[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/David_Drake_Redliners_cover_1268.jpg]]

''Redliners'' is a MilitaryScienceFiction story by Creator/DavidDrake about a burnt-out elite unit sent to guard a group of involuntary colonists on a DeathWorld.

The human civilisation is at war with the Kalendru (nicknamed "spooks''), a race of aliens who "understand the concepts of 'master' and 'slave' but not of "equals." Strike Force Company C41's veterans have all "redlined" - become too dangerous to re-integrate into civilian society - after a mission goes disastrously wrong. However, the bureaucrat in charge of the Unity wants to run an experiment to give the redlined strikers a chance to redeem themselves.

Can be found online for free [[http://www.baen.com/redliners.html here]] or downloaded in a variety of formats [[http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/15-WhentheTideRisesCD/WhentheTideRisesCD/ here]].

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!!The setting provides examples of the following tropes:
* AlienGeometries: The Spooks don't like constant-radius curves or right angles.
* AnAesop: Former soldier David Drake wanted to tell a story about soldiers, about the price they pay, about why they pay it. Specifically, they need to remember that there are civilians whose ''worlds'' they're trying to save, and those civilians need to meet the soldiers who are putting their lives on the line for them.
* TheAtoner: "John Smith" AKA manager al Ibrahimi. A heroic example of the WellIntentionedExtremist, who feels regret for the merciless way in which he used his soldiers. Also Striker Blohm, and Major Farrell.
* BodyguardingABadass: Early on, the major has a bodyguard whose sole purpose is to keep him from doing anything stupid like trying to lead an assault from the front; his job is to lead, not be a badass, though badass he is.
* BaitAndSwitch: Throughout the final chapter, we're strongly led to believe that his guilt over having accidentally killed a roomful of kalendru children, combined with the additional stresses of the mission and [[spoiler: losing the human girl he's grown attached to throughout it]] have finally driven Blohm off the deep end and he's now talking to a hallucination of the [[spoiler: dead girl. It's eventually revealed that he's found a way to redeem himself for the former and accept the latter by adopting an orphaned kalendru girl, whom he named after the dead human one.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: We're told that [[spoiler: al-Ibrahimi and Tamara Lundie are Category Fours, civil servants with an implanted CPU in their skull. Only a Category Four can change their brainwaves so they can pass the Kalendru mental shield at the entrance to the bioweapon's control room without being fried. They're also the leader of humanity and his assistant, who have created and joined this mission as TheAtoner, because soldiers deserve leaders who care.]]
* DeathOfAChild: The Kalendru have extremely fast reactions, so the strikers have learned to ''never'' hesitate. Caius Blohm, the point man for C41, slaughters an entire building of Spook women and children before he has time to realize his mistake. (Intel had classified it as a probable barracks)
* DeathWorld: David Drake enjoys this trope. The entire ecosystem of BZ 459 is constantly evolving new ways to try and kill the civilians. Algae which blocks up the fans of their air cars. Trees which spray those who come too close with fast-hardening strongly acidic sap, plants which shoot spikes if people come close or if it gets shot, vines which act like grappling tentacles, streams of water with an under-layer of concentrated sulphuric acid at the bottom ... you get the idea.
** The strikers note that the original surveyors of BZ 459 nicknamed it ''Hell''. They later think back to how pleasant the planet seemed at the time it was surveyed. Turns out, the survey was nowhere near where they landed... which is the worst spot on an already terrible planet.
** The planet was designed as an unstoppable cosmic LivingWeapon by a long extinct race. The Kalendru were hoping to use it against humanity. When humanity conquers it ''with civilians in tow'', the Kalendru surrender unconditionally.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Literally. Streams hide an under-layer of concentrated sulphuric acid. Genetically engineered natives who mindlessly attack the settlers. And lets not even get started on [[WhenTreesAttack the flora]].
** And these defences tailor themselves to the intruder. Blohm notes that the spikes are poisonous to the Kalendru who were there before them.
** [[spoiler: Justified, given that the world is actually an ancient Kalendru bioweapon, evolving constantly in response to the intruders. It's actually so dangerous that the Kalendru back down immediately after humanity captures it.]]
* [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Everyone Calls Him God]]: Project Manager Jafar al-Ibrahimi, because he has life-and-death authority over all the civilians and strikers on the expedition.[[spoiler:Lampshaded, as he was the former Chief of the Administration and actually did have complete authority over the entire Unity]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The strikers being refused entry to a bar because they're not wearing uniforms and responding by smashing into it in an APC, guns blazing, then shooting down the police car that comes after them may come off as hilarious action-comedy hijinks, until you realize it's the first sign that the members of the unit are suffering from very, very bad PTSD and genuinely have become dangerous to themselves and others.
* KarmaHoudini: Nessman is implied to be a serial rapist whose behaviour is only tolerated because as a Strike Force Trooper he has a limited life expectancy. He survives.
* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: The strikers use stingers, electromagnetic pellet rifles, as their primary weapons, while the Spooks use laser beams. The stingers are massively damaging at the close range that Strike Force missions take place at.
** It's noted, however, that striker rockets and stingers are totally ineffective against Kalendru tanks. Their Heavy Weapons unit uses plasma cannons and larger rockets.
* KingIncognito: The Chief Administrator of the Unity and his personal aide are [[spoiler: hanging out on a remote DeathWorld, masquerading as a minor bureaucrat and his secretary, to personally oversee a secret project. She's his protegé and he wants her to learn a lesson before he retires: the people you lead deserve leaders who care.]]
* LivingWeapon: BZ 459 was built intentionally as a DeathWorld by a long extinct race because they wanted to use it as a weapon against... someone? Anyone? The Kalendru were investigating it as a potential weapon against humanity. When a couple dozen ''retired'' soldiers shepherding ''hundreds'' of civilians manage to conquer the planet and take control, the Kalendru surrender.
* MindProbe: The standard method of interrogating Kalendru prisoners.
* NoodleIncident: Averted, as the Striker's (over)reaction to being refused entry to a bar is recounted in hilarious detail. Complete with armoured vehicles.
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: The strikers, especially Major Art Farrell, live and breathe this trope.
* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Caius Blohm, the striker's best scout. He becomes attuned to the jungle in such a way that his commanding officer admits that he is the group's best chance of success. He can walk through the jungle. This is a LivingWeapon DeathWorld and ... he can walk there. He just... walks. There. Like, he's careful, but... he's just walking.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Every one of the strikers is over the [[TitleDrop red line]]. They're all way too far gone and they can't be saved. But maybe they can remember why they did it. Why it was a price worth paying. And the civvies they shepherd through the jungle? Maybe they can learn there are people paying a price. And maybe DaChief's assistant can learn both, and maybe replace him some day.
* SoldiersAtTheRear: An event used to demonstrate that the strikers are all a little bit over the edge has them overreact to a REMF telling them they're not allowed in the bar in their [=BDUs=]. They get their drinks while destroying the bar.
* TheStoic: All Category Fours. Also Caius Blohm.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: One depicted in a realistic manner, though. After crushing a bar with military hardware for being refused entrance, the entirety of the striker unit is declared mentally unfit for duty and would've probably been institutionalized or imprisoned has someone not come up with an alternative use for them.
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