IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A STANDARD RESCUE MISSION Private Travis Buckley and his friends from Bandit Company were strictly rear echelon types—a support platoon for the Alpha Elite Commandos of the Stellar Armada. When an orbital disaster destroys their ship, Travis and fellow survivors Ernie “Struts” McCaskey and Private Numbnuts go from being “in the rear with the gear” to the forefront of an improbable rescue mission that could plunge the entire Confederation into intergalactic war with the mysterious Machai Legion. Dr. Arnac has been kidnapped by terrorists in black rumored to be a Machai death squad, only the Machai vanished into the depths of interstellar space centuries ago. Arnac is carrying a secret in his head that can’t be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Alpha Elite’s orders are clear: reacquire Dr. Arnac, or make sure he doesn’t leave Askura alive. The survivors of the crash landing must mount a desperate rescue and fight their way across trackless jungles filled with ancient civilizations, exotic beauties, and deadly predators. If they can survive becoming bullet bait, they must lay siege to the lost city and halt the diabolical Machai plan to conquer Earth. The enemy didn’t count on one thing: Travis and the Bandits are determined not to fail!