This is the omnibus version of the first three books in The United Federation Marine Corps series. It follows Ryck Lysander from his time as a recruit up to his service as a lieutenant.
Book 1: Recruit 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.
Book 2: Sergeant 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.
Book 3: Lieutenant 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.