Foreword

The Assassin is my second story in Thinking Horndog’s Swarm Cycle Universe. It is not precisely a sequel to Pussy Pirates. Some of it takes place at the same time but mostly it takes place in the future of that story. In fact, the story pushes out further in the timeline than most of the Swarm Cycle stories. As a result, I’ve chosen to refer to the story as a ‘non-canon story’ in the Swarm Cycle. Here’s why.

When I write a story that continues fifty years into the future of an established universe, it automatically creates a history in its wake. While I have tried to abide by all the known canon in creating the story, my way of seeing the future of the universe may well be different than another hundred authors. I don’t want to limit them to my view of what happens after the Fifth Battle of Earthat, but rather to present my view in my isolated corner of the universe.

In creating this story, I’ve had several lengthy conversations with other Swarm authors and have read both published and unpublished stories that are considered within the canon. Most notably, these include Zen Master, whose newest work, Ending This Mess, records much of what took place in the critical time between the Fourth and Fifth Battles of Earthat and who knows more about the canon, the ships, and the weapons than anyone I can imagine, and Omachuck, whose THE Harem Tales and subsequent stories have contributed the majority of what we know about the Tuull and their AIs. I’m happy to have had the advice and wisdom of these fine authors as I created this little addition to the cycle.

Like many Swarm stories, this one has its own peculiarities. First, the planet Tara is one of those storied “breeder worlds” in a remote area of the universe, where it is believed by some that the rural and agricultural ecosystem of Earth can be preserved. It has almost no military presence and the residents work on farms and in agriculture-based industry. The first settlement of Tara was in Year 4 of the Swarm Cycle, but the idea for the planet was a precursor to getting the humans to fight the war. The Earth Swarm Cycle Calendar begins when Earth Confederacy ships first encounter the Sa’arm. That is eighteen months after the Darjee open negotiations with Earth and sixteen months before the President’s speech that announced the Confederacy and the Sa’arm to the public. So, Tara’s settlement starts within three years of public pickups having begun.

It was terraformed in a noble attempt to “get these humans onto a preserve somewhere so they won’t all be extinct.” But the settlement of the planet was very much under the contract of humans with the Darjee AIs, with the requisite sponsors and concubines and associated rules. Dates that I have included are according to the Tara calendar and pretty much ignore the Earth calendar. I’ve periodically inserted a relevant Earth Year to establish where other stories might fit in the timeline. Otherwise, the dates are of the form “TY 13-month 150.” Add 4 to get the Earth Year.

I’d like to thank all the other Swarm Authors for their advice, contributions, and criticisms—especially Thinking Horndog, Anne N Mouse, Corsair, Duke of Ramus, starfiend, lordshipmayhem, and all the authors of the stories I’ve cited in the text. A bibliography of influential works is included at the end of this work.

Chapter 1 »