The Bio-Mech War, Book 18: Lost Cohort

An existential war between biologicals and mechs. In the near future, scientists discover a flickering artificial sun headed towards Earth. Code named "Deimos", this alien threat becomes the impetus for a massive outworld colonization program, the creation of an army of mechs to defend the planet, and a bioengineering initiative to adapt the human race to survive the apocalypse. All of these projects are kept secret from the civilian population, including the orphan Junior Rangers they depend upon. Hermann Crabb settles into the living modules inside Deimos for the journey to Earth. The Tripartite computer system takes care of the crabbs and experiments with neural-ganglion stimulators that turn crabbs into an unstoppable army. An avatar sent along by the Triumvirate spies on the Tripartite, and is there to take over in case the troublesome crabbs should ever get loose.