Free Mako (The Mako Saga: Book 1) by Ian J. Malone

Iron Highland Ale,” he said proudly, holding the bottle up to his webcam. “I made it ma-self.”
    “What, you brewed it?” she asked, impressed.
    “Aye, I picked it up as a hobby about a year ago and have been tinkering around with it ever since. It took me a while to perfect the recipe, but I think I finally have it where I want it.”
    “What’s it taste like?” Link asked.
    “It’s smooth—a lot like a Pilsner but with more body and flavor,” he relied, regarding the dark gold beverage with obvious satisfaction.
    “So like a domestic light or something?” Danny guessed, never much of a beer connoisseur.
    “Aye Danny, kinda like that… only it doesn’t taste like urine!”
    Amused at Lunley’s usual disdain for domestic brews, Lee couldn’t help but chuckle. Then with a final swallow from his water bottle, he picked up the E-42 briefing packet that he’d finished compiling early the previous week and began thumbing through the pages.
    “Alright, now that everyone is present and accounted for, take a seat and let’s get down to business.”
    ****
    In line with Mako Assault ’s “team sport” philosophy, each player was required to select a Military Occupational Specialty (or MOS) prior to beginning E-1. By default, Lee’s background in military history made him a shoo-in for the team’s lead strategist, and while the others always played a part in organizing their various missions and objectives, it was usually up to Lee to sort through the intelligence, evaluate each piece of information, and construct the oftentimes intricate details of their environment strategies. Inevitably, his ability to not only assemble a solid battle plan, but also make snap decisions in the field, earned him the MOS of Squadron Commander, though poring over data and analyzing maps was far from his only asset to the team.
    After spending the bulk of his summer downtime in the Mako’s flight simulator, and in large part because of his lifelong fascination with aviation, he quickly rose through the ranks as not only the most skilled fighter pilot in their squad, but also one of the highest-scoring players in the MA record books with confirmed aerial kills. Quickly known for his unorthodox maneuvers and innovative piloting style, he took the name of “Daredevil” as his call sign—a moniker befitting of his prowess in the cockpit, though it was actually derived from a comic book he’d loved as a kid, centering around a blind superhero whose inhuman instincts and intuition in combat earned him the title of “The Man Without Fear” among the criminal underworld.
    To her credit, Mac eventually proved to be quite the competent pilot herself, often times flying along Lee’s wing, though her primary MOS was that of Communications Specialist, or Com-Spec for short, a tech-savvy position that made use of her real life love for computers, and more times than not, her skills as a hacker. Still, as much of a slam dunk as Lee’s call sign had been, the selection of Mac’s proved to be a bit more challenging. After considering a wide array of possibilities, ranging from “Jet City Woman” to “Smurfette,” she recalled a story from college in which the others—having overindulged on the night’s drink special at the bar—had rousted her from bed at the obnoxious hour of 3:15 a.m. for an emergency ride home. Under normal circumstances, this would’ve been little more than an inconvenient nuisance for her; but as fate would have it, this instance just so happened to have fallen on the eve of a potentially nasty final exam—the outcome of which would probably determine whether or not she passed the course. Irritated beyond belief, though knowing full well that none of them were in any shape to drive, she threw on sweats and a t-shirt, pulled her hair into a loose ponytail, and headed for the bar. Once back at the house, Mac helped the others carry an all-but-incapacitated Hamish inside, where they collapsed him down on