Lot of glossary terms in this one.
SOCOM - Special Operations Command
JSOC - Joint Special Operations Command (subservice within SOCOM)
AWG - Asymmetric Warfare Group - An Army organization tasked with identifying new adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures and identifying shortfalls in readiness
<... 2026-01-23 16:30:15 +0000 UTC View PostGlossary terms: S2 Shop - An Army term for an intelligence center typically tasked with collecting and compiling raw information into actionable intelligence.
The rifle barked in his hands. At the other end of the range, a chunk of one of the concrete targets tore away. A sm...
2026-01-22 18:45:32 +0000 UTC View PostAbout time Cole got an upgrade. While the patient hunter rifle was fun, Curahee armaments are starting to be ineffective against some of the bigger threats.
“Airborne, a word,” said Hard Tone as Cole pushed himself up from his chair. The rest of the team looked at him.
...
2026-01-21 18:02:15 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m just saying, it’s wild,” said Howie. The elevator doors closed and Cole leaned against the wall as his team rode up towards the third floor. Hard Tone was conducting individual team debriefs, and theirs was the last of the day. Howie continued. “Like, four scientists and tw...
2026-01-16 21:27:44 +0000 UTC View PostCole gave his account to Bricker, who nodded along and occasionally asked the unremarkable clarifying question. But it wasn’t until the end of the debrief that Bricker asked Howie to leave the room to speak to Cole alone.
The director stood up, pacing to the back of the office and runni...
2026-01-15 17:26:36 +0000 UTC View Post“Hey Cole, security detail brought up a present for you,” said Howie. He held up what looked like an otherworld assault rifle, grinning ear to ear. “The lab got trashed, but at least those guys dropped loot. I don’t know what it does. But those things were tough as nails, so I be...
2026-01-14 18:13:24 +0000 UTC View PostWar Horses Book 6: Sunstone Imperative is live on Amazon in ebook, Kindle Unlimited, and print. You can grab a copy, here: https://www.amazon.com/War-Horses-Book-Sunstone-Imperative-ebook/dp/B0G6GYNQ65
...
2026-01-11 17:26:29 +0000 UTC View Post“You gotta be kidding me,” Cole muttered. He held it up to his eye and switched it round the first way again, just in case. Maybe it was like one of those thumb drives that were always wrong until you actually looked at the fuckin’ thing. But no such luck. His chest...
2026-01-10 04:11:42 +0000 UTC View PostRodriguez stared at Cole like he’d just walked on water, but the senior engineer managed to stay on task.
“Colton, right? Tony said you were coming.” He looked over his shoulder to a woman with a phone pressed to her ear. “Tina, tell Tony help just got here. Though,” he g...
2026-01-09 01:00:23 +0000 UTC View PostHey all! Had an amazing trip seeing friends I haven't seen in 5-10 years and a couple that I hadn't yet met in person. Thanks for your patience in getting the chapters up this week.
The update schedule is also changing for now, to Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
“This sh...
2026-01-08 02:27:51 +0000 UTC View PostShow of hands, who thought this was going to be a between-missions downtime arc?
Surprise early chapter! I'll be traveling this weekend, so tomorrow's chapter is getting posted today and Monday's chapter will probably be a bit later in the week. Enjoy, happy New Year, and have a great weekend!
“Potentially?” scoffed Tony. “With elasticity response this strong, It’s a good bet they already know we’re here.”
“While that’s statistically likely, I prefer not to jump to conclusions,” said Dr. Sukesh. “Do you have the data you need for the extrapolator?”
...
2026-01-01 06:11:19 +0000 UTC View Post
The wife got me a new drawing tablet for Christmas, so please enjoy this (very) rough sketch of Tribe Apollo.
(I forgot Rufus)
2025-12-31 06:46:23 +0000 UTC View PostCole wasn’t sure what to expect from the lab. Big tanks of freaky mutants or velociraptors, maybe. Banks of switches and dials and arcane sigils in the floor. Maybe even a tiny star held in captivity, like the ones he saw when he walked the path in his mind to evolve his class.
The real...
2025-12-30 01:17:59 +0000 UTC View PostDid it again, got the chapter set up and forgot to hit Publish. Sorry for the late chapter, everyone.
“Are you kidding me?” muttered Howie. “The next trailer over?”
Cole had to keep himself from laughing at Howie’s consternation. Dr. Sukesh ...
2025-12-27 18:39:34 +0000 UTC View PostThe full Babel debrief wouldn’t be until after the rest of the climbing teams and the hornet teams made it back to Earth—only about half of which had returned so far. Babel excursions could consume weeks of active otherworld deployment time, and it was only their immediate urgenc...
2025-12-23 04:41:52 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone! Just a quick note, next week will be updates Monday and Wednesday, so have a nice weekend and enjoy your Christmas!
Eighteen hours down post off-world mission. That was the Kicker Convention, spelled out in the SOP in no uncertain terms. Yet, after checking in his gear a...
2025-12-20 00:16:32 +0000 UTC View PostEven the winged creatures that infested the city attacked the airborne mage. As though affronted that anyone would dare assume the right of entering their skies, leathery bat-like creatures with fangs and claws swarmed in a vortex above the Beast Cult mage. The spellcaster fended off bu...
2025-12-18 23:53:59 +0000 UTC View PostCole got a clear view of the battlefield as he climbed above it—including the wolf-like knight, bounding from façade to façade directly below him like gravity didn’t apply. Each leap carried it closer to the party in the plaza pushing desperately toward the Arena. The top half...
2025-12-18 04:52:00 +0000 UTC View Post“Howie, eyes on three BC pacs, two robes one helmet, north corner rooftop of five-story structure four-hundred meters east of your position, caved in west corner. Confirm you have structure in sight.”
“That’s more than one structure from my station. NODs are on, lasso i...
2025-12-17 01:47:15 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor note: Not sure how it happened without my noticing, but we're a bit desynced from how far ahead the Patreon ought to be from the Royal Road version. There will be daily updates this week to get back to the proper amount of advance chapters.
“There it is,” said Cole, s...
2025-12-15 20:46:16 +0000 UTC View Post“Three friendly coming in,” Cole said into his radio before he turned the corner to the base of the spire. A few moments later, Nutmeg came running out to greet them and solicit chin scritches before leading them back to a ruined building near the spire where the rest of the team had...
2025-12-13 06:54:30 +0000 UTC View Post“That’s dark,” said Beth.
Cole glanced at the dyed-black hair and soot-smeared eyes of the teenage goth and declined to comment. At the two bodies, the ring of stone statues was spreading, slowly, inch by inch, as the genie trapped within reset its net. Another half hour, maybe, and the...
2025-12-11 05:31:01 +0000 UTC View PostThere’s a certain sense of humility that comes with not being able to solve a problem by applying more firepower. In the Army, a lack of fire superiority was something that happened to other countries and support by indirect was just a radio away. A psychic monster trapping them in the j...
2025-12-09 03:54:48 +0000 UTC View Post“Stop! STOP!” shouted Nona. “Stop destroying the statues!”
Cole froze, finger squeezing his trigger all the way to the wall. Three meters ahead of him, a twenty-foot statue of a dragon towered over them, slowly descending to block the road and prevent their es...
2025-12-06 01:51:09 +0000 UTC View PostCole shot awake, reaching for his sidearm before his eyes fixed on the members of his team. Nona slumped next to him, while Roxy and Beth leaned against each other on the opposite wall. Howie curled up in the corner, and Nutmeg was splayed across Besson’s lap, who had his head tilted back and...
2025-12-04 00:41:19 +0000 UTC View PostOf the sounds Cole expected when he got down into the ruins where Roxy had shot, laughter was pretty far down on the list. He ducked through a partially collapsed archway, rifle raised. But he lowered it once he got a look at the scene.
Beth laughed so hard she was clutching her sides, ...
2025-12-02 03:49:16 +0000 UTC View Post“Sixteen on foot, two animals.”
“Beast Cult?” asked Cole.
“Negative. Challengers. Survivors from the last floor.”
Cole backtracked a few dozen yards and pulled himself up a small rise to peek at their trail. Sure enough, there was a group of about twenty peopl...
2025-11-27 04:31:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe tunnel slanted, turning from a plummet to a high-speed slide down a smooth, stone chute. Other groups slid around them, some screaming, some cheering, some simply sobbing from the teammates they’d had to leave behind. Cole just tried to keep Howie from choking him.
The already ...
2025-11-25 07:01:07 +0000 UTC View PostStrong hands grabbed Cole and pulled him back. He looked up to see Roxy focused on him, and not the gigantic, man-eating dragon preparing to pounce. As soon as he was back on his feet, he turned and burned the last charge of his ability to wrap his arms around Roxy and launch them bot...
2025-11-19 19:49:55 +0000 UTC View Post
