1: Greenies by Al Steiner When I find a sci-fi military story that actually seems to understand the nuances of military tactics and strategy it immediately grabs my attention, and this does it in spades. Fine writing, memorable characters, a brilliantly-conceived environment and clearly informed by a solid grasp of military history, this is among the best SOL has to offer. VERY hard to set aside. Plan on staying up late to get through just one more chapter!
2: General Sid by Lazlo Zalezac The DiD universe is a pretty fascinating environment, and Lazlo's contributions are thoroughly engaging and highly detailed. This is one of his very best. It's a great demonstration that an SF story doesn't need to have a futuristic environment to work well and we can focus on the human element quite well without being nothing but space battles (which I DO clearly appreciate).
His understanding of leadership, strategy and tactics is as usual awesome, and combined with great storytelling and thoroughly engaging characters makes a vet enjoy this story, as well as all of his other contributions to DiD well worth the time.
3: The Preacher Man by hammingbyrd7 A brilliant concept and wonderful writing by one of SOL's best. Sci-fi should have more stories about love for one's fellow man and what we would be willing to sacrifice for it, and this emotional masterpiece will haunt you for days after you can't stop reading it. What would the world be like if there was someone out there who could make the pain go away, and would we appreciate it? Wrap yourself in this wonderful read, and find out!