Look What I Found Underneath The Bed...

The story...
Near the end of the 21st Century, with the discovery of hyper photo spatial-displacement drive, humankind explodes onto the stars. After only a century of expansion, violent disputes over a string of planets and asteroids in the Hyades star cluster, called the Steel Chain, necessitate the formation of a powerful voting block in the United Nations General Assembly, known as the Steel Chain Cooperative (SCC). From this new order the Military Alliance Deputation (MAD) was established to enforce their resolutions. After less than thirty years of operations the MAD was disbanded. Twelve divisions of volunteers were stationed in the distant Pleiades cluster, in a newly developing area called the Steel Annex (SA), to police the rapidly expanding frontier. -With the traditional lines of communication and supply stretched beyond the breaking point, the SA was soon commissioned to operate with autonomy. Out of sight they were quickly forgotten. Seventy years later, unresolved disputes between the members of the SCC and the frontier states escalate. The hostilities compel the forces of the SA to intervene on behalf of the frontier. In response, the Cooperative reactivates the MAD outside the control of the UN. What followed was a war that few people knew about and fewer cared to understand. After 14 years it ends in stalemate. None of the concessions made to the forces of the Annex were to be honored.

The people...
Jacob Graves (Buzzard) a total underachiever before joining the SA was considered mediocre at best and voted "most likely to die" by his fellow privates; but when put to the test he surprises them all. He finds his niche as a solder climbing to the rank of Field Marshal all the while his personal life becomes an unmitigated disaster. His indiscretions (though culturally acceptable nowadays) result in collateral damage that leaves him reeling as he approaches sixty... "All the women in my life have been exoskeleton hard psychopaths. The kind of babe that devours the male of their species like a mantis after copulation." - Jacob
Maria Ramirez (Tiger Bitch) went through boot with Jacob and ultimately ended up as his ex-wife. Now, as his superior, she would rather opt to strangle him if it wasn't for the son they share. Their love/hate relationship is legendary, and the sarcasm and hostility she throws his way can't soften the realization that her life would be so less interesting without him... "If you ever see me give him one of those big doe-eyed, can't live without you looks for his ass, do me a favor, will you...shoot me." - Maria
Nicole Burke (Red Hell) is a clone originally bred for the flesh trade and a bone of contention between Jacob and Maria. As a lover to both she continues to maintain a strong bond with Maria, but manages to put Jacob behind her even though she has had two children by him... "I think I'm the only woman alive who preserved her sanity by getting a uterus." - Nicole
Jessica Burke, the twelve year old daughter of Nicole and Jacob, isn't your normal preteen. A loner by choice, she is derisive, on just this side of insolent, and carries a dark secret... "I'll play, father. Only to watch you squirm." - Jessie