Under the Ashes, the City — Simon R. Green

Episode 3 of 5: Captain John Silence, a captain in the Imperial Fleet by her Majesty's fickle pleasure, commands the new starship Dauntless, the fastest, best-gunned ship in the fleet. His mission: Locate and open the Vaults of the Sleepers on the ghost planet Grendel and subjugate the creatures found there. But the aliens buried deep beneath the ashen surface of Grendel are vicious, unnatural killing machines. Empress Lionstone XIV seeks to transform these monsters into an Imperial weapon, and Silence and his company of marines, Wampyrs, and battle espers live to do her bidding -- at least until the Vaults are opened.

Back in the Empire's more hospitable regions, the Masked Gladiator, undefeated champion of the Arena, risks everything for the love of a beautiful woman, who just happens to be an pivotal figure in the rebel underground. And it appears the ruthless Lionstone is much more aware of Owen Deathstalker's whereabouts than he could possibly imagine.