Chain of Destiny
J.D. Lock
Paperback, 6x9 in, 488 pages
Wheatmark, April 2007
ISBN: 9781587367168 (paperback)
ISBN: 9781587367175 (hardcover)
Description
Theirs is a nearly impossible mission: strike deep into the heart of Russia to defeat a nuclear-armed terrorist. But in a series of events that go terribly wrong, Ranger Captain Nathaniel Ames finds himself thrust back within the historical events of the American Civil War, a war that changed the world forever, the outcome of which Ames may now have the power to change. But for what purpose? The answer to that question eventually leads Nathaniel Ames to discover his destiny.
About the author
J. D. Lock is a 1982 graduate and former assistant professor of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He retired from active duty as a lieutenant colonel in May, 2002. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private in 1974 and served as a noncommissioned officer until 1978.
He is the author of To Fight With Intrepidity: The Complete History of the U.S. Army Rangers, 1622 to Present (Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books), The Coveted Black and Gold: A Daily Journey Through the U.S. Army Ranger School Experience, and Rangers in Combat: A Legacy of Valor.
Lock currently works in support of architectural development, modeling, and simulation for the U.S. Army’s Current Force and the Army’s transformation to the Future Force, in addition to serving as a subject matter expert in support of the Army Science Board and the Army’s National Guard and Reserve senior mentor program.
Excerpts
Within Tango Three Two, the gates of hell were opening. Mortally stricken, the troop transport began to quickly lose structural integrity as the ruptured aluminum skin began to peel back into the slipstream and the fractured frame twisted and contorted under the unrelenting forces of flight. The jet’s four engines were screaming, changing pitch, trying to maintain level flight as the drag continued to grow at an increasingly alarming rate with each passing second. The energy and lifeblood of the transport in the form of aviation fuel and hydraulics sprayed the interior of the aircraft through ruptured hoses and punctured fuel tanks.
Inside the fragmenting structure, Ranger discipline took over as they lifted themselves from where they had been tossed or violently thrown. Bayonets and long- bladed Gerber II knives flashed as the static lines of the dead were cut and their bodies pushed aside. Wounded were grabbed and forced to stand on their own or were supported by their Ranger buddies around them.
Ames took one last look behind him at the chaos created in the last half minute. Catching the attention of those Rangers closest to him, he transmitted his intent with the Infantry’s time-honored wave of an arm indicating “follow me.” Passing through the troop door, a blast of cold air punched into his lungs as the Ranger captain dropped earthward for a split second of gut-wrenching free fall, his static line playing out behind him.
