Moss LeFer isn’t in the military or at least not any more. He’s supposed to be on Bellona Prime enjoying his retirement or at least the rest of his life with Hali and the kids. They have built a beautiful place in the Grand Valley and wanted to keep it beautiful and peaceful. That’s why he went to Lexton when the first of the Radessarian Sartan drop ships started landing. He knew the militia and those in charge of the city/planet had no idea what they were in for.
He easily slipped back into his Marine mold and started a his own mini-war with the Sartans. He found a few Lexton Militia that could do somethings, but they were not very well trained. Still, he and they got the job done by stopping the Sartan attack on Lexton. Now there were a few straggler Sartans that had headed for the wilderness and would feed off the settlers when and wherever they found them. Moss knew the job wasn’t done until every last Sartan was dead. So, while he didn’t exactly volunteer to hunt down the remaining Sartans, the Chief Minister decided that he was the best one suited to lead the city militia for now. So, they commissioned Sergeant Moss LeFer to Captain and placed in officially in-charge of all militia. That didn’t set well with Chief of Police Gentry who thought very highly of himself and made a point to tell everyone that he could handle the Sartans on his own if given the militia. But, that wasn’t going to work because everyone knew that Gentry was an idiot and was just looking to grab power so he could take over the city.
So, now Captain Moss LeFer manages to grab a few good militia people and they take off to get rid of the remaining Sartans. They get this job done, but it’s not without cost. Moss himself is still suffering from wounds he got in the initial battle, but he’s not one to quit. Anyway, his team killed all but about a dozen Sartans who have fled to the mountains. They split up into to groups of two or three and it was going to be impossible to find and kill them in a reasonable amount of time. Besides, he and his troops were about exhausted. They desperately needed some rest.
So, back in the capital Lexton, Captain Moss is meeting with the city leadership. Chief Minister Crumbwise is lauding Captain LeFer’s actions, but Chief Gentry keeps telling everyone that the job isn’t done. But, he also says he could have done better although he’s certainly not volunteering to finish the job. Moss is really tired of all this political stuff so he decides to resign his commission, such that it was, and go back home to his wife and kids. Of course that suits Gentry just fine. While it doesn’t appear to be anymore Sartan threat in the area, he can work on getting more support so he can take over the Chief Ministers job.
Moss doesn’t like the fact that there are Sartans roaming the country side even though they are not in the Grand Valley. He gets some rest and then decides that he’s going to have to go after them and make sure they don’t cause any serious trouble. Seems like he just can’t stay away from the fighting. He has a very competent former militia Lieutenant with who came back to Moss and Hali’s retreat for a rest and he has Loren who we met in the first book. They form a pretty deadly team and go after the few remaining Sartans on Bellona Prime.
Now that that’s done, Moss and his family feel like it’s time to take a break and look forward to a vacation in one of the costal cities. But first, the need to stop off in Lexton and meet with the city leaders who are discussing potential ways to protect the city and planet should the Radessarians and Sartans return. Moss has told them he figured they would some day return and the planet needed to be ready. But, again Chief Gentry gets in the way and Moss gets tired of the whole thing. He provides his input and leaves only to get caught up in one of Chief Gentry’s political games.
Once he’s gotten out of that mess, he and his wife and extended family finally get to Avalon and are enjoying some nice beach time. That’s when Moss spots three lights streaking across the night sky. It looks like the Radessairans are back and they have brought a lot of Sartan warriors with them. The drop-pods begin raining down on the planet. So, instead of going back to his valley home and getting prepared there, Moss finds himself back with the Lexton militia again fighting the Sartans only this time it looks like he and everyone else might lose. Great story and lots of fighting.
This is a good series that isn’t over yet. I sometimes wonder if Sergeant, now Captain LeFer, doesn’t have a death wish. He certainly doesn’t have to protect the city or planet that grudgingly acknowledges his already immense help during the last incursion by the Sartans. Now, here comes another invasion, but Moss doesn’t go back home to just protect his own, but he’s got to jump in and try to protect everyone. Not sure why he’s doing all this; not sure I would, that I do know. Still, I’m looking for the next book, “Hard Site” which is supposed to be on Amazon some time around 31 May 2022.