by J. N. Chaney
Copyrighted Material
Sentenced to War Copyright © 2021 by Variant Publications
Book design and layout copyright © 2020 by JN Chaney
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from JN Chaney.
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Contents
Glossary
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Part II
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Epilogue
Nominate Sentenced to War
Acknowledgments
Connect with J.N. Chaney
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About the Authors
Glossary
AGMS: Anti-G Straining Maneuvers
ASAP: As Soon As Possible
BC: the digital currency for most nations
BOCT: Benevolent Order of Crystal Technicians
Bronze Nova: the third-highest medal in the Union military
CCR-32 Didactic Interface: the AI implanted into the Marines’ heads.
Cerrocrete: a very strong futuristic concrete
CG: Commanding General
CO: Commanding Officer
COH: Council of Humanity, the highest authority of mankind
CST: Combat Simulation Trainer
D-5 Cord: an explosive-saturated cord
DC/Direct Combat: Marines such as infantry, recon mech combat engineers, who will face the enemy in direct combat.
DI: Drill Instructor
Dykstra: a heavy sniper rifle
E-Club: Enlisted Club where the lowest three ranks can hang out, drink, and eat.
ECR: Effective Casualty Radius. The radius from a detonation within which will produce 50% casualties
EMP: Electro-magnetic Pulse. Will shut down all electronics within range
EOE: End of Enlistment
FTL: Faster Than Light, a starship drive
Gold Nova: the second highest medal in the Union military forces
G-Loc: G-force induced loss of consciousness
Groundpounders: slang for infantry
HE: High Explosive
Host: the military arm of the Frisian Mantle, a sometime ally/enemy of the Perseus Union
KIA: Killed in Action
Leaches: Military slang for civilians
M49 Assault Rifle: the standard weapon of the Union Marines. It fires a 2mm high-velocity dart.
M-102 Nellis: the Marine Corps’ main sniper rifle
M-133: a heavy weapon fired by mech Marines
MF-30: a standard issue handgun
MilDes: Military Designator
MilDes Ninety-nine/Ninety-nine: essentially indentured servants in uniform
MMCS: Marine Mechanical Combat Suit
MP: Military Police
MPT: Military Placement Test
NCO: Non-commissioned Officer. The middle two ranks of enlisted Marines
NM: Neuro-mapping
NVD: Night Vision Device
Omega Division/OD: the secret police and spy agency of the Union
Optisight: a flexible optical tube
PAL-3: Personal Armor, Light 3: the standard body armor for an infantry Marine
PAL-5: Personal Armor, Light 5. The standard body armor of recon Marines and Raiders.
Paladin: a large Centaur heavy mech unit, similar to a light tank
PFC: Private First Class
Phoenix MG-3 Incendiary Mine: a small grenade that can burn through most substances
Plastiderm: a synthetic skin that is used in medical procedures
PN: Platinum Nova the highest military award in the Perseus Union military
Poolee: someone who is committed to the Corps but who is not yet been sworn in as a recruit
PQ: Personality Quotient. Used to determine the human characteristics of some AIs
PUNS: Perseus Union Naval Ship
Raider: part of Recon, but with more combat-focused missions instead of surveillance
Recon: Reconnaissance Marine
Riever: a smaller Centaur mech unit, similar to a Marine Raider or reconnaissance Marine.
Secdrones: Security drones used by the police
SNCO: Staff Non-commissioned Officer. The highest three ranks among enlisted Marines.
SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
Syksky: a deep-fried bread stuffed with spiced meat and vegetables
WIA: Wounded in Action
XM-554: a more powerful missile designed to have more punch
XO: Executive Officer, the #2 person in the unit.
Yellowjacket: a shoulder-launched missile
Yellowshirt: a Navy sailor charged with moving people and goods around a flight line.
Part I
1
Life was good.
The timgsten-rock blared across the park, the bass making Rev’s very bones shake as he sat on top of the picnic table, tapping his feet on the bench. He drained his beer, then reached down to prod Mia with his toe for another. She slapped at it with feigned annoyance but reached into the bag and tossed him one up and over her shoulder. He had to half-rise to snag it.
“Nice grab,” Witter said, barely audible over the music. “Can’t be having alcohol abuse, now.”
“Never,” Rev said as he held up the drinkpack like a trophy and sat back down. He popped the cooltab, then waited as the pack frosted over before taking a long pull.
In another six weeks, he’d be done with school, and two after that, he’d start his guild apprenticeship, thanks to his stepfather. The old man had c
ome through for him, that was for sure.
Rev reached over and gently tousled Mia’s hair as she leaned in to her best friend Laney’s ear to tell her something. She ignored the familiarity, but at least she didn’t object. He’d known Mia for years, ever since primary, but it wasn’t until word got out—leaked by him—that he’d scored the Benevolent Order of Crystal Technicians that she’d promoted him from one of the guys to her one guy.
Rev wasn’t uni material. He’d barely been secondary school material, so getting into a guild was pretty impressive. He wasn’t under any false impression that he’d made it on his own, but too often, it wasn’t what you knew but rather who you knew. And he knew Max Throndson, the man who’d married his mother nine years ago, and pertinent to Rev getting the position, a full member of the BOCT.
It would take Rev three years to make journeyman, but once achieved, he’d be home free. He’d never be megarich, but he’d make a good, secure salary, with lifelong benefits, especially with the war going on. The military would always need crystals.
It really wasn’t surprising that Mia had immediately gravitated to him once she found out about his apprenticeship. School was almost over, and all the kings and queens of campus were starting to look to their futures. Rev wasn’t sure he wanted anything long term with her, but he was more than willing to enjoy her company for a while, and being with her raised him more than a few notches with everyone else.
Witter leaned in close to Rev’s ear. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Do you think your dad can put in a good word for me with the BOCT?”
Witter was Laney’s boyfriend, and someone he’d just met today. There was no way he was going to ask his stepdad anything of the sort, but he didn’t want to alienate the guy.
“I can’t hear you,” Rev shouted, pointing to his ear and then to the music pod.
Which was somewhat true. Even if he wanted to hold a conversation, the music was blaring, and he wasn’t about to spend the evening trying to lipread. Hopefully, Witter would forget to ask him later. He turned away and took another swallow of beer.
Across the small park and under the pavilion, about twenty men and women were gaming, jacks plugged into the base of their necks, their eyes closed. Rev rolled his eyes.
His stepdad made some of the crystals that made immersive gaming possible. In a way, gamers provided for his family’s livelihood. Despite this, his mother thought very little of those who left reality for days on end to live in a fantasy world. Rev adopted his mother’s attitude, and he thought immersive gamers were losers.
He didn’t care much about the casual gamers who only wasted some of their free time. But for the hardcore jackheads, those who withdrew and lived on the government dole, it was a different story. They contributed nothing to society. At least that’s what his mother said, and Rev thought there was truth in that. If they didn’t work, they weren’t paying taxes, relying on the rest of society for their support.
Rev didn’t know which type those across the small park were, and he didn’t care. He wanted to live in the real world. Looking at Mia sitting on the row below him, her long brown hair shining in the park lights, that seemed a much better option.
It wasn’t as if Rev didn’t play games. He gamed like everyone else, but not through jacks, which took the gamer out of the real universe and into a fake one. And it wasn’t just because he couldn’t get a jack while still a minor. Raised with his parent’s work ethic, he just saw the immersive games as an escape by losers who couldn’t hack reality.
A couple of the jackheads kept glancing at them, sour looks on their faces. The four were blaring the music pretty loud, he had to admit, especially if it was bleeding into their games.
With a sigh, he stepped down to where Mia and Laney were chatting and reached to the pod to lower the volume.
Mia grabbed his wrist. “What’re you doing? I like it like this.”
She pulled his hand away and not only put the volume back, but she increased it until he could feel the bass in his heart. She gave him a dismissive stare before turning back to her friend.
Rev wanted to remind her that there were others in the park, but this was Mia Szeth. An A-lister. Someone out of his social circle until he scored his apprenticeship. Her look quashed anything he’d been about to say.
Witter had watched the little exchange. He gave Rev a we’re-in-this-together look, took a swallow of his beer, and leaned back, using the next row as a seatback.
The increased volume caught more attention from the jackheads. Two stood up, then a third. They started talking together, all the time glancing back at the four of them. They must have come to a decision, because one of them, a twenties-something guy, unjacked, then casually walked across the grass to them.
Shit. I knew I should have just lowered the volume more.
Mia stood as soon as the man started coming over. She gave Rev a quick glance, then signaled him to stand next to her.
Rev assumed that most gamers were doughy, out-of-shape rejects, but this guy was cut. He had a gamer’s wimby—the back of his head shaved and the front long and puffed out. Standing about 1.9 meters, he was broad across the chest with major guns, maxing out at around a hundred, maybe a hundred-and-ten kilos.
Rev was about the same height and fifteen kilos lighter, and he instinctively puffed up his chest as the smiling man came to a stop in front of Mia and him, Witter and Laney belatedly taking positions on either side of the two.
“Hey, friend,” the guy started, almost yelling to be heard over the music and holding out his hand. Rev didn’t take it.
“Uh, well, we’re wondering if you could lower the volume on your pod just a bit. It’s encroaching on our game.”
“Oh, you’re gameplayers?” Mia asked. “What’re you playing?”
The guy’s smile got bigger, and he said, “Descent into Hades.”
Rev didn’t play immersive games, but he knew about this one. Sometimes hundreds of people played against each other, and the game could go on for days, if not weeks.
“Piece of shit game, for pieces of shit jackheads,” Mia said, watching the guy’s face.
Shit, Mia! Calm down.
The man frowned, then said, “I guess you just don’t understand much then, missy, if you think D-I-H isn’t anything but the best freaking game in the galaxy.”
Mia wasn’t used to people confronting her, Rev could tell. Her mouth gaped, and she turned to Rev and asked, “Are you gonna let him talk to me like that?”
You asked for it, Rev wanted to say. But he knew that if he wanted to enjoy Mia’s company for any longer, that would be the kiss of death.
With a mental sigh, Rev took half a step forward and slightly in front of Mia. “You’d better watch your mouth, buddy. There’s a cost for being an asshole to a lady.”
Rev didn’t know where that came from. This wasn’t really like him, and if his stepdad would have been there, he’d have lifted a brow and given Rev the look. But his stepdad was back at home.
Maybe it was the beer speaking, but to Rev’s surprise, he was suddenly feeling pretty big at the moment. Mia grabbing his upper arm probably had a lot to do with his, he knew. But it was more than that. This was new territory for him, and he found it somehow exciting. The man was not a kid. Full into his prime, the guy reeked of danger, but that only heightened Rev’s excitement.
The man’s smile disappeared at Rev’s words, to be replaced with a frown. “No offense. But there’re rules here. You can’t bother others in the park.”
“The pod is on public settings,” Mia said from around Rev’s side. “We don’t have to lower the volume.”
“Public settings until someone complains. Look it up,” the man said, slightly widening his feet as if finding his balance. Behind him, two other jackheads started forward, but he turned and held out a hand to stop them.
“Well, I suggest you go back to Hades where you won’t hear us,” Mia said to Laney’s snickers.
The man rolled his eye
s, then started to go around them, reaching for the pod.
Mia darted out a hand and slapped his arm. The man froze, arm outstretched for a moment, and then he reached out for Mia’s shoulder as if to push her out of the way.
Mia gave a tiny yip, and Rev blocked his hand. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
The man stopped and very deliberately looked Rev up and down, his smile getting bigger.
“And who’s going to stop me? You?” he said with a half-laugh, clearly dismissing Rev as a threat.
And that incensed Rev. He was often underestimated, and it drove him crazy.
But he didn’t react. Even with the thrill of danger, Rev was not stupid enough to get into a physical fight in public, not with conscription ramping up higher.
But the man reached, and before Rev could do anything, Mia let go of Rev’s arm to give the guy a smack on the chest. The man reacted, pulling back . . . and somehow, Mia went down. Rev wasn’t sure if she was pushed or if she slipped, but he snapped.
He had to protect her.
Drawing from strength he didn’t realize he possessed, he put every gram of his existence into the punch, connecting flush with the man’s chin and dropping him like a sack of flour.