In the near future, humans have colonized Mars, joined pirates in space, and divided Earth into two vastly different nations: The United Empires and Liansa. When a mission to Mars goes awry, Ailee Chambers---a Sergeant in Earth's Interstellar Force---is left for dead in a spaceship with no life support, and an alien contraption wrapped around her neck. She is rescued, but there's no cause for celebration, because her saviors are pirates, disgusting monsters who kill Martians and Earthers for sport. Yet, when the Captain of the pirates' ship, Felix Oringo, enlists her help to unravel the plans of Boss---the leader of all pirates---Ailee begins sympathizing with her snarky captor. Boss claims he will liberate Liansans from their dictatorship, but Ailee remains unconvinced. After all, what do men in power want? More power. However, in her quest to unveil the leader's plans, the irresistible Boss falls for her, complicating her relationship with Felix, her loyalty to the United Empires, and matters of the heart. For the first time in history, Mars and Earth combine forces to eliminate Boss and retrieve Ailee---why is she so important?---and it's a toss up as to who makes it out alive. * * * Ranking: #5 in femmefatale

CRIMSON DIVIDE has made it to round 3 of the 2025 Amby's! "𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑡 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑠 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ." The year is 398 of the Ninth Era (or more accurately, 7700 AD). The Twenty Years War has ended, giving rise to a new age of mass surveillance, paranoia, and doubt. Angela, a Frame pilot fighting her way through her trauma, slowly becomes disillusioned with the authoritarian system in which she exists. The Knife, a mob fixer with the ability to bend states of matter, tries to crawl out from under what she's done only to get sucked right back in. Grey, a goofy and loyal friend with modest ambitions, is driven to act and save Angela, only to find himself embroiled in a deadly conflict he doesn't understand. And finally, Davis, an esteemed investigator, learns that the ideals he fought for were never real in the first place. As shadowy players make their move, these four lives collide violently. Frames drop, guns are drawn - and there won't be a winner, only more devastation. At the center of it all lies the Vessel, a reality-warping implant with unimaginable destructive capability. The Federation will kill without hesitation to get it back - and Angela just merged with it.