Gary

The year is 2229 and Jack Peterson has terminal cancer. He's a dead man walking until his doctor gives him a way out. If he's willing to give up his entire life, he can travel for 800 years in stasis to planet Epigog 31 to receive treatment. With no other options available, he agrees. Once there, he discovers that aliens exist and they are allies with humanity. But there's a catch to receiving treatment: While his body heals, he must act as muscle for the aliens. His conscious mind is uploaded into a mechanical battle unit and he is sent to train for warfare.

In the three years since former fleet officer Rob Geary and former marine Mele Darcy led improvised forces to repel attacks on the newly settled world of Glenlyon, tensions have only gotten worse. When one of Glenlyon's warships is blown apart trying to break the blockade that has isolated the world from the rest of human-colonized space, only the destroyer Saber remains to defend it from another attack. Geary's decision to take Saber to the nearby star Kosatka to safeguard a diplomatic mission is a risky interpretation of his orders, to say the least.