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.

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.

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.

Ryck has proven himself as a warrior and a hero, but in times of peace, that can lead to trouble. Ryck's temper gets the best of him, and because of that, and with a heavy heart, he resigns his commission. As an old enemy comes a-calling, a new threat surfaces, and Ryck's services are once again needed.

Federation Marine continues with Commandant.

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.

Anxious to forge her own path away from her father's shadow, the newly minted Second Lieutenant Esther Lysander jumps into her first command, an infantry platoon. Driven to excel, she's not going to let anything get in her way as she climbs to the top. Leading a pack of Marines, however, requires more than just courage and understanding the tactics of war. She has to lead, not merely command. As much as she wants to succeed in her own right, it isn't that easy. For good and bad, everyone knows who she is and the legacy she carries.

Noah Lysander, son of the former Marine Commandant and Chairman of the Federation, followed his twin sister in enlisting as a Marine. While Esther excelled, getting commissioned as an officer, Noah is not so driven, and when he proposes to Miriam, he makes a pledge to be a better husband and future parent than his own father had been. Reenlisting for armor, Noah becomes a crewman on an M1 Davis, the most powerful tank ever developed.

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.

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.

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: