Showing results by author "Jonathan Brazee" in All Categories

For Esther and Noah Lysander, children of the famous/infamous General Ryck Lysander, their time of service has come to a close. They both made many sacrifices during their careers, to themselves and their loved ones. But as retirement looms ahead, there remains what is perhaps the most important question:

Forged into human weapons to defend humanity against impossible odds, Sergeant Major Reverent Pelletier and the rest of the IBHU Marines and other hyper-augments are discarded by those they fought to protect.

Rev is a Marine, born and bred to fight and survive, to defend those who cannot defend themselves. But one way or another, his journey is coming to an end.

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.

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.

Following a brutal personal betrayal and a harrowing escape from the base of operations that also served as his home, Aiden Thorn, Genesian phalanx leader and newly minted ambassador of the Genesian people, is sent on a critical mission. Once there, he discovers that humanity has enlisted the aid of a ruthless military leader, one whose harsh and unrelenting tactics could threaten the Genesians’ very existence.

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.

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.

Twins living in their father's oversized shadow as a Marine. One officer, one enlisted. Can they do justice to their father's memory? The demands of military service can be rough on loved ones, whether husband and wife or brother and sister, and that is no different for Esther and Noah Lysander, twin children of General Ryck Lysander, former Chairman of the United Federation. But blood still runs deep, and when Esther, now a battalion commander, finds herself suddenly without a sergeant major, she turns to family.

The Exile Fleet has been decimated, but the mission must go on. What other choice do they have? With most of the officers KIA, Sergeant Major Reverent Pelletier has to step up to lead the ground force. Meanwhile, the remaining ships ply the far reaches on unexplored space to identify potential threats to humanity. And as the saying goes, if you search for trouble, trouble will often find you. With peace at home beginning to break down, the Exile Fleet is on its own as it tries to fulfill its mission...and not get killed in the process.

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.

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.

Corporal Aiden Kaas is an unsanctioned werewolf, turned without the Lycan Council’s approval. While the council ponders what to do with him, he is warned not to shift and to keep the very fact that werewolves exist a secret. However, Aiden is a marine assigned to a marine special operations team in Eastern Afghanistan, and if there is a threat to his team, he will do anything, including shifting to his werewolf form, to protect them.

Captain Esther Lysander, UFMC, is a combat Marine. Her new orders, however, are APOC, or “At the Pleasure of the Chairman,” and while she knows this type of assignment could be career-threatening, she feels duty-bound to accept them. There is no SOP for being APOC, except that it isn't combat-as-usual. Part spy, part soldier, part political window dressing, Esther has to adapt to everything from clandestine meetings with rebel forces, hostage rescues, and off-the-record sniper missions to being a courier between the chairman and other heads of state.

Esther and Noah Lysander are the twin children of General Ryck Lysander, Commandant of the Federation Marine Corps, leader of the Evolution, and Chairman of the Federation. When they are told that their father and mother have been assassinated, they are both devastated. Cut adrift, they each decide to enlist in the Corps, but for different reasons.

It’s the 22nd century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There’s just one catch: We are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain, and there’s only one way for humanity to move up - by becoming mercenaries. In every mercenary’s life, though, there comes a time when things go wrong and even the best laid plans go awry.

Private First Class Aiden Kaas has enlisted in the Marines for all the wrong reasons. Now deployed to Iraq at the age of 19, he just wants to put in his time and serve out his enlistment. However, after being bitten by a seemingly rabid mujahideen, he finds himself suffering from a strange illness, one with consequences beyond his wildest imaginings. As the disease ravages his body and exposes him to dangers far darker than active combat, Aiden discovers what it means to come of age.

The Corps has been integrated by imperial decree - but that doesn’t mean everyone accepts the wyntonan Marines. Despite an impressive combat record as a grunt, Corporal Leif Hollow struggles to become an effective NCO and leader of Marines. When the trumpets of war sound, however, Marines forget about differences and come together to accomplish the mission. But when the odds are stacked against them and the empire’s very existence is at stake, will that be enough?

Sergeant Leif a’Hope Hollow is the first of his people to earn the coveted title. He never knew how soon he and his fellow raiders would have to prove themselves on the field of battle. After the failed coup to oust the emperor, the Novacks do not fade quietly into the background. They continue a low-grade insurgency, but in doing so, they open the door to other players that bring the entire empire to the brink of destruction. Sergeant a’Hope Hollow must lead a ragtag group of fellow non-humans in an attempt to avert a catastrophe that can wipe out humans forever.

Michiko MacCailin is a member of the First Families, more concerned with her privileged lifestyle of ballet, spending time with friends, and planning her wedding than of the injustices suffered by the indentured workers of the all-powerful Propitious Interstellar Fabrication, Inc., the charter holder of the planet. When her activist fiancé is murdered at a protest rally, she blames the company and embarks on a personal mission of vengeance.