by JR Handley
While the fleet was settling into its orbit around one of the orbital elevator tethers, Nhlappo reviewed all of the citations for the Marines and Spacers remaining in the system. She authorized the promotion of the former Aux, Ashanti Okoro, and a slew of other minor awards for battlefield heroics. She knew GG would assume command of the three cities on the planet, and Nhlappo was confident that the system would quickly be made damn near impregnable.
Her final task before she set sail for Rakasa was to approve the last promotion for her fleet. Marchewka had insisted the Legion promote the aerial squadron commander, Commander Mawr Bryn, to fleet admiral. She would be given command of the fleet of troop transports that would be accompanying the warships. With the dual command structure, they would be able to safeguard their cargo of iced Marines, freeing Tizer to command the warships, should they have to fight. Nhlappo suspected the two of them were privately seeking to repopulate the galaxy with wee Jotuns, but the thought of what that meeting might look like made her skin crawl. She quickly pushed it from her mind and went back to the practical matters at hand.
When the ship had secured a stable orbit, Nhlappo ordered the cryo techs on the planet to begin the cryogenic freezing of all of the Sangurians under Colonel Folta’s command. She wanted them safely iced in the troopship cryo decks for the duration of the journey to their new homeworld, allowing her own incubated Sangurians to be free to train during the voyage. Folta’s horde would have good company as they slept – the new Jotun and human Marine units were already being loaded up. As many troops as they could fit into the fleet of transports. She knew the Spacers had taken to calling these carriers the Popsicle Fleet, but she pretended not to notice.
After hearing about their conduct under Colonel Scipio’s command, Marchewka had insisted that the 828th be assigned to her command ship. He wasn’t happy with how they’d dishonored themselves, and he couldn’t stomach serving with them. Out of sight, out of mind must be a galactically ubiquitous motto, she mused. Nhlappo, however, was a realist. She knew they needed bodies to fill the holes in their ranks, and wouldn’t allow them to be executed. Instead, she’d made them join her ship’s Marine complement where Anderson could whip them into shape. If not, they would become General McEwan’s problem. She’d smirked as she’d marked them for immediate transfer.
Satisfied that all the naval assets were being loaded correctly, Nhlappo officially transferred command of the system to Field Marshal Gaarjar. All the Marines and Spacers leaving the system would be on their ships within the week, awaiting the final step to their next mission.
“Gabrielle, get me a line to the fleet.”
There was no reply, merely the click of acknowledgment before the screen on her Aimee went green.
“Attention, all fleet assets. This is Field Marshal Nhlappo. The fleet will be loaded within the week. Congratulations, we’ve all just rejoined the war effort. We lost good men and women fighting to secure this system. Now let’s make their sacrifice significant and strike a blow at our oppressors. Freedom can be won! Nhlappo, out.”
Nhlappo, I have prepared our final trajectory to the Rakasa System. Sending it to your screen now.
“Thank you, Gabrielle, and call me Tirunesh.”
— Chapter 87 —
2641 AD
HLS Mosi Okoro, Outside Rakasa System
Commander, 6907th TAC RGT, Human Legion
The battle for Tranquility had been hard, and Colonel Lance Scipio was only now coming to grips with what that meant for him. In the aftermath of the chaos, he’d taken the opportunity to spend time with his former commander, Grimgerde. She was as fierce and unyielding as he remembered, hiding her softer side behind harsh growls and slaps to the back of her subordinates’ heads. They talked about everything since they’d been revived outside Rakasa, in preparation for the attempt to claim the system for the Legion.
Since the revival, she’d taken to waking him up at all hours of the sleep cycle to wax philosophical. What surprised him the most, however, was the eagerness with which she got behind the idea of humans being paired in committed relationships. She insisted that this practice be allowed to continue, as long as both parties were willing and not in the same chain of command. Lance didn’t entirely understand her rationale, but he accepted it as a positive thing for humanity.
“We’ll grandfather you in, Lance, since you’re already sleeping with your subordinate officer. I would say you more than earned that accommodation. Now make it official, already! It’s time for humanity to claim its place in the galaxy.”
It took a while, but eventually Lance followed her order, and the example set by his longtime friends Tendaji and Isabella. He brought Sashala a flower, asking her to be his for eternity. She accepted and was officially made his mate. Now they planned an uncertain future together. He wished that the next adventure in the new Human Legion wouldn’t be as bloody, but he knew better than to get his hopes up. The Legion was headed to the Rakasa System to fulfill their promise to the Sangurians, and to seize the sleeping fleet. He knew it was there, waiting to be woken. He hoped they could capture it without bloodshed, but either way, their fleet would seize the system. The White Knights already had enough of an upper hand in this war, and he was convinced that claiming this system would turn that around. Lance was sitting in the HLS Mosi Okoro’s officers mess with Nhlappo, Grimgerde, and Marchewka when Sashala walked in, joining them.
“It seems you won’t get to fulfil Sergeant Major Thorn’s dying request,” Sashala said happily. “You won’t get two mates, after all. She just hitched her wagon to Basil. Here’s hoping they make brilliant little warrior babies, and she stays far away from you.”
“A warrior having multiple mates isn’t unprecedented,” Grimgerde said. “Don’t you want to give Lance a holiday gift?”
There was a moment of stunned silence, followed by Marchewka and Grimgerde letting off an odd keening sound that Lance had learned was what passed for Jotun laughter. He stared at them impassively, trying not to let them see he’d fallen for Grimgerde’s ruse when they finally stopped.
“You three can work out your mating squabbles later. Tomorrow we have an invasion to plan,” said Grimgerde as the mess steward handed out more grok. “And tonight we drink to the fallen.”
“For the Legion!” Lance said, lifting his glass.
“Forward to Victory,” replied Nhlappo, managing to turn a solemn toast to their deceased comrades into a cheer for a hopeful future.
“Forward to Victory!” the rest replied in unison, lifting their glasses in the hopes of a brighter future.
AFTER
ACTION
REVIEW
— About the Author —
J. R. Handley is a pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team. He is a veteran infantry sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division and later the 28th Infantry Division. She is the kind of crazy that interprets his insanity into cogent English. He writes the sci-fi while she proofreads it. The sergeant is a two-time combat veteran of the late unpleasantness in Mesopotamia where he was wounded, likely doing something stupid. He started writing military science fiction as part of a therapy program suggested by his doctor, and hopes to entertain you while he attempts to excise his demons through these creative endeavors. In addition to being just another dysfunctional veteran, he is a stay at home wife, avid reader and all around nerd. Luckily for him, his Queen joins him in his fandom nerdalitry.
Follow the author’s blog at: jrhandley.com
— To the Handley Space Cadets: —
Let’s face it, this book couldn’t have been finished without the help of your awesome work. I owe you more than a few silly lines on this page could ever show, so I’ll stick with a simple ‘Thank You’ from the deepest boughs of my petrified heart. Even though I’ll list a few, they’re by no means everyone and if I missed anyone I’ll be eternally sorry. But hey, we can always blame the ghosts in the machine!
Amanda Webb
Andrea Hite
Dr. Barin Vyas
Chris Kennedy
Corey Truax
SFC Jeffery Reed, USA (ret)
Kathy Hite, RN
Leif Dolan
R. Flair
Thomas Estus
Thomas Weaver Spence
Tim C. Taylor
CPL Gordon Taylor, 7th Armoured Division, The Desert Rats
— Special Thanks to —
First I need to thank Tim C. Taylor, the creator of the Human Legion Saga for giving me this chance to spread my literary wings. Hopefully I don’t let you down, destroy anything too important or tank your series which I still love reading.
Then, like any sensible man I realize that I wouldn’t be here without the loving support of my wife and two sons. They tolerated the time I spent writing, editing and re-writing, and occasionally yelling at my monitor. I would like to especially thank my wife, because without even trying, she was my rock, my motivation and my muse. I would also like to thank my sons who bragged to everyone they knew that “Daddy was a writer” before I’d even penned two lines, making it impossible to even consider giving up.
I would like to thank my parents, both biological and otherwise, for their love and support along the way. Your support of my family throughout this process has made everything possible. And especially to my mother and partner in crime, you were an outstanding sounding board and muse! If this spaceship takes off, I owe you a steak or ten!
Additionally, I need to thank my best friend Thomas Estus, who never let me forget that he believed in me and this project. He was always encouraging, appropriately prodding and genuinely a pain in the arse when I slacked off. Without him, there might be no Sleeping Legion.
Equally as important, I would like to send my most heartfelt thanks to the lady who helped me live through and with the war. Participating in the late unpleasantness in Mesopotamia was grisly, stressful and negatively life altering. While I was in Iraq, a special ‘Soldiers Angel’ Susan Leighton, sent me share packages and love from the world we left. The letters and calls to her and her family were a lifeline when I disparately needed one. Were it not for her, I might not be here today.
When I came home from the war in Iraq, I met another special lady, Dr. Marinell Miller, at the Veterans Administration Hospital. She taught me to live with what happened and to take it one day at a time. Without her, I might have been just another statistic on the evening news: Local War Vet Commits Suicide. Her work to untold thousands of veterans has saved lives, you’ll never meet a finer doctor or ally when life is hard.
Also, lest they be forgotten, I would like to thank my Game of War friends. I enjoyed time in two great alliances, the New Carthage Nomads (NCR) of Peisinoe and the Nuthouse of Odin (NhO) of Odin. I want to especially thank the fine folks of NhO who took me in when I had to start again with everything I’d learned messing it up in the first kingdom. You know who you are and what you mean to me, being my friend when I was lonely, a shoulder when I cried and a maniacal laugh when my jokes where finally funny again. We had some good times together during a time when I needed to escape, and for that I will always remember you fondly. To the friends I made and continue to correspond with, this one’s for you! God bless texts and carrier pigeons!
Finally, I need to thank my awesomely wonderful editors, Corey Truax, Lauren Moore, and Thomas Weaver Spence. They made a huge difference in this novel, taking it from a train wreck to something we could all be proud of! Recommending Tim C. Taylor hire them was the smartest business decision I’ve made all year!!
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NO MARINE LEFT BEHIND
Can't believe the series has ended? Tame your Sleeping Legion cravings with No Marine Left Behind.
2568AD. Marines down behind enemy lines. Only the hardiest and most cunning stand any chance of survival.
Has Sashala Kraevoi got what it takes?
Take a deep breath, strap in, and prepare to find out…
Set between the first two Sleeping Legion novels, No Marine Left Behind is a standalone novelette, a short read perfect for a single sitting. And you can get it for 99c/99p here.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving an online review at Amazon or elsewhere. Even if it’s only a line or two, it would help us enormously and we would be very grateful.
Thank you.
Table of Contents
Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E)
— 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 —
— 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 —
— Chapter 43 —
— Chapter 44 —
— Chapter 45 —
— Chapter 46 —
— Chapter 47 —
— Chapter 48 —
— Chapter 49 —
— Chapter 50 —
— Chapter 51 —
— Chapter 52 —
— Chapter 53 —
— Chapter 54 —
— Chapter 55 —
— Chapter 56 —
— Chapter 57 —
— Chapter 58 —
— Chapter 59 —
— Chapter 60 —
— Chapter 61 —
— Chapter 62 —
— Chapter 63 —
— Chapter 64 —
— Chapter 65 —
— Chapter 66 —
— Chapter 67 —
— Chapter 68 —
— Chapter 69 —
— Chapter 70 —
— Chapter 71 —
— Chapter 72 —
— Chapter 73 —
— Chapter 74 —
— Chapter 75 —
— Chapter 76 —
— Chapter 77 —
— Chapter 78 —
— Chapter 79 —
— Chapter 80 —
— Chapter 81 —
— Chapter 82 —
— Chapter 83 —
— Chapter 84 —
— Chapter 85 —
— Chapter 86 —
— Chapter 87 —
AFTER ACTION REVIEW