The sun was just coming up over the foothills between the distant angular forms of the archologies. It tinged the sand and snow orange and pink. Marsha stood atop the smoking hull of the downed mech, listening to the screams from within. The bent cylinder of a hydraulic actuator prevented the escape hatch from opening… Continue reading Four Graves
Tag: Mercenaries
Storming the Lighteater
The Lighteater's spherical hull loomed giant over the golden tall grasses like a burned out ember cast from the sun itself, charcoal black and distorted by an energy shell that could be confused with heat waves. Dotting the field were the scattered skeletons of trees with no leaves, even with the lateness of the season.… Continue reading Storming the Lighteater
Morals of a Gun for Hire
"This isn't right." "Not this shit again," growled Kendall, "not now. We've been over this: they're not people." Zaine and Seren kept working. They'd heard it before and didn't want to hear it again, though Leon suspected they agreed with him on some level. He was all about pinching mint from the Fedcorp, but murder… Continue reading Morals of a Gun for Hire
Keep No One Close, Especially Your Enemies
Navy Samarasinghe was the baddest assassin in all of human space. She'd been born on old Earth and managed to claw her way out of that burning cesspool, which is about the roughest start someone could get these days. It meant she was tough, smart, and plenty willing to get her hands dirty. Of course,… Continue reading Keep No One Close, Especially Your Enemies
Big Wins
There was an Attack Macaque in the courtyard—AM-120 from the looks of it: forward infantry mecha, fast, and trigger happy for an AI. But that's not what worried Daiju. He was worried about the mushroom cap standing guard, so called for their umbrella-like helmets. It wasn't a nice term. Wasn't meant to be. They fancied themselves… Continue reading Big Wins
Something Drastic
As she pulled them apart with her mind, one by one, the soldiers naturally, inevitably, were drawn to her. They believed they were made of bone and flesh and sinew, but Ayla saw beyond it. The soldiers, like all other things—living, dead, or somewhere in bewtween (where most things dwelled)—like Ayla herself, were made of… Continue reading Something Drastic
Consequences
The still, cold night was momentarily disturbed by the sounds of bare feet slapping against damp leaves on asphalt, and hands and uncovered knees scrambling over moss-laden car bodies, until the only sound was a labored breathing that gradually eased. After a few minutes the world seemed like it had rolled over and gone back… Continue reading Consequences
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