Breacher

By Tom Julian

Like Full Metal Jacket in Space

Betrayal is just the beginning... somewhere in orbit off one of Saturn’s moons, a ship sits in darkness, awaiting its own destruction.

An elite squad approaches.

Malfunction.

Destruction.

Three friends are set on the path to bitter rivalry. Before Timberwolf Vélez became a legend, before Emmanuel Gray became a bishop, and Michael Solandro became his right hand, they were soldiers.

Together.

And before twenty years of war pitted Earth against the galaxy, they formed part of an elite group of special operatives...

The Breachers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tom Julian
• Release date: Nov 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370421459

Tom Julian

Tom Julian works days at pharmaceutical company, helping to support research in to new cancer drugs, and nights and weekends as an author. He enjoys traveling, long-distance cycling, and waking up early to brew the perfect cup of coffee. He’s an unabashed beer snob and native of Trenton, New Jersey. Tom’s first novel, Timberwolf, is a military science fiction story originally envisioned as a film. The author worked hard to transfer its cinematic qualities to the page and hopes that Twolf is the best science-fiction movie you'll ever read! Tom is the father of Izzy and Liam and husband to the lovely Brenda-Lea. He writes while warming his feet under his Bernese mountain dog, Maggie May. Favorite movie/book/food = O Brother, Where Art Thou?/The Sirens of Titan/Trenton-style tomato pie.

Book preview

BREACHER

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, places, incidents, and dialogue are the product of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real, or if real, are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, either living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2017 by Tom Julian

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For more information, to inquire about rights to this or other works, or to purchase copies for special educational, business, or sales promotional uses please write to: [e-mail]

SECOND EDITION

TOC

Bullshit Call

Technicals

News of the day

Breacher, Breacher, Breacher

Bessie

Enceladus

Tough Gravity

The Grateful Day

It’s all men that make up the world

Author Bio

Preview of Timberwolf! (full novel)

Breacher

By Tom Julian

Dedication

I dedicate this book to Anchor House, which provides shelter and a second chance for runaway, homeless, abused, and at-risk youth. May the work you do to help the kids be known all across the galaxy! Donate at www.anchorhouseride.org.

Acknowledgments

To my parents, Tom and Catherine, who both turn 75 this summer! Thank you for my imagination and my sense of humor. This one is for you! To Maggie May, the Bernese foot warmer. Special thanks to Keri the Super Editor and Fiona for the badass covers!

Bullshit Call

Fort Chancellor, Costa Rica, Earth

Captain Gray stared at the ceiling. The clock read 2:15 A.M. and he couldn’t sleep. He went through the day’s events in his head again and what the Combat Drop Committee had told him. His posting to the frontier was being denied. They needed rabid dogs out there to fight the Phaelon and they wanted officers with combat-drop experience. Gray felt the scar on his temple. I have no combat-drop experience because I can’t rate for a drop. He winced when he thought about what Colonel Karp had suggested. Go see the civilian transition officer.

Hell no. I am not doing that. He rose from his bed, flicking on the lamp on his end table. He saw himself in the full-length mirror - squat, muscled, nimble. His jaw angular and his head cleanly shaved. They’d done a great job of putting him back together. Despite his injuries, he didn’t feel any pain and he’d seen his fair share of action. He’d rained artillery halfway up Olympus Mons and turned back rebels crawling through the ducts at Station Ceres. He could run drills faster than men half his age. He’d take your head off hand-to-hand, but he still wasn’t rated to drop. He couldn’t get on to a drop-lifter and crash through an atmosphere. He could fight all he wanted on the surface, if he could find a nice, safe way down that wouldn’t blow all the piping in his head.

I am not seeing the goddamned civilian transition officer. He winced from the thought, chewing the inside of his mouth. Gray had been in charge of the cadet training program at Fort Chancellor for the last two years. According to all measures, he’d done a fantastic job. The men he was turning out were off-the-charts aggressive, finely tuned raptors; but he was ambitious and his career was in a rut. Without a drop rating – no combat experience on the frontier. Without combat experience on the frontier – no clear path to he upper ranks. Still, he couldn’t imagine a day when he didn’t put on a uniform.

His smart-device buzzed. He smirked; it was either a bullshit call or something extremely serious. Since he was up, he hoped it wasn’t bullshit.

Gray here.

It’s Cadet Velez. Sergeant Blake, the martial arts instructor hissed. This one won’t stop challenging the instructors. He’s doing push-ups now. Bullshit call.

I was sound asleep. Gray lied. Can’t you deal with your own assholes?

Gray could hear Blake exhale long. I want him out of here tonight, sir.

Which one is Velez? Gray pretended. He knew damn well who he was.

"He’s the one… sir you were there. Him and I

[tomjulian1972 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novella covers an incredible amount of ground in just a few short chapters. He manages some nice worldbuilding. The author really does a great job of putting you in the action with some pretty interesting characters. If you want a tight, exciting, quick read - give it a shot. it's part of a bigger series, so there seems to be more where this came from. Not sure of the realism of getting authorization to drop a giant spaceship on a moon that might have life underneath its icy crust. I guess no tree-huggers were consulted!