Life on the Fringes is the working title of an online serial novel by Tom Barendse (the eventual title will be Project: Vetiver). Our hero is Sam, his brother is Vig, and both are part of the Confederate Naval Forces; Sam is a Lieutenant in the Confederate Navy, and Vig is a Marine Staff Sergeant.
The Confederacy of Cooperative Systems (CCS) is at war with the Central Social Treaty Organisation (CSTO), and the United Systems of New America (USNA) are looking like joining the fight. If the Americans get involved, the Confederacy could be in a lot of trouble.
The war’s been running on and off for the last ten years, and most people can barely remember what the fighting is about anyway. There’s no clear ‘good and evil’, only ‘us and them’.
Book 1: After being stranded on a failed CCS terraforming project known as ‘Earth II’, the brothers are split up. Sam and Vig are both listed as MIA, and the temptation to stay that way is strong for Sam, when he manages to hitch a ride off-planet. If his old employers find him, they’ll put him back to work on a frigate. However, Vig is more than just ‘Missing’; evidence suggests he’s been eaten by the mutated Earth II wildlife, though no remains have been found. Sam will move heaven and earth to find out what really happened to his brother, but if CNF knows he’s alive, he’ll be listed as AWOL and brought before a court-martial…
Book 2: Having scraped through a court-martial, Sam and Vig Kelly are not only given new jobs but given promotions as well. They begin recruiting the best and brightest from the far-flung corners of CSS space, among them soldiers and spies and mercenaries, to make up a secret unit of saboteurs and intelligence gatherers. Meanwhile, a certain green-skinned redhead has made a life-changing career choice in enlisting in the Confederate Marine Corps; though she enjoys the helter-skelter new lifestyle at first, she soon learns that military life is no game.
Life on the Fringes 