Iron Meridian

On a world of two suns, paradise has teeth.

The Verdant Meridian has built a clean, living colony at the edge of an alien wilderness—a place of solar towers, autonomous defenses, and creatures evolved to kill anything that moves.

Then the Holy Union of Progress arrives.

Using dimensional gates, its carrier fleet crosses the stars in smoke and diesel, armed with propeller fighters, crude artillery, and a faith that calls conquest sacred. The Union sees the Meridian’s green cities not as a miracle, but as an insult: a soft, decadent world waiting to be brought into the furnace of Progress.

When first contact becomes a firefight, both sides discover they have misjudged the enemy and the planet beneath them.

The Union’s fuel is running out. The Meridian’s defenses cannot hold forever. Beyond the walls, the wilderness waits to consume victor and vanquished alike.

To survive, each side must decide what it is willing to burn.