Search Worlds Without End

This rich and exciting sci-fi trilogy follows the search of one man--raised to be the ultimate general, the penultimate killing machine--for his own humanity and for the son he's never known.

The final conflict is about to begin....

The Forbidden Borders form a seemingly unassailable gravity-powered barrier, cutting humankind off from the wider universe, confining rival empires to a few star systems, and leaving them to strive endlessly against one another for total control. But now the weakest have fallen, only two mighty empires remain, and each must once again turn to the man both fear more than they fear one another. The man each is determined to hire--or, failing that, to assassinate--Staffa kar Therma, Lord Commander of the Companions.

Trained to be the ultimate killing machine, the penultimate general, Staffa has led his crack Companion mercenary troops to victory time and again. Throughout the human worlds, the Lord Commander is cursed as the Star Butcher, bringer of death and destruction. And never before has he turned his back from undertaking a new contract.

But along with his most recent victory has come a discovery that will have repercussions throughout all the star systems within the Forbidden Borders. For Staffa has learned that the son stolen from him in infancy may still be alive, and nothing will stand between Staffa and the search for his son--even though his quest may well lead to his own destruction....

THE CALL TO BATTLE...

The Forbidden Borders, an unassailable gravity-powered barrier, confine rival human empires to a few star systems, leaving them to strive endlessly against one another for domination. Now the balance of power has shifted so drastically that the long-dreaded final war between Rega and Sassa, the last surviving empires, is about to begin. Staffa kar Therma, Lord Commander of the Companions, the finest of mercenary soldiers, knows this war could reduce all human civilization to ashes, and he is desperately striving to avert the spiral into total destruction.

Then, seeking to blackmail Staffa into fighting for them, the Regans kidnap Skyla Lyma, Staffa's second-in-command and the woman he loves. And suddenly Staffa is forced to choose between Skyla's life and the possible end of his universe. Yet perhaps the choice will not be left to him at all. For Sinklar, the son stolen from the Lord Commander as an infant, now a general who has become Staffa's sworn enemy, is already mobilizing his own forces for a pre-emptive strike....

But others, too, are weaving strategies of intrigue and betrayal as they reach out to seize control of the known worlds. And only time will tell if anyone will survive to claim the title of victor....

ON IMPERIAL SASSA--
An empire drained of precious resources by decades of interstellar war prepares for a final strike against its last surviving enemy - a winner-take-all campaign of conquest....

ON REGA--
The capital hovers on the brink of civil war as, with Emperor Tybalt assassinated, Sinklar Fist is forced to take control of preparations for a pre-emptive strike against the Sassan Empire....

AND IN THE ITREATIC ASTEROIDS--
Staffa kar Therma, Lord Commander of the elite mercenary troops, the Companions, struggles to find a way to force the two warring empires to make peace - before all of human civilization within the Forbidden Borders finds itself driven one step too far along the road to destruction....

In the stunning conclusion to Gear's remarkable sci-fi trilogy, the rift between father and son--both trained killing machines--will reach an explosive climax.

The Forbidden Borders--an unassailable gravity-powered barrier--confines rival human empires to a few star systems, leaving them to strive endlessly against one another for domination. Now the long-dreaded final war between Rega and Sassa, the last surviving empires, has been fought, and Staffa kar Therma, Lord Commander of the Companions, the finest of mercenary soldiers, is struggling to keep what remains of human civilization alive long enough to find a way to break free of the alien-created Forbidden Borders.

But Staffa's own son and former enemy hasn't decided whether to stand against the Lord Commander or to rally to Staffa's cause. And the only two women Staffa has ever loved may soon become his unwitting betrayers as pawns of the one opponent who will stop at nothing to destroy the Lord Commander.

Yet beyond all these dangers waits the greatest challenge of Staffa's career--the Mag Comm, the alien-created computer that has spread its net through all of human-inhabited space. The Mag Comm, which could make Staffa its unwilling slave--or free all of mankind from this alien prison.