain and abuse. It taught her how to fight and survive, how to run and hide and cut ties. It didn't teach her much else.

So she'd ran.

Crossed an ocean, grown up, and discovered the world. She'd made her life her own. Soul-deep pain notwithstanding, she'd fought to be happy.

Until the rabid aliens invaded her neighborhood.

Smoking rifle in hand and still coming up short, she'd made a life-ending choice...and was rewarded beyond her wildest dreams. Or, perhaps exactly to her wildest dreams; dreams of a chrysalis, come to life through DNA-changing Vanguard science.

Reborn, a whole new journey awaits the warrior looking for connection, for togetherness.

It just so happens, an opportunity lies not far.

What to expect:

Plot is discovered, not designed. Consequences shape events, rather than scenes being designed to push plot. Characters, relationships, and setting are particularly strong, plot can get WILD in amazing, unexpected ways.

- A serious approach to transforming male to female, using sci-fi DNA morphing. Tinea starts out as Aden, but quickly gains his wishes.
- Maturity from both leads
- WLW/GL/Sapphic: from the soft and cuddly, to the (clearly marked) explicit
- Gratuitous violence against unthinking aliens
- Get points, buy gear
- Cybernetic upgrades
- Organic augmentations
- Occasional slowburn sections
- Many, many chapters

This work is set in the universe of RavensDagger's Stray Cat Strut, but it ISN'T necessary to read that first. Further, Tinea and Leah has been recognized officially as canon by master Raven himself. Cheers!

I develop my own plot and characters. Thank you for reading. :)

The cover art was drawn for me by Jero, who can be found on my Discord server - links in each chapter.

Royalroad staff has designated this story as Original so that I may post my Ko-Fi link in the chapters. TnL is still a fanfiction-slash-extended-universe-slash-canon-thing for Stray Cat Strut, regardless of the "Original" tag. :)

The New Threat

★ 4.74

itsdirector

Three months after the events of The New Species, Ship-head Uleena has finished his diplomatic training and returns to United System space to make a startling discovery.

The New Era

★ 4.8