The Cradle of Earth
When alien refugees descend toward Earth, a military command center scrambles to understand their intentions as Missouri becomes ground zero for humanity’s future.
Loose Signals
Leonard Octavius Wood
Leonard Octavius Wood
Main Story
A Coffee Break
As June 5th unfolds, Matt pivots from crisis management to delegation—handing off logistics while gearing up for an evening of innovation, dessert, and quiet diplomacy in his own living room.
Main Story
Meeting the Parents at the Top of the World
When Kevin brings Mall to a high-status gathering, her fear of being exposed collides with unexpected kindness, power plays, and quiet reassurance from those who rule the world around her.
Main Story
The Weight of Command
Leonard Wood enters Matt’s world with caution, obligation—and a buried need. What begins as a personal plea turns into something more enduring: a command forged not by force, but by trust. With one quiet exchange, the future of Earth’s defense shifts from corporate indifference to something far more human.
Main Story
A Lord Among Stars
At dawn, seven V’ren shuttles descend onto Missouri soil, and a coronation takes shape beneath rising sunlight. Matt Marmaduke receives the trust, blades, and oaths of alien captains—declared High Lord of the V’ren by rite of weapon, witness, and will.
Main Story
The General Arrives
General Leonard arrives at the Freehold, greeted with warmth, history, and a candid briefing on V’ren command, upcoming events, and quiet political strategy.
Main Story
The Chicago Briefing: Corporate Realignment in the Age of Marmaduke
At 1 PM in Chicago, Amazon’s executive leadership faces a growing truth—Matt Marmaduke is no longer a variable in their equation. He’s the new constant. With V’ren translation tech, galactic trade points, and sovereign alliances on the table, one thing is clear: he’s not playing their game—he’s building his own.
Main Story
Touchdown at the Freehold
An alien ship settles into Matt Marmaduke’s front field, cradled down by mysterious Beacon beams. With a bet paid and a motley crew ready to work, Matt keeps his calm—and his claim—while General Leonard Wood watches through drone feeds from hundreds of miles away. Missouri’s First Contact is in local hands.
Main Story
Zero Hour 9:00 AM
As the alien refugee ship enters Earth’s atmosphere, Beacon technology takes control—slowing and cradling it toward an unknown landing site. Drones scatter, mapping the planet in real time. The search narrows to Missouri, where one stubborn former Amazon officer is about to become the most important man on the ground.
Main Story
The Corporate Council Emergency Session
Summoned to Amazon’s highest chamber, General Leonard Octavius Wood briefs the corporate elite on eight alien ships and the sudden awakening of the Beacon Network. Rival megacorps circle like sharks, narrative control becomes paramount, and the first hours of humanity’s contact with another species are already slipping from containment.
Main Story
The Beacons Wake
When eight alien ships drop into the solar system, the long-silent Beacon Network roars to life. General Leonard Octavius Wood takes the first call—and learns a crippled colonial transport the size of a city is falling toward Earth. No one knows who built the Beacons, or why they’re answering now.