Hopebreaker by Dean F. Wilson

Author:Dean F. Wilson [Wilson, Dean F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781909356092
Publisher: Dioscuri Press
Published: 2014-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

13 – LIGHTS OUT

Rommond had a treat for them outside the Order’s headquarters: nine of his war machines lined up side-by-side. Unlike the more elegant design of the Hopebreaker, these landships where rhomboidal in shape, with metal tracks running all around the chassis, and with sponsons protruding from either side, in which a variety of gun turrets were positioned. They were painted a dusty yellow-brown, to match the desert, and most were badly chipped and scraped, as if they had seen many battles before.

The sight of one landship was quite impressive, but seeing nine of them in formation was almost intimidating. Jacob had heard about machines coming to life all by themselves in other parts of Altadas, and he hoped that this would not be the case with this platoon.

“All yours,” Rommond said, but he rubbed the hull of one of the landships as if he did not want to give them up. “These are the Menacer Mark I’s. They aren’t as well-balanced as newer models. It’s why we can’t give them too much speed.”

“Faulty vehicles,” Jacob said. “Wonderful.”

“Feel free to walk there instead,” Rommond suggested.

“It might be safer.”

“With that mouth of yours, you might find nowhere’s safe.” Rommond turned to Taberah. “Keep them in good nick, Tabs. Don’t go crazy with them. Consider them a loan, not a purchase. Bring as many back in one piece as you can manage.”

“Will that be a Treasury loan?” Taberah jested.

Rommond was not amused. He rolled his shoulders as if to remove the hands of the Treasury’s debt collectors. He eyed her severely as he walked away, and though he only glanced at Jacob, the glance was just as severe.

When Rommond was out of earshot, Taberah turned to Jacob. “Just so you know—”

“I know,” Jacob interrupted with a huff. “There would be ten if it weren’t for me.”

Taberah raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t going to say that.”

“But you were thinking it.”

“Well, now I know you were,” Taberah said.

Jacob feigned a grin in response.

“I was going to say,” Taberah continued, “these beauties can take more of a beating.” She tapped her knuckles on the hull of one, just as she had on the buckled hull of the battered steam truck.

“I’ll bear that in mind,” Jacob said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.