Leon Michaels

It had been over one hundred years since the Great War had destroyed civilization and the remains of mankind had escaped the ruined cities to scrape out a life from the soil to survive. Willem was unaware of his parentage as he was raised by an old man in the Ozarks of Missouri. He never knew the old man's name or relationship to himself, but before the old man died, he gave Willem the task to travel west, over the far mountains, to learn of his heritage and to gain his birthright. Unlike most from the hills of Missouri, he had been educated in science and languages by the old man in preparation for his journey. But he carried a skill he was unaware of as it slowly awoke inside of him. A skill he would need once he found his heritage, and those who would rather see him in a grave instead of gaining his birthright.

The Wizard is the Codename for U.S. Marine First Lieutenant Joshua Kramer, who was a Special Operator for the Twenty-First Special Operations Group, a highly classified Black Operations organization buried deep inside the United States Special Operations Command.Kramer was one of the best single, independent Operators in the business, normally always working alone instead of with a team unless the mission required it. But an attack on Mecca with an enhanced version of the MERS virus during the Pilgrimage put Kramer with a partner. A deep cover female Mossad agent with a dark past.Their mission: To find the individual or individuals responsible for the attack on Mecca and bring his special brand of justice down on them. But someone was not only one step ahead of them, Kramer's identity was becoming known to the Intelligence world which would not only effect his usefulness, it could get him killed.

Matthew 'Matt' Walker became an orphan at the age of twelve and went to live with his paternal Grandparents. His life was not one of being pampered, but being of Cherokee Blood, he was taught many of the old ways and learned how to be self-sufficient as he grew older in rural Oklahoma.This is the story of Matthew's life. His loves, his heartaches, and his service to his country. The friends he made, and the friends he lost. And the demons he fought and lived with. It spans the decades starting in the 1960's, on into the new century.This story is the years leading up to, or it can be called the Prequel to the novel; 'The Path Home'.

The Denoyelles Family had ruled over the Federation for over one hundred generations, tracing their heritage back to Count Conrad Denoyelles of Hanover. But through time, the DNA of Count Conrad diminished until the rulers following could only claim a distant connection to the Count. And those that ascended the Throne, had become complacent in their responsibilities to the citizens of the Federation, ultimately creating a fracture within the worlds making up the Federation.The magical and mystical Delphi had joined with the Federation late in it's history, acting as advisors to the Throne until they could no longer tolerate the individuals who claimed the Throne. Although gifted with powers far beyond those of mankind, the Delphi were watchers, protectors of humanity up to a point. Learning that the Federation was at risk far before the last of the true, DNA linked Denoyelles took the Throne, the Delphi arranged for a child to be born. A child of a Denoyelles father and a Delphian mother. One who would one day save the Federation from collapse.Stephen Rawls did not know of his true heritage, nor was he aware of his purpose in life other than being a Federation Marine. This is his story.

Einstein said that God does not play dice with the Universe. The Fates of Mythology are said to weave a man's destiny into a tapestry. For Marine Corporal Raymond Johnson, going to Rodeo Drive to buy his mother a gift proved both concepts were working for, and against him.Raymond's rescue of two, young actresses from being assaulted by a homeless man proved to be a lucky break for him, when it was later discovered he had talents far above just being a simple Marine It was the invitation to a party as reward for rescuing the women that turned into a lifetime of love, heartbreak, loss, and fame. Like many scarred Veteran's, Raymond was fighting his demons, and it was those demons which guided his life, and loves. And it was those who he loved and loved him that gave him a sense of life.

As the Federation expanded into unknown space, it was up to Survey Specialists to determine the viability of each new world the expansion discovered. Senior Lieutenant Soraya Khan was one of those specialists, but her situation was different than the normal survey. The Federation Planet Catalog had the world Soraya surveying registered as QB-5547, but it was already inhabited by humans living in a Medieval life of slavery and perversions until the slaves revolted as she observed from her cloaked positions. When she was asked to intercede in the revolt to hopefully prevent the total destruction of the population, she accepted but not for the reasons given by the Sector Commander. There was an individual on QB-5547 that she had been searching for and she had to find him to fulfill her own destiny.

The Ancient Greeks said that the destiny of Man was woven into a Tapestry by the Fates. Others say it is Karma which guides a Man's destiny. And the Federation's All-Saints Church believes the Saints guides a Man's destiny. It seemed that no matter what former Fleet Commander Eli Decker did, his past came back to haunt him. As the saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished", and no man or woman can run far enough to escape their past. From a Federation Fleet Commander, to a Lancer Corporal, then on to other endeavors, Eli Decker changed his name several times, but could not escape his past until he finally had to stop and face the Survivor's Guilt he carried if he was to find peace with himself and the universe.

Maria was twelve when she was kidnapped off the streets of Panama City and trafficked to the United States, then her young body was sold to a rising Hollywood actor. Her innocence was stolen from her, but she was rescued from a life of forced prostitution by members of the covert Twenty-First Special Operations Group during one of their operations against the evils of this world. Those events put her on a path she would eventually walk with pride, and excel in as she left the horrors of her youth behind.

Carlos Gannaway was running away from home, except his was not the typical runaway scenario. He had completed his enlistment as a Fleet Engineer, then utilizing his sizeable trust fund, outfitted an obsolete, but upgraded Scout Ship to leave known space with a Federation Prospector's License and a desire to succeed on his own. Deep into unknown space he found the uninhabited planet of his dreams with riches far beyond ever found on a single planet. Except it wasn't uninhabited as sensors first told him it was, and the single individual living on this world was unlike any he had ever met before. Carlos was running away from the burden, the curse of being a member of the Federation's Royal family. With the discovery of a new race, he found the family curse had came crashing down on his shoulders.

Hayutan Marine Lieutenant Lucen Gannaway survived a disastrous attack by obsolete, propeller-driven aircraft on a developing world and swore he would find a way to insure future Marines would not have to endure such attacks without a way to defend against them. He dedicated his life to rediscovering Close Air Support for the Hayutan and Federation Marines, while experiencing love, sorrow, failure, and success in his drive to protect his Marines. The fact he was the son of the reigning Prince of the Hanover Throne gave him little help in his struggles.

Bryon Reynolds was a nobody. He was just another Desert Storm Veteran who came home and tried to make a life for himself. But just as he was on the edge of success in his delivery service, he was framed for murder when a load he delivered exploded killing dozens of Postal workers. When no one would believe his story of how he came by delivering the crates with the bombs in them, he gave up, and surrendered to his fate. But there was a joker in the deck on the date of his execution and his life would never be the same.

For twenty-five years, Lieutenant Commander Jilena Donovan hid her true identity as Jilena Borland, Princess and heir to the Thrones of Hayuta and Bellus, and possible heir to the Throne of Hanover. It was the swath of silver hair running through her locks of fiery red hair, hair she dyed to hide her identity, that placed her in line to assume the Thrones as it had her Father and Grandmother. Thrones they had renounced. But as an infection of corruption was creeping through the Federation of Planets, the worlds of Hayuta and Bellus were hoping for their Thrones to be occupied. Fate lent a hand in exposing Jilena's true identity and forced her to make a decision whether to ascend to the Thrones or renounce them as her elders once had. A decision which would change Jilena's life forever and the Federation. If she lived long enough.

Fate works in mysterious ways, and for Fleet Marine Sub-Lieutenant Mikhail LaSalle, his fate was in the hands of an escape pod when the call came to abandon ship during battle. As a member of the Denoyelles family, he was bound by the legacy of his ancestors to a path he never imagined once he was finally free of the pod on an unknown planet, whose inhabitants were living in the dark ages. But what looked like an idyllic life, quickly turned into one of survival, and he intended to survive while bringing peace to this new world.

The Bellus Myth states that any person born with silver hair was destined to sit upon the Throne of Bellus. But the Bellus Throne had been sat aside by it's last ruler, Princess Kaya Denoyelles, wife of Duke Michael Denoyelles, once Bellus entered the Federation of Worlds. Lujayn LaSalle was a descendant of Princess Kaya, and like her father, Lord Mikhail LaSalle, and her twin brother, she had the signature silver hair. Unlike them, she was single, and also a ship's Captain in the Federation Fleet. But Bellus was not the only world to believe in the myth of the silver hair. And a world even more ancient than Earth needed a ruler with such locks of hair. Lujayn was about to take a journey that her Fleet training barely prepared her for.

One of the greatest causes of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD is fear. Fear of dying, fear of becoming injured, and in some cases, fear of not being able to support those that depend on them. Operation Heracles is a brief look at two people, both afflicted with PTSD and their efforts to help one another break down the wall which prohibits them from being as close to normal in life. One a veteran Marine who fights daily to combat his fear of failure. The other a Navy veteran, who watched her Navy husband suffer with PTSD and suffered along with him until she became a widow. This is a story of how people will often go to extremes to once more find the center of their lives, so they can move on in life without the daily suffering they endure.

Every since Karla Welch learned to fly at age twelve, all she wanted to do was fly. She joined the Marine Corps after college, and soon was flying the hottest attack helicopter in the inventory, the Cheyenne. But when she used her aircraft to lift a Special Operations Team out of a bad situation as they were about to be over ran, she put her career in jeopardy. But this was no ordinary Special Operations Team, this was a team from the Twenty-First Special Operations Group, and the Twenty-First were not going to allow her to be punished for hazarding her aircraft while rescuing one of their teams. Even if it meant bringing her into the world of Black Operations away for those who did not believe a woman should be flying combat aircraft.

Presenting to the reader, three Fictional short stories about men who go into Harm's Way. The Buddha: The story of how Master Sergeant Matthew Walker, USMC received his nickname. Don Myrick: Staff Sergeant Don Myrick, USMC, figured he had pushed his luck as far as a human could push it and left the Marine Corps at the end of his enlistment. He never figured on where his life would take him once out of the Marines. Today is Yesterday's Tomorrow: PFC Gavin Montford, US Army National Guard, never dreamed of or wanted to be a hero, but fate intervened. Now he had to live his life in the shadow of his actions and his survivors guilt.