Starblood (Book #1): A Sci Fi Progression Adventure Series by Roman Prokofiev

Author:Roman Prokofiev [Prokofiev, Roman]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Magic Dome Books
Published: 2024-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

WHEN WE DREW NEARER, I saw a wall as tall as several men cut across the rocky slope, its shape betrayed by a chain of yellow lights glowing above it and gradually disappearing into the darkness. The wall was built with bulky trunks of spear-tree, charred and planted deep in the ground. Sawed-out portholes and towers with searchlights made the palisade look truly monumental. I struggled to imagine how much time and effort had gone into its construction.

But there was probably someone to defend against here. I couldn’t make out details in the dark, but I spotted a lot of traces of past battles around me. Dents, deep scratches, something akin to bullet marks... Some looked completely fresh: the defenders must have never had a dull moment.

There weren’t any proper gates. Searchlight beams crossed on us, human shapes appeared at the top of the walls, and dogs started barking. Wow, they had animals from Earth? Mark or Ocarina must have already sent word about our arrival, so no questions arose. With a horrifying screech, a wide ramp slowly slid out of the wall, coming down to a leveled platform in front of it. That infernal mechanism must have been assembled by Earth technicians from scrap materials and used as a drawbridge. That level of technology slightly shocked me. People had been traveling into space and using molecular replication and transport beams, only for the colonists to resort to such primitive mechanisms just thirty years later? Yikes.

Slowly, we rode upward. The top part of the wall was a large artificial deck protected from the outside world by a breastwork made out of earth and wood. Organized positions lit by glowing crystals of unknown origin, firing points with stationary gauss turrets on rotating platforms, hounds straining at their leashes, their teeth bare... The latter, though, were mostly going through the motions — it was obvious that they weren’t keen on approaching the sharp-toothed karkhs.

We were met by four well-armed people who raised their hands in greeting. Their leader was an Ascendant, a woman in a worn exoskeleton suit well past its prime with an open visor. The fact that she was the only one of her group in a Cybarm spoke a lot about her personality. She had short black hair, sharp features, and a steely piercing look.

“Welcome back.” Her eyes scanned our squad, lingering on me, then returned to Mark. “Where’s Guy?”

“With us.” The barbarian pointed at the back of the torro carrying the oblong bundle that was already covered with dark spots. “He’s dead, Serena.”

The woman’s face seemed to have turned to stone. For a second, she closed her eyes.

“How?”

“We had a run-in with the Riverfolk at the ford. Guy challenged them. Took down their Ascendant. And they shot them.”

“In the back, from the bushes,” Ocarina added.

“Astra fatida,” the woman hissed.

She walked up to the torro, the motors of her cybernetic armor rattling as she laid her heavy hand on the faceless body.

“The old Guy Flow... Poor Kelly. I’ll come to the fort to say goodbye to him,” she 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.