First to Fight
Dan Cragg
 First to Fight has one main plot, the story of a platoon from the 34th Fleet Initial Strike Team (FIST) to the planet Elneal, interlaced with three subplots. The first subplot revolves around new Marine Joseph F. Dean as he experiences his first deployment. Another is that of Staff Sergeant Charlie Bass, recently demoted from Gunnery Sergeant and transferred to the 34th FIST for assaulting a civilian contractor after the in-combat failure of an electronic device the man was responsible for, which failure cost half the men of one of the companies of the 31st FIST. The third subplot is the sadistic dream of a tribal leader whose plan to achieve rule over Elneal is stymied by the presence of the Marines on Elneal. Dean and his friend Neal are assigned to the third platoon of Company L, 34th FIST on Thorsfinni's World.The 34th FIST is assigned to a humanitarian relief effort on the backwater planet of Elneal.Is a planet that is completely useless except for its deposits, which are being mined by Consolidated Enterprises, and is mostly populated by nomadic tribes, third platoon receives a new platoon leader, who privately sees the platoon as a bunch of worthless men in need of shaping up, even though the company commander claims third platoon is the best in the entire FIST., it becomes clear that the tribes have formed an alliance to rid the planet of the Confederation and Consolidated Enterprises. Dean's platoon is stationed in an isolated village in order to defend it, retain order and deliver aid to the locals as originally planned before the Marines' arrival. But while things seem calm and peaceful, He tries to convince the platoon leader to take defensive measures before the situation deteriorates, but to no effec, and to get him out of his hair orders him to take the platoon's new UPUD . Bass reluctantly takes a patrol a ways into the desert to test the device, they realize that the rest of the platoon is attacked . The small patrol is too far away to come help in good timt have been wiped out, and, believing another full-out assault is in the works, orders a withdrawal to Company L headquarters . Stranded, Bass leads the patrol through the desert towards New Obbia.