Amy has always loved science fiction—books, movies, shows, and games. She was born in San Diego, California, and moved with her family to Vancouver, Washington, at the age of seven. After devouring some of the classics like Dune and Ender's Game in her tween years, she began writing science fiction and fantasy short stories.
In the ensuing years, Amy attended the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, where she continued to study creative writing, visual art and played viola in the school orchestra. During this time, she began the very early sketches of what would eventually evolve into the Cadicle series.
Amy received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Portland State University, and also pursued minors in Professional Writing and Business Administration. After graduating, she moved to Portland, Oregon, and began working in business development for an energy efficiency consulting firm. Over the next several years, she primarily wrote proposals to prospective utility clients and managed the proposal development process. She then transitioned from energy efficiency into the architectural, engineering and planning industry. However, she eventually succumbed to the writing bug.
Now a full-time author, Amy currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband. When she's not writing, she enjoys travel, wine tasting, binge-watching TV series, and playing epic strategy board games.
BIOGRAPHY
STARSHIP OF THE ANCIENTS
BOOK 4: LAST STAND
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ABOUT THE BOOK
A ruthless usurper. A growing rebellion. One final chance to reclaim the stars.
As Chancellor Rostov consolidates power alongside the Syndicate, the sparks of revolution spread from Aethos across the settled worlds. Evan, Anya, and an uneasy coalition of mercenaries launch daring raids to cripple the regime’s logistics, but every victory brings them closer to a confrontation that will decide the fate of the Commonwealth.
While Roman gambles everything for a chance at redemption, Anya must confront the devastating betrayal of her own family’s legacy, and Evan faces a crossroads in his fight for the people without becoming merely a tool for corporate players on the galactic stage.
With every strategic victory drawing Rostov’s wrath closer, Evan and Anya are on the verge of finally getting answers about the Korani. However, the fate of the alien civilization may be inextricably tied to the Commonwealth’s own future.
As the evidence mounts that the mysterious signal on Terrax points to a looming galactic threat, can Evan and Anya topple a tyrant in time to unite humanity?
PLOT SYNOPSIS - Last Stand (Starship of the Ancients Book 4)
In the tense weeks following the Markeesh attack and Marta’s death, the fragile alliance on Aethos has solidified into a genuine resistance movement. With Vinny’s mercenaries bolstering their ranks, Evan and Anya launch their first major offensive: a daring snare-and-board operation against a UPDF supply transport ship. The mission quickly escalates when they discover a second ship—a Syndicate vessel—meeting the military craft, confirming deep infiltration between Rostov’s forces and the Noche Syndicate. Using the Asamar’s advanced nanite snare and Evan’s growing telepathic abilities, they seize both vessels.
Back on Aethos, Evan pushes for broader adoption of Lux and begins designing hybrid nanite weapons that can non-lethally incapacitate foes while deploying restraining filaments—tools the team desperately needs as operations scale. Anya, working with Garet, digs deeper into Korani signals. Wanting to better understand why some planets were ‘glassed’ and others weren’t, Evan and Anya investigate an old planet. They find large skeletal remains and other indications of life, suggesting the world completed a full lifecycle before mostly dying out. This leads them to a chilling conclusion: the signal on Terrax is the planet’s ‘distress beacon’ alerting that something has gone dangerously out of balance with a planet.
Meanwhile, after their years of covertly collaborating behind the scenes, Marcus is finally elevated to Chancellor Rostov’s new Deputy of Economic Development—drawing criticism. However, fearing his new role in the Commonwealth’s government won’t last, Marcus Santano makes a play for power by using remnant jump nanites to make his own Korani jump drive.
Conroy strikes deals to pave a path to victory. He arranges a deal with the Gatebuilders Guild to secure their support and access to the transit gate network in exchange for the Slingshot technology owned by Accelon. With the new alliance in place, he orders a raid on the Commonwealth’s official archive, known as CENDRA. Zaris and Roman infiltrate the facility with Vinny’s team to secure verified records of Rostov’s collaboration with the Syndicate—pivotal evidence to bolster his growing popular support.
Meanwhile, Elena Cordova—Roman’s cousin and a NovaTech operative—has been using Lux-enhanced telepathic influence to manipulate Anya’s father, Julian Rojas. When Evan and Anya confront Julian and uncover Elena’s involvement, it leads to a painful family reckoning. Anya’s mother, Vera, has actually been willingly working with the Syndicate and was the one guiding Anya’s unwitting role in the larger conspiracy while her father was a victim in his own right. They learn that no one intended to destroy the NovaTech colony ship sent to Aethos, only to maroon the colonists; the ship was only destroyed because Conroy’s counter-fire threw off the military escort’s aim, leading to the crash of both vessels. Nonetheless, with the Syndicate’s corruption and ties to both NovaTech and the government now clear, Anya and Evan set their sights on permanently crippling the Syndicate.
While the Asamar is away from Aethos, Marcus uses his newly synthesized jump drive to launch a bold assault on Aethos, aimed at eliminating Conroy’s base and reclaiming control. In a pivotal moment of redemption, Roman—now fully aligned with the resistance and empowered by Lux—steps up and rallies the planet’s own defenses, proving his loyalty and turning the tide against his own brother’s forces.
With Rostov’s administration crumbling, Marcus orchestrates a bombing campaign on NovaTech headquarters on Praxis. Evan, Anya, and Roman race to disrupt the attack, leading to a decisive standoff between Roman and Marcus. Roman kills Marcus while Evan and Anya successfully contain the explosion. However, upon discovery of a second device, Roman sacrifices himself to get the bomb out of the city. Elena escapes in the aftermath, going into hiding.
The resistance fleet—led by the Asamar and Zaris’s corsairs—jumps to Terrax. In orbit, Evan and Sam infiltrate the planetary defense network, collapsing the shield and neutralizing turrets to clear the way for Conroy’s ground assault. While Zaris and Vinny’s forces secure the capital and escort Conroy to the chancellor’s office for a final confrontation with Rostov, Evan and Anya descend to a remote nature preserve containing a hidden Syndicate site.
Deep underground they discover a living Korani “world seed”—the planetary heart responsible for generating primal energies and maintaining ecological balance. The entity, perceiving humanity’s exploitation as a threat, has been broadcasting the signal that preceded the glassing of other worlds. Through a powerful telepathic exchange, Evan convinces the ancient intelligence of humanity’s potential for stewardship rather than destruction. In exchange for calling off the impending catastrophe, he grants it dominion over the oceans, restoring balance to Terrax.
On the surface, Conroy reclaims the capital. Facing no viable path for a prolonged trial, he kills Rostov but publicly states that he ran away. Remaining military holdouts—those most deeply compromised by the Syndicate—are neutralized through precise, overwhelming demonstrations using repurposed Accelon Slingshots. With the capital secure and the last pockets of resistance standing down, Conroy is formally reinstated as Chancellor.
Conroy appoints Evan as an official Commonwealth delegate tasked with locating the surviving Korani. Evan, Anya, and Sam prepare to depart on the Asamar for a new mission into the unknown—joined by Zaris and additional ships eager for the next frontier.
The war for the Commonwealth is over. A far greater journey—to reunite with the ancients and usher humanity onto the galactic stage—has only just begun.