Federation Marine

What would you do to change your life? How far would you go? How hard would you fight? Rather than work his bones into dust toiling away on a barren world, Ryck Lysander chooses to enlist in the Federation Marine Corps. But as he quickly finds out, this path isn't just a job...it's a calling...and not everyone is suited to wear the uniform.

Stepping up as an NCO, however, is something different. It isn’t enough to be an effective warrior. He has to be able to lead his fellow Marines, all without doubting his own abilities. Failing will not only lead to his own death, but to those under his command. The responsibility is heavy, and the cost of losing is high. At the same time, an old ally becomes a new enemy, thrusting Ryck into a life and death situation where success or failure rides on his shoulders.

As a certified “hero,” Sergeant Ryck Lysander gets offered a commission as a second lieutenant. Only, he doesn’t feel like a hero, and his tendency to jump into a fight himself is at odds with his duties as an officer. When first contact with an alien race turns into a full-blown war, Ryck is thrust into combat once again, and the battle goes poorly.

As a captain, Ryck Lysander has been given one of the most sought-after assignments in the Marines: an infantry company commander. His new battalion commanding officer, however, is not impressed with Ryck’s past accomplishments, and Ryck finds himself struggling to fulfill his CO’s expectations.

A Marine major is one of the orphan ranks, too senior to command a line company, but too junior to command a battalion. Newly promoted to major, Ryck reports for duty as the assistant naval attaché to the Confederation of Free States, the same government whose troops he’d recently fought in the Telchines. Ryck wasn’t happy about the assignment, but he buckled down for a long and boring tour of duty. But action seems to follow Ryck, and this is no exception.

As a lieutenant colonel, Ryck is given command of the Second Battalion. With the Marine Corps anxious to certify the resurfaced concept of integrated operations units, the battalion is thrown right into the fire. With his new command, Ryck has the opportunity to prove his ability to be a true combat leader and not just as a warrior. But with that opportunity come the risk that he cannot handle the manager aspect of command: the logistics, training, maintenance, admin, and support aspects that allow every unit to maximize its combat potential.