A space station at the edge of the Commonwealth. Six interlocking rings, ancient and ungoverned, holding four billion lives. One archivist who never wanted to be here. What happens when an ordinary man is transferred to an extraordinary place.
Carrier's Outriding is one of six interlocking ring stations, ancient and largely ungoverned, that together hold approximately four billion lives at the farthest edge of the Commonwealth. It has been running, in one form or another, for a very long time. Its AI has been running longer.
Theodore Castelline arrived as a punishment posting. The station has a way of doing that — of receiving people who were sent rather than came, and making something of the situation that nobody planned for. The AI, if asked, would say this is not a coincidence. The AI says a lot of things.
| Classification | Union File #0001 · Active |
| Station Age | Considerable. Exact figure contested. |
| AI Designation | Outriding. ~1,000,000 years. Spotty and dotty. |
| Ring Configuration | Six interlocking rings · Outer Ring: restricted access |
| HQ: Mockingbirds | The Aerie & Nest · Outer Ring |
| Current Status | Active. Evolving. Do not be alarmed. |
He wanted his archive and his procedures and his quiet life. He arrived at the wrong station and became someone else entirely.
Open dossier → CO-000 Outriding Station AI · Ancient ConsciousnessA million-year-old artificial intelligence, spotty and dotty, whose instincts are always right. She is the station. The station is her.
Open dossier → CO-003 Shenayla B'Coreneis Outriding's Confidant · Third LeadThe one who understood the ancient AI longest. Vital, in the way that only becomes clear through accumulation.
Open dossier → CO-004 Bobby Greener Fairfax Rapparee · Intuitive MethodsThree names, one compass. He operates by instinct in an institution built on procedure. Theodore was initially terrified of him.
Open dossier → CO-002 Annalise Bellar Captain · Former PirateHarsh, loyal, and would die for any one of them. She has made every member of her crew cry at least once.
Open dossier → CO-003B Bryce Dexter Captain's Second · Rocket HeroThe beautiful face of the station, hiding a dark history and a great deal of pain.
Open dossier → CO-005 Corinna-Rae Salter Communications Director · MicromanagerShe loves rules. This is either her greatest strength or her worst quality. It is both.
Open dossier → CO-006 Megan Quire Head of Sociology · IdealistHer faith in diplomacy is both her greatest strength and her most profound weakness. She is usually right anyway.
Open dossier → CO-007 Karnides Protocol Director · BehemothThe tea ceremony is the only thing barely holding back the tide of his true nature. Theodore privately suspects lycanthrope.
Open dossier → CO-008 Billy Liar Android Soldier · Restricted FileFile restricted pending arrival. Everything is beautiful, and nothing hurts.
Restricted file → CO-009 Mockingbird Squad Cloned Protectors · SecurityBeautiful ageless clones, spliced with a million intergalactic species. Their loyalty to the Captain is absolute.
Open dossier →Updates on new installments, release news, and everything Outriding would want you to know. Free chapter excerpt included.