Children of The Forgotten: The Ascent

The Vrilkist, an advanced alien race bent on galactic conquest and annihilation, has been eating away at the borders of The Imperial Confederation of Ertho—an empire already plagued by rebel and separatists factions—in an ongoing war.
The three front conflict has left the empire short on fighters and material while the Vrilkist, in contrast, appear to have unlimited resources and firepower. Desperate, the empire gathers everything it has to launch a last ditch assault on the enemy. Success will buy the empire time to regroup and restock; failure will mean the end of everything.
Cornelius Coleman, student, pugilist, loner, soon becomes a reluctant player within the larger scheme when he is conscripted to fight in the imperial forces. His journey will begin on Old Earth, but it will end very far away.