The Last Steward by Smith Nicholas Sansbury

Author:Smith, Nicholas Sansbury [Smith, Nicholas Sansbury]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Amazon: B0D159TYQ6
Goodreads: 211063361
Publisher: Great Wave Ink Publishing
Published: 2024-05-07T07:00:00+00:00

“What is that thing?” Apollo asked.

Outlaw Platoon had fanned out around a gigantic spherical, tracked machine on the cracked, plateau. The thing had to be the size of a city block, and had the biggest tracks Jax had ever seen.

Rivers of lava snaked across the barren terrain behind the idle machine. Fimbriae-like apparitions tendrilled away from the alloy hull where they had burrowed into the ground. A tower in the center of the humped aft section had fallen, crashing to the ground over the river of lava. Branches draping off the tower had scattered across the plateau, one of them close to the platoon. From what Jax could tell, they had an array of large nozzles.

The machine kind of reminded Jax of an industrial root harvester she saw once as a kid. But this was no harvester, and it wasn’t Wrath either.

Apollo turned to Zang. “You gonna tell us what that is, or should I blow it up to make sure it’s not a threat?” asked the lieutenant.

“We call it a Ka-li,” Zang replied, speaking slowly. “The human word would likely be healer.”

Hippo had pushed on in front of the platoon, stopping about fifty feet from the base of one of the extended arms.

“So it’s a Corinn terraformer?” Apollo asked.

“Correct,” Zang said.

“My scans reveal this unit is offline and currently not functioning as intended,” Hippo announced.

“If by 'intended' you mean bringing this fiery asshole of a planet back to life, you’re damn right about that,” said Meatball.

Zang regarded Meatball with a side glance but said nothing.

“Brace yourself for seismic activity,” Hippo announced.

Jax stiffened as the rumble rushed under her robotic legs. She could feel the tremors throughout her body. It was the tenth quake that hour, and from what Jax could tell, they were becoming more frequent.

So far, there was no sign of Wrath, or anything else living. But there were still a lot of ways to buy it out here. Sink holes. Tar fields. Mini volcanoes that spewed lava fifty feet into the air. Not to mention the Sulfur Dioxide-rich atmosphere laced with traces of Methane. Without her breathing filters, Jax would die a slow and painful death.

Corinnia was a real-life Hell.

“Goddamn. I really don’t like this place,” Meatball said over a shoulder.

“Go with Hippo,” Apollo replied. “But keep your mutant shaped head on a swivel.”

Meatball grumbled something indistinct, but Jax picked up a few words, including guinea pig. That wasn’t far from the truth. Either the Corinns weren’t sharing intel with Command, or they didn’t have any either. If Jax had to guess, it was the latter. Especially considering their mission was to locate the Corinn outpost that had gone offline. The surface conditions didn’t help matters with electrical interferences, seismic activity, and, yeah, the lava.

If Zang Zi Za did know anything about the fate of his comrades, the alien still wasn’t talking.

“Follow me, but please keep a safe distance,” Hippo said.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Meatball said. He heaved his mini gun up and started after the droid.

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