Stone Blade. Stone Blade, #1

When Micah Stone left work late one night he had no idea he started down a path that would change the fates of more worlds than his. Micah Stone is a poor man working on the toxic world of Caustik, a world whose society is sharply divided between highcarders who have everything they want and lowcarders, like Micah, who do not. After working late Micah finds himself on an impromptu date with his lovely coworker Jenn.
Their evening is rudely interrupted by three drugged-up highcarders with a personal hatred of Micah and too much time on their hands. After defending himself and Jenn Micah is jailed and faced with two choices: a years-long death sentence or military enlistment. After Basic Training he draws an assignment to Caustik's roughest, most brutal military unit. Despite the odds stacked against him he succeeds and excels and soon works his way up the ranks.
Overwhelmed by enemy forces and betrayed by a cowardly commander Micah finds himself booted out of the military and facing his full sentence, again. Thanks to intervention by the League Consul on Caustik Micah enlists in the League Drop Marines. There he discovers the horrible truth about his former unit: it is a dirty unit that routinely completes missions no civilized person would condone. Now haunted by the demons of his past Micah works to excel, and does.
On the world of Ceto, outside the League, Micah's unit suffers a catastrophic ambush by evil Consortium forces. After leading a rag-tag detail of survivors to strike a crippling blow against the invaders Micah faces his history repeating itself.