Empire's Children

The fourth volume of the epic New Terrans series. In the aftermath of the Progenitors' defeat, the Grodan Confederation's remaining citizens are returned to the Sagittarius arm to establish a new colony and begin a new life. However, Zoe Fenning has managed to escape justice by transferring her consciousness into the body of Beatrice Wu and joining the Progenitors in their exodus. The Empire sends a Guardian, a humaniform AI like Hailey and Molly, to infiltrate the new Progenitor colony on Neron and keep watch over Zoe. Neron is attacked by a new threat: the Overlords, a race that has already enslaved four populated worlds. Zoe seizes the opportunity and offers to trade stolen Aetherian technologies in exchange for the Overlords' assistance in conquering and reclaiming Aether as her own. Two decades later, Hailey's job with the Special Operations Directorate of Naval Intelligence becomes more critical than ever as she captures Var Linset, Zoe Fenning's second-in-command to gain information about the Overlords' plans.
Elliot must defend the Empire from the Overlords' assault. He commands the drone spheres that were once his enemy, but the Overlords have developed a powerful new weapon that may render the spheres' lasers useless. It's up to Elliot and his team of brilliant scientists and warriors to find a way to defeat the Overlords and prevent Zoe from achieving her ultimate goal of reclaiming Aether.