A baby? On a battlefield? Marcus is a clerk in the Imperial army. When he finds an abandoned baby on a battlefield, he has no idea what to do with her. His best friend is no help; he thinks Marcus is a sucker for taking the kid in. The slave who ends up babysitting the child is no better; she thinks Marcus has ulterior motives - bad ones. Not only that, but two mysterious female assassins appear on the scene. Whether they intend to harm the baby or protect her, Marcus isn't sure. It doesn't help that the assassins have magical cloaks that allow them to turn into birds at any time. Marcus and his friends soon find themselves caught up in things they doesn't understand: the child has some connection to an ancient prophecy, one that could have implications for fate of the Empire itself.

C41 was taught to fight and never trust anyone but a select few. But in order to leave prison, he might have to work with those who can break him. ***** Inmate C41 is the youngest registered "feral" shapeshifter -- someone unable to control his animal urges and aggressions. When he turns eighteen he is transferred to the Adult Feral Rehabilitation Center in Scotland, where he meets a mysterious American government agent who endlessly probes him with questions. C41 does the only thing he thinks will help him survive - he lies. And that starts a chain of events that will either end in a prison break or a life of torture. Content and/or Trigger Warning: sex and violence. [[Wattys' Shortlist]] [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

The State experiments on Terra, painfully forcing her to grow wings, but when she escapes and joins the Rebellion, they start calling her "The Angel of Death." ***** Terra, like everyone else in Section D, suffers at the whims of "The State," the tyrannical government that rules over the Earth. Her brother was taken years ago, and only his body was brought back. Then Terra is taken. Soon she's suffering painful experimental procedures, before she's liberated by the Rebellion. Finishing her transformation, Terra grows wings and demands to fight. As her legend grows, the other Rebels start calling her "The Angel of Death." But Terra comes to learn that both sides of the war are using her in a greater game, and though she despises the State, Terra is determined to survive. She will do whatever it takes, kill whoever she has to, but Terra will not be caged again. [[word count: 150,000-200,000 words]]

"It was love at first sight. Until reality struck like lightning and burnt up everything, leaving me with nothing but scars." The story of Death, the change of fate, and the fall from grace.

A secret program in the United States seeks to replace human militaries with artificial intelligence-driven machines, but the machines aren't so willing to play along. *** Picture a world where humans no longer fight wars. No more families missing loved ones. No more veterans with lifelong mental and physical scars. No more conscription. For the super-secret End of War Project inside the United States government, such a reality is already here. The project models out how artificial intelligence can overcome dangerous and morally sensitive war scenarios with algorithms and automation. The centerpieces are "autonomous combat machines," or ACMs, that look like humans but function like supercomputers. After a string of brilliant successes in the field of combat, the End of War Project is preparing to reveal itself to the public, but something unusual stands in the way. Against their programming, the ACMs start exhibiting all-too-human signs of apprehension, guilt and compassion as they're pushed to perform ever more extreme tasks. The human leaders of the End of War Project race to find who "hacked" the ACMs, but what they find is even more startling--and revealing--than they could ever imagine. ***2019 Watty Award Winner - Science Fiction***