Desperate to escape a life of poverty on his desolate home planet, Ryck Lysander enlists in the United Federation Marine Corps, hoping to make a better future for himself. However, Ryck soon discovers that the Corps is more than a means of escaping his former life as he is pushed beyond the very limits of his strength and willpower. From bootcamp brawls to skirmishes with galactic pirates, Ryck's new life presents him with unimaginable adventures and forces him to prove his mettle as he forges his new identity and fights to earn his place as one of the Brotherhood of Marines.

Ryck Lysander has proven himself as a Marine, as a warrior. As he is promoted to sergeant, though, his responsibilities expand beyond merely fighting to leading other Marines into battle. When an old ally becomes a new enemy, one well-equipped and trained, Ryck is pushed to his very limits as he tries to keep his Marines alive while fulfilling his mission of defeating the enemy on the field of battle. Faced with extraordinary challenges and grueling missions, Ryck discovers love, loss, brotherhood, and dogged inner strength as he learns what it means to be a sergeant in the United Federation Marine Corps.

As a certified Federation “hero,” Sergeant Ryck Lysander is 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 mission as a junior office. Accepting his commission might have been a big mistake. When contact with an alien species is finally made, that contact is not peaceful, and Ryck is thrust back into combat, combat that does not end well and plunges Ryck into an emotional crisis. Thrown the lifeline of transferring to Marine Reconnaissance, where he is back to being a fighter and not responsible for as many subordinates, this is Ryck’s last chance to determine if he has what it takes to be a leader of Marines. Lieutenant is the third book of Ryck’s service as a Federation Marine.

Rebel is set in the same universe as the United Federation Marine Corps series, and while the Marines make an appearance, this book is not about Ryck Lysander or the Corps. Michiko MacCailín 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. Michi has some initial, if minor success, but when the company requests that the Federation send in the Marine Corps to quell the unrest, the stakes immediately get higher. Undeterred, Michi is willing to take on the Marines if that is what it takes to achieve her revenge. WARNING: This book contains some graphic violence that may not be suitable for all readers. AUTHOR’S NOTE: Rebel is set in the same universe as the first three books in The United Federation Marine Corps series, and a few of the characters in those three books make brief appearances in this one. However, this is a decidedly different book, examining what it might be like on the other side of a Federation Marine deployment. The battle scenes are limited, and the violence is much more visceral and personal. This is a darker, deeper book and not your typical “Space Marine” story. Rebel will tie into future volumes of the series that will put the focus back on the Marines, but it is a departure from the first three volumes.

As a captain, Ryck Lysander is given one of the most sought-after billets 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 the CO's expectations. Used to his "hero" status within the Corps, his new position of having to prove himself grates on him. Now, as his company marches to the sound of gunfire, Ryck must find it within himself to be an effective combat commander.

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 isn’t happy about the assignment, but he buckles down for a long and boring tour of duty. But action seems to follow Ryck, and this is no exception. From the diplomatic post on New Mumbai to leading one of the newly-formed Raider special ops companies, Ryck continues his eventful career as a United Federation Marine.

As a lieutenant colonel, Ryck is given command of the Second Battalion, Third Marines, the Fuzos. Along with one other battalion, 2/3 is designated as a new assault battalion, with its own armor, artillery, and air assets. 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 the logistics, training, maintenance, admin, and support aspects that allow every unit to maximize its combat potential. As a sergeant and junior office, Ryck has ordered men to their death before, but with a battalion, he has to make even harder decisions with even greater reach, decisions that will mean life and death to those affected. A proven fighting Marine, Ryck still has to master every requirement of command—the tactical and the support—if he is going to keep his career alive in the Corps.

Ryck has proven himself as a warrior, a fighter, and sometimes, in a peacetime Corps, that can get a Marine into 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. Given a second chance, Ryck answers the call, determined to make good. This new threat, however, might be insurmountable, especially when Ryck has to deal with a personal crisis that could overcome him.

This is the conclusion to Ryck Lysander’s saga as a United Federation Marine. Major General Lysander has spent 38 years of his life dedicated to the Corps and sworn to perform the duties assigned to him by the Federation. In the process, he has become the most decorated Marine in its history. During his career, he has been given some missions that he privately questions, but as the ancient Tennyson quote goes, “Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die.” He has sworn an oath to obey, and he always upholds that oath to the best of his abilities. Sworn oath or not, Ryck is faced with a situation that so horrifies him that he cannot accept it. Can he just stand by and let it proceed, or will he become an oathbreaker and put not only his life, but more importantly, that of his family, his fellow Marines and sailors, and the citizens of the Federation in peril?