[Women of the United Federation Marines 01] • Women of the United Federation Marines Trilogy

The Women of the United Federation Marines is the omnibus version of the three books in the series. Each book follows the career of one of three women who first cross paths while members of the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines before the needs of the service lead them on her own journey of service to the United Federation.

Gladiator

United Federation Marine Lance Corporal Tamara Veal catches the attention of recruiters who nominate her to serve as a Single Combat Specialist. Gladiators, as they are better known, are genetically modified human champions who meet Klethos d’relle in the combat ring when the Klethos issue a challenge for a human world. Win, and the planet stays in human possession; lose, and not only do they lose their lives, but the world as well. With the Klethos much more advanced and militarily powerful, able to defeat humanity in an all-out war, the challenge ring is the only way to retain at least some of the worlds of man.

While life as a gladiator is full of celebrity status and the gratitude of humanity, it comes with a heavy price. Not only is there the real risk of death in the ring, if a gladiator survives that, the “Brick,” or Boosted Regeneration Cancer, will claim her life within a few years.

Lance Corporal Veal, who has found a home in the Marines, has to decide whether to accept the nomination. She would have to leave her brothers and sisters in the Corps, be assigned to the combined human gladiator course, and undergo extreme genetic modification that will leave her almost unrecognizable from the woman she was before. Becoming a gladiator will enable her to serve humanity to a far greater extent than anything else she could do as a Marine grunt, but at a tremendous personal cost.

Author’s note: For those readers familiar with my other Marine-related books, this one is a little different in that there is far less combat action, particularly from a Marine unit standpoint.

Sniper

After a successful initial tour as a Marine rifleman, Lance Corporal Gracie Medicine Crow volunteers to become a scout-sniper, one of the deadliest—and most dangerous—military specialties in the United Federation Marine Corps.

Gracie comes from the Apsáalooke Nation, a people with a long history of military tradition. Small in stature and considered stunningly beautiful, she is often underestimated, but that merely drives her to be the best sniper in the Corps. Somewhat wary of her fellow snipers’ attention and interaction with her, she maintains what she considers a professional front, but one that is not as well received by others—and one that earns her the nickname of “Ice Princess.” A technically skilled sniper, Gracie feels her shooting should speak for itself. But being a scout-sniper is far more than simple marksmanship. If she wants a career in the Corps, she must learn not only teamwork, but how to be a leader of Marines.

Corpsman

Nova Esperança offers no future for Liege Neves as a gangrat and daughter of the favelas. With one goal in mind—to save her younger sister and ailing grandfather from a difficult and hopeless future—Liege’s only option is the Federation Navy. Scoring higher on her entrance exams than anyone had expected, Liege enlists as a corpsman and hopes for a safe career that will allow her to get her Avó the help he requires.

The needs of the Navy always take precedence, however, and instead of an expected hospital billet, Liege’s life takes a dangerous turn when her first set of orders is to the Fleet Marine Corps instead. After being trained to heal and save lives, she is suddenly issued a weapon and thrust into combat to defend the Federation.