by Yakov Merkin
Tofer: Felinari word for bright.
Tofermier: Shuraf mount of Grand Admiral Nayasar Khariah.
Tofermier: Lit: Bright claw.
Traggia Prison: A high security prison on Dorandor, where only the highest priority prisoners are kept under the direct authority of the Alliance Assembly.
Tyrannodons: A reptilian species that originated from beyond Alliance space, that had been uplifted from a more primitive species by the Reizan’Tvay. They are very tall, large, but with a lanky build. They are covered in extremely tough scales, usually a deep blue in color. As of this moment, however, the vast majority of Tyrannodons are male, and clones created solely for military purposes, with only approximately one thousand non-clones.
Tyrannodon Armada: The Tyrannodon military, which is comprised almost entirely of clone soldiers and officers—the notable exception being its upper leadership. It is well equipped for both ground invasions and space combat, but lacks the numbers to sustain long-term occupations of hostile worlds.
Tzian: Felinari word for tooth.
Vahok: A common expletive in Galactic Alliance space, used in a similar manner as “f-ck,” ex. “Well, vahok.” Active form: “vahooking,” ex. “This vahooking plan will never work!”
Vakhing: A strong Felinari expletive, used in a similar manner as “f-ck,” likely adapted from the more widely used expletive “vahok.”
Vakarin System: The Vakarin system is the home system of the Talvostans and the center of the Talvostan Union. With eight heavily inhabited worlds, it is the largest and most developed single system in the Galactic Alliance. While its population is largely Talvostan, due to its importance and proximity to the core, many members of other species live on at least the more outer worlds of the system, though the Union’s primary world, Ranivantum, has remained almost entirely Talvostan.
Vakayef: A popular resort town on Felinar, nestled between one of the planet’s most lush forests and a small sea.
Vashkh: Felinari word for “now.”
Veshakh: Felinari word meaning to thank.
Veshakh Feli: Felinari saying, used to express relief. Lit: Thank the Omnipresent.
Voran’dus: The world granted to the Tyrannodons by the Galactic Alliance, and the new capital world of the Tyrannodon Ascendancy. A lush, warm planet with a largely tropical environment—including many dangerous flora and fauna—it had previously been used as a world where various criminal groups had hideouts. New settlements constructed by the Tyrannodons are the first true settlements on the planet, and efforts are being made to remove the entrenched criminal elements. The planet’s name, which means “Second Home,” is created from a merging of the Tyrannodon words for “home,” and “two.”
Warrior Squadron: Commanded by ex-Imperial ace pilot Vilara Mierren, Warrior Squadron is the most elite starfighter squadron fielded by the Free People’s Alliance in their rebellion against the Revittan Empire, and has carried out numerous successful missions in service of that effort, becoming a major thorn in the Empire’s side.
White Hand Cartel: The largest, and most powerful criminal organizations in Galactic Alliance space, and one of the only few powerful and brazen enough to even have some operations in parts of Alliance space where its laws are more strongly enforced.
Yelesha: The homeworld of the insectoid Arthromic, is an arid and rocky world, with its inhabitants primarily living underground, though they regularly come above ground to hunt, among other activities. It is unknown how and when, precisely, the Empire discovered the planet and its inhabitants, and how pressed the Arthromic into service, but both the Arthomic and their relatively isolated world have proven hugely useful to the Empire. Most recently, the final preparations for the activation of the Imperial superweapon, Final Awakening, were created at Yelesha Prime.
Zadir: The Zadir are large animal-shaped mechs operated by living pilots, and have long been the backbone of Imperial Revittan ground forces. At one point, they made up the bulk of the Empire’s operational ground force, and while their usefulness had declined, somewhat, with technological improvements to atmosphere-capable starfighters, but remain a major, and highly effective, component of all Imperial ground operations.
Zarian System/Zaria: The Zarian system is a fairly recent addition to the Galactic Alliance, and is located near the edge of Alliance space. The system, and its primary world of Zaria, is still considered a backwater, and as such a higher percentage of criminal activity conducted inside of Alliance controlled space (as opposed to inhabited areas outside of Alliance control) takes place in or around the Zarian system.
Zarians: Zarians are a Tehlmanlike species, though they do not have any sort of eye crest and their skin tone is almost uniformly nearly white. Additionally, Zarians sport very distinctive fangs. Zarian society is fairly evenly split over whether they should be spending their time and energy working to further integrate into the Alliance, where in some circles they have already acquired a negative reputation of being duplicitous and hedonistic, or working to further build up and clean up their own world.
Zarian brandy: A Zarian alcoholic drink that has quickly become popular throughout the Galactic Alliance. While a hard alcohol, it is not among the strongest drinks available, and most popular among those less experienced at drinking hard alcohol.
Acknowledgements
The production of this book was very different than anything I have done before, as this was the first book I wrote entirely during my army service, and mostly while on base (and most of that on a bluetooth keyboard and iphone. I’ve honestly written far more than I had expected to upon my drafting, and while things aren’t always perfect, they’re pretty darn good right now. In that vein, I would like to thank everyone serving with me in my unit, for giving me this opportunity (and for being interested in my books, despite most of them not being able to read English.)
As usual, I must thank my parents, who remain strong pillars of support in multiple ways, despite living thousands of miles away. Without them, it would have been impossible to complete a final product about which I am as proud as I am.
Next, I will acknowledge a number of my fellow writers, members of the #PulpRevolution, for all of their advice, inspiration, and support over the course of my still young writing career.
This time as well, I have several people to thank specifically, for their contributions to the Indiegogo campaign I ran for the book: David Weinberg, Michael Feather, John Giorgis, Meir Areman, John Zeleznik, Sandy Finkelstein, Jonathan Finkelstein, Alexander Athans, Serge Merkin, David McConnaughey, Larry Polonetsky, and Halsey English. Your contributions are extremely appreciated, and will go a long way to ensuring that I can continue producing this series at the same level of quality going forward.
Finally, as before, I would like to thank those who directly contributed to A Shifting Alliance’s creation: Ben Zwycky, who once again made the editorial process both productive and enjoyable, John Zeleznik, for his beautiful cover art and front cover design, Miryam Merkin for the Galaxy Ascendant logo and back cover design, and Cornelia Yoder for the awesome new galaxy map.
About Yakov Merkin
Yakov Merkin grew up in New York City, though now lives on the other side of the world in Israel (and somehow misses the family cats deciding to walk across his keyboard while he worked.) He holds a Master’s Degree in history—though the plan was always to write science fiction and fantasy. The universe in his head had to get out one way or the other.
Besides writing, he has helped build houses, worked on a farm, and practices Krav Maga, as well as (amateur level) parkour, and is currently serving in the Israel Defense Force.
Visit Yakov at http://www.yakovmerkin.com
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Other Books by Yakov Merkin
The Galaxy Ascendant Series
A Greater Duty<
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A Looming Shadow
The Dragon King Trilogy
The Dragon Hand
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Copyright ©2019 by Yakov Merkin
Cover art by John Zeleznik
Galaxy map design by Cornelia Yoder
Galaxy Ascendant logo design by Miryam Merkin
Formatting by Polgarus Studio
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are either fictional or used fictitiously. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, transmitted, or used in any form without permission in writing from Yakov Merkin, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
