Welcome Aboard the Argent Tide
Welcome Aboard the Argent Tide
Where This Voyage Begins — and Where It’s Going Next
The Argent Tide wasn’t built to make history.
It wasn’t designed to be a flagship, or a symbol, or the first link in a chain that stretches far beyond the freight lanes.
It was meant to work.
A long-range hauler operating in the cracks of a corporate solar system, pushing cargo between places most people avoid, crewed by workers who know the rules — and know when to bend them. When I started writing the first stories, I never expected the Tide to more or less be a line item in a corporate manifest.
Instead, it became the backbone of something bigger.
What this blog is for
Think of this space as an open logbook —
the place where I talk about:
how the Argent Tide stories take shape
who the characters really are beneath the job titles
the unseen machinery of the universe they move through
the decisions behind the stories, the themes, and the direction of the series
occasional notes from outside the Tide — about writing, process, and the strange mechanics of building a shared universe
If you’re new here: welcome aboard.
If you’ve been following the Tide’s journey from the beginning: you already know the lanes are never silent for long.
Where the Argent Tide Is Headed Next
The current collection takes place during a specific moment in the Tide’s operational life — a window of time full of small fractures in the system: border tensions, corporate pressure, whispered deals, and the quiet decisions people make when survival and loyalty collide.
There are future stories already mapped — some drafted, some outlined, some hinted at inside the subtext of existing tales — that explore:
what happens when the Tide is contracted beyond the Spine Line
the consequences of an encounter that isn’t fully understood by the crew
a cargo run that forces a choice between survival and allegiance
a discovery that ties directly into a much larger universe
These aren’t just side projects.
They’re stepping stones.
The Argent Tide sails in an earlier era of this universe, long before the deep-space expeditions that will define a later century — but the echoes between them are already forming.
Because the Argent Tide exists in a much wider continuity — the one readers will eventually recognize from later stories in this universe. Not immediately. Not overtly. But there are early echoes embedded in the freight lanes, in off-channel traffic, in the things the crew does not yet know they’ve seen.
The Tide remembers. Crews will come and go, but the bulkheads remain.
And the consequences — the systems, the corporations, the seeds of hidden technology and long-buried decisions — trace back to ships just like this one.
Somewhere down the freight line, two story worlds will dock.
Not today.
But soon enough.
Where to Start Reading
If you’re looking for an entry point into the Argent Tide universe, begin with the short story collection linked on the homepage. Each story stands alone, and all of them chart the early fault lines of a world that grows far beyond one ship.
More stories are coming.
And a few connections — subtle at first — will begin to point toward something larger.
For now: welcome aboard.
Settle in.
And let’s see where the lanes lead next.
— Alex Zima