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Our First Contact had been with those nine-feet-tall, disgusting predators – and they’d ripped through humankind like the helpless children our species were back then. The Scorp had almost brought us to extinction – and that was before we’d even encountered the other major powers of the universe…

That was before we’d learned the greed and avarice of the loathsome Toads, or the imperious authority of the haughty Aurelians.

That was when humanity left behind its illusion of security.

My tutor also left me a copy of my most-read book:On Aurelians. I’ve read that tome back to front hundreds of times. I’ve never seen an Aurelian in real life, but I’ve been tempted enough to watch holo-vids and simulations of the haughty, warrior species.

It’s easy to understand why Aurelians have developed such a reputation for arrogance. Their kind don’t just stand huge and powerful – towering seven-feet-tall. They also have strong, handsome faces, and magnificent physiques – like the statues of Greek Gods, carved from the marble that the alabaster white skin of Aurelians so resembles.

If Scorp are chaos, the Aurelians are order. If it wasn’t for the Aurelians, the Scorp would have brought our kind to extinction – and their cold benevolence extends right down to the individual. Everyone in the galaxy knows that if you’re a poor human female, you’ll never need to starve. You can join an Aurelian harem instead – arguably trading your dignity to escape a life of poverty; but that’s a bargain many young women are eager to make.

In fact, given the abundance that Aurelians enjoy, it’s no surprise that a great many wealthy human women – the ones without the excuse of poverty – also end up tempted to join...

A little shiver runs down my spine at the mere thought of it.

I’mone of those women.

The sudden thud of sentinel marching outside draws me from my illicit thoughts. I rush to the window and peek through the curtains. My room has a magnificent view of the front gates of the estate – gates patrolled by those silent robots, and that I’m not allowed to venture beyond.

The Sentinels that pace the forbidding walls ostensibly resemble humans – even if they tower over real people. They have no right hand, however – instead, that robotic limb contains the barrel of a long, powerful rifle instead. The high-velocity, large caliber slug-guns utilize old technology – no lasers or phase-emitters – but they’re just as deadly and twice as reliable for it.

In fact, I’ve heard those rifles crack and boom many times through this bedroom window, normally in the dark of night. My father has always told me it was target practice – and I’ve always let him think I believed the lie.

But, I’m not as naive as he imagines. I know what it means when every one of the Sentinels are turned and facing the front gate with their weapons in firing position. That’s how they stand now – silent, and faceless, and deadly.

It can mean only one thing – the guests my father is inviting into my home are dangerous.

I peer through the window. Below me, my father stands by the pond with Gerard at his side. He’s speaking urgently with the old guard, his hands moving violently to punctuate his words. Four Sentinels flank them, standing stock still. My father then turns to the gates and nods abruptly.

He looks like he’s walking up to the executioner’s block as he approaches the entrance to our estate. What could tempt him to take a risk like this? To go from virtual isolation to inviting guests into our home –dangerousguests, apparently.

The huge stone gates begin to slide open. I hear the stone grinding against stone, and as they expose us to the outside world, I’m suddenly hit with the thought that whatever comes through those gates will no doubt change my life forever.

I’m not wrong.

The towering gates open, and three men stride through them. The moment they do, those towering gates suddenly don’t seemquiteso huge any more…

That’s because the three men entering our compound might as well be walking right out of the pages ofOn Aurelians– the beloved book my tutor gave me – and into real life.

It’s them.

I never thought I’d see them with my own eyes – a real, true-to-life, Aurelian triad.

I gasp.

The three striding strangers are sohugecompared to my father. Each one of them is at least seven-feet-tall, just like my book had promised they would be.

However, I wasn’t expecting them to be sowide. These three aren’t built like humans – not regular humans, anyway. Instead, the Aurelians are built like beastly animals – huge and powerful, with hard-corded muscles and wide frames that make the three of them seem to occupy the entire width of the huge, gaping gateway.

The Aurelians step past the gates and only stop when the Sentinels raise and aim their weapons. Even these towering warriors couldn’t resist a hail of high-velocity slug rounds.

As they stand there, the stone gates grind closed behind them, locking the three warriors in with us – or perhaps lockingusin with them. I shudder at the thought.

My father stands in place as four Sentinels step forward protectively – guarding him from the new arrivals.

I’m watching, rapt. I’ve read everything I could get my hands on about Aurelians – sometimes even feeling slightly ashamed of my fascination with their species; reading compulsively but not quite knowingwhy.

Well, I suppose when there’s nothing else to do but learn, it’s easy to get drawn into one particular subject – and what a subject the Aurelians make!