Prologue Added 1997 The Confederacy's efforts to seal a peace treaty with the Manojarrans are crushed . . .
Book One - The Battle for Peace
The Battle 1995 The colossal battle between the Akotarsan fleet and Spacecom's flagship . . .
Book Two - Peace and Defiance
Defiance Revealed 1996 Capt. Malarek and Cmdr. Conelly are captured but end up discovering something vital
Book Three - Unified Confederacy
Prologue 1996 The buildup to war is commenced in this explosive intro to the final book . . .
Book Three - Unified Confederacy
The Final War of the Empires 1996 The climatic battle fought between the three major Empires and their incredible starship war fleets . . .
Book Four - Forsaken Empires
Prologue 1996 The rift has opened and only time will tell who will survive . . .
Book Four - Forsaken Empires
Into Hell's Gate 1997 Capt. Malarek must prepare his ship and crew as well as himself before waging the final war of the Confederacy . . . the Huradas have come!
All excerpts and materials regarding Empires of Saladium and book titles BATTLE FOR PEACE, PEACE AND DEFIANCE, UNIFIED CONFEDERACY, and FORSAKEN EMPIRES are (c) Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 by Michael J. van Lierop. International Copyright Laws are Applicable. To contact author, see below for e-mail address or contact via regular mail at 555 McDermott Road, Cookshire, Quebec, CANADA, J0B 1M0.
What is the Empires of Saladium?
The EMPIRES of SALADIUM is a science fiction space epic encompassing the voyages of the U.S.S. Lodestar-Crusader and her crew. The galaxy is comprised of a number of key players on the interstellar stage - the Akotarsan Empire, the Manojarran Empire and the Confederacy (or the Unified Confederacy of Interstellar Authority). The focus of the stories is on the crew of the Lodestar, flagship of SPACECOM, the fleet operations wing of the Confederacy. The crew is headed by Capt. Alexander D. Malarek and together they strive to bring peace and order to an otherwise chaotic universe of characters, governments, fleets and aspiring conquerors.
Is the Empires of Saladium Available?
To date, no publisher or agency has accepted my work. That is one reason why I have created a website - so that people like you can see for yourself what this is all about and that in time, with enough popular support, it may someday be found on bookstands across North America. This is not in spite that I do this, but in the interests of allowing a large audience to preview what Empires of Saladium really is, in hopes that in some way it might give a publisher or agent the impetus to take me and my books on. Those who have read my material continue to enjoy it and I have even managed to convert non-sci-fi fans into fanatics! The only conclusion I can draw from this (naturally) is that it's good stuff. If you agree once you've read it, why not say so in my guestbook or email one of those sci-fi publishers and tell them for me!
History of EMPIRES of SALADIUM
The foundation of the Empires of Saladium was begun many years ago, circa 1992, when I created a very simple role-playing game entitled Star Quest: Future Challenge. Much of the Saladium universe as it is today dates back to that cheesy game and the background that it attempted to create for a role-playing environment. I attempted to complete Star Quest II - The Fourth Dimension rpg but that never materialized and only a few remnants can be found on my hard drive at home - nevertheless, much of what went into that brief version also contributed to Saladium, especially the races and planets. The fact that it was never completed is far from catastrophic seeing how Star Quest already exists. Anyway, I later dove into the realm of computer programming, starting with GW-Basic and moving up into Visual Basic for Windows, resulting in a number of silly games and a few good ones, three of which also contributed to Saladium. I made a planet colonization game entitled Terra Nova and about a year later its sequel came about. It was after that game that I moved up to Visual Basic and created a massive interstellar colonization/conquest game. It was at this point that a commercial game also called Terra Nova had just been released, so that name had to be tossed. And so it was for that third game that the name EMPIRES of SALADIUM was first used. Over time the ideas mounted until finally I had the incredible and ludicrous urge to actually write an entire novel. That was in the fall of 1995, when The Battle for Peace was begun. It was completed before the end of that year - the entire FOUNDING Trilogy was completed some five months later. The second trilogy, The PHOENIX Trilogy, was begun without that awesome name in the summer of 1996 with the Prologue and first few chapter of what is now called Forsaken Empires. For some strange reason (mainly having to perform in my academic endeavours at college) the fourth novel in the series failed to see completion until late last year, in December of 1997. And now the fifth novel is in the works, and the sixth is stuck on the next shelf somewhere in my brain. If you want to know more, e-mail me!
U.S.S. Lodestar-Crusader SCS-9001
The U.S.S. Lodestar-Crusader is the flagship of the SPACECOM fleet. Historically, its mandate has involved a unique combination of exploration, diplomacy and defence. In 2588, the original Lodestar was launched as one of many fine Defence SPACECOM starships, of the Quad class. Destroyed not long after at the blockade of Roland VII, it was followed in 2591 by the Lodestar-Alpha, as SPACECOM's newest flagship and first Nebula class vessel. Although the SCS-9001-Alpha was of the Consolidated designation, contrary to its defensive history, this vessel carried out its duties capably until its decommissioning in 2595 after the final war of the Empires.
The latest addition to the proud line of Lodestar-Crusader's is the SCS-9001-Beta, the third ship to bear this powerful and honourable name. Although its predecessors have been considered at best to be heavily armed consolidated starships, this new starship carries an armament unsurpassed by any other vessel of the major space fleets, with the facilities and manpower to partake in exploratory and research missions as well. Also like its predecessors, the Lodestar-Beta is commanded by Spacecom's best C.O., Captain Alexander D. Malarek. The engineering staff is headed by the highly dedicated and skilled Cmdr. Hobart S. Conelly. The vessel has been helmed by a variety of people, most notably Lt. Richard Douglas Hassick and Lt. Commander Nora-Krieena.
The U.S.S. Lodestar-Crusader-Beta is over 2,000 meters in length, some 300 meters high and carries a cloaking device. Its armament includes two rotating Grand-Laser cannons on the port and starboard sides of the vessel, several forward Proton Torpedo launchers, a Destroyer Torpedo Launcher on the bow and several aft launchers as well. Its defenses include a Hull Layering Integrity Field to further augment the virtually inpenetrable Crombi-Hull design, a SPACECOM Standard Deflector Shield and an Energy and Ballistic Weapons Defense Shield (EBWD Shield) which hugs the mainframe of the starship. The Lodestar-Beta is powered by a Hyperspace Class 15 Engine and a SPACECOM Standard Impulse Drive. The Supplemental Fleet consists of 2,000 starfighters or other compact-attack craft as well as several hundred ground combat units ranging from simple Light Attack Units to Armoralls to the devestating Siege Tanks.
A crew of over 2,200 SPACECOM personnel call the Lodestar home, while the ship maintains the capacity to carry over 16,000 passengers in emergency situations. The cargo bays can be converted for this function when they are not filled to their potential capacity of 7 million cubic meters. This vessel cannot be separated in any way, although it does possess the emergency ability to make planet-side landings on buoyant surfaces such as water.
GALAXY SUMMARY
To discover everything you need to know about the galaxy of Saladium - those who inhabit it, travel in it and rule it - just click here for the
GALAXY SUMMARY
Characters/SPACECOM Personnel
To discover the people who really make things happen in the EMPIRES of SALADIUM galaxy - who there are, how they are and their histories - just click here for the
SPACECOM Personnel Data
Who is Michael J. van Lierop?
I'm an aspiring author currently attending Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec, CANADA. In May of 1998 I completed my D.E.C. (Diplome d'Etudes Collegiales) in Social Science from Champlain Regional College also here in Lennoxville. I am currently studying Political Science and I plan to complete my Bachelors and several more novels within the next few years. I'm 20 years old and I hope to complete my fifth novel in this series, Balance of Power some time this spring.. Stay tuned, eh!
This website is dedicated with a great deal of love and thanks to my dear friends Brad Picken, Shawn Cady, Paul Lefebvre, Bill Duncan and Hyan Thiboutot who have offered not only great help but also incomparable support. In many ways, they have shaped the evolution of the Empires of Saladium as much as myself. This site is also dedicated to the surgeons, doctors and nurses of the Institut de Cardiologie de Montreal who gave my mother a new life. God be with all of you.
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