But, from my estimates, it was only a matter of time before they broke through—before they swarmed over these thin walls like a horde of angry ants—and when they did, there would be hell to pay.

  The Duster rebels were scared, and angry, but they also looked like they were willing to fight. They could count. They knew they were outnumbered and outgunned—but they weren’t going down without a fight.

  I respected that, admired it, even. These were my kind of people. Tough, stubborn, and willing to die for what they believed in, but I couldn’t let it happen. I wasn’t going to let more blood be spilled because of my mistakes, my failures.

  I had to make this right. I had to find a way to stop Janson and his Techborn goons before they slaughtered everyone in Cinder Hollow—even if it meant sacrificing myself in the process.

  There was only one weapon to my name, and I gripped my buzzblade tighter. I liked the feel of its weight in my hand. It was a comforting presence, a reminder of Earth. It also served to remind me of who I was and what I was capable of.

  Climbing the rickety wooden stairs up to the walls of Cinder Hollow, my boots thumped on each step. The whole structure creaked and swayed, like it might collapse at any moment, but I didn’t care. I wanted to count heads from the highest of their leaning battlements. I wanted to see for myself what we were up against.

  Megan was already up there, leaning against the ramparts with her rifle cradled in her arms. Her face was grim, her eyes unfriendly. She didn’t even glance at me as I approached.

  I followed her gaze out to the wasteland beyond the walls. The Techborn army was out there, a seething mass of metal and flesh encircling the town like a noose. They weren’t attacking yet, but it was only a matter of time.

  The crack of thunderbolt rifles split the air now and then. The sound was like a whip cracking against my eardrums. The Dusters were taking more and more potshots at the enemy as they grew in number and surged closer. The Techborn snipers fired back, their shots just as loud and just as deadly.

  I saw one of the Dusters along the walls go down. His body jerked as an accelerated bullet tore through him. He tumbled from the wall, landing in a crumpled heap on the ground below. He must have been dead before he even hit the dirt. It was the first casualty of what promised to be a long day.

  Megan cursed under her breath. Her fingers tightened on her own rifle. I could see the anger burning in her eyes, the thirst for revenge. She wanted to make the Techborn pay for what they’d done. She fired back—but although I heard the crack and I saw a puff of red dirt way out there, I didn’t see a hit.

  We were outnumbered and outgunned. We couldn’t take on this whole army by ourselves. We needed a plan, a way to even the odds… I racked my brain, trying to come up with something. Anything.

  “We’re screwed, Tanner,” Megan said suddenly.

  She turned to me. Her eyes looked me over. She was acknowledging my presence for the first time—but I was pretty sure she’d been very aware of me since the alarm had gone up.

  “Did you really lead them here?” she asked.

  “Not on frigging purpose. I thought I’d lost them.”

  She nodded. She looked down at the timbers of the wall, which creaked and rattled as men moved to and fro. “You’re not a tracker. You aren’t from here—not at all. Right?”

  I opened my mouth and closed it again.

  She was right. This was all my fault. I’d led the Techborn straight to Cinder Hollow, like a hobbled infant animal, used to bait in the parents. A fool.

  Now, everyone here was going to pay the price for my mistake.

  I was lost in my own thoughts, trying to come up with a plan, when I heard heavy footsteps behind me. I turned to see a burly Duster rebel stomping towards me, his face twisted with rage. He was the brother of the man who’d just been killed by the Techborn sniper.

  “You!” he snarled, jabbing a finger at my chest. “This is all your fault! You led them here, you bastard!”

  I didn’t flinch. I’d faced down worse than this guy before. But I couldn’t deny the truth in his words. I had brought this down on Cinder Hollow, on all of them.

  He took a swing at me. I let him do it.

  That was a mistake. He hit me harder than I thought he could. I was knocked off the wall and down to the dust. I got up, trying not to snarl back at him. I rubbed at my jaw and glowered at the man.

  “I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I said, as steadily as my sore jaw would allow. “I was just trying to—”

  “I don’t care what you were trying to do!” he roared, spittle flying from his lips. “My brother is dead because of you! They just shot him down!”

  The man pointed down to where the crumpled body of his brother lay, less than ten long steps from me. Everyone was preparing for the worst, and no one had seen to the fallen man, yet.

  I saw Megan watching us out of the corner of my eye. Her expression was unreadable. She didn’t move to intervene. I couldn’t blame her for that. This was between me and the angry Duster.

  The rebel clenched his fists at his sides. He wanted more. “We should throw this dog over the wall,” he growled. “Let the Techborn have him!”

  I met his gaze, my own eyes unblinking. “Go ahead and try it,” I dared him.

  For a moment, I thought he might actually give it a shot. His muscles tensed, his jaw clenched tight. But then he seemed to think better of it. He took a step back, his anger still simmering beneath the surface.

  “This isn’t over,” he said, pointing at me. “You’ll pay for this, Tanner—oh yeah, we know who you are. The Preacher told us!”

  With that, he turned and stalked away, his boots thudding against the wooden planks of the wall.

  I glanced at Megan again, but she’d already gone back to taking potshots at the Techborn army beyond the walls. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking—whether she blamed me, too. If I had a friend left in this town, it was her—but right now, things didn’t look good between us.

  Moving up to her side, I took her monocular out of her saddlebags. I sighted on the enemy, and I tried to give her range directions, playing spotter.

  “Aim about a foot to the left,” I said after her next shot.

  Megan paused. She had a funny look. I figured she wanted answers.

  “Is it true?” she asked, tightly. “Did you really go to the Arabella and stir up this shit?”

  I hesitated for a moment. I could’ve lied, could’ve told her it was all just a big coincidence. But I respected her too much for that.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I tried to kill Janson, and came close. They’re following me, for sure.”

  Megan’s eyes flashed with anger, but there was something else there too. Understanding, maybe. She knew what it was like to be hunted, to have nowhere to run.

  Out in the distance, I could see the Techborn troops setting up their gear. They had drones, missile launchers—the works. They were organizing as if they had all day—which they did, technically. We weren’t going anywhere.

  The Dusters on the walls were doing the same, hauling up crates of ammo and checking their weapons.

  Megan must have seen the guilt in my eyes, because her expression softened a little. “It’s not really your fault,” she said, quietly. “This isn’t your war. You didn’t ask for this.”

  We watched the Techborn troops swarm like locusts, ready to devour everything in their path.

  Megan turned to me, her eyes searching my face. “Where’s Hammer? Did he make it out of the Arabella with you?”

  I didn’t want to say the words, didn’t want to make it real. But I owed her the truth.

  “Hammer’s dead,” I said. “The Techborn killed him.”

  Megan’s face crumpled, her eyes filling with tears. She shook her head, like she couldn’t believe it, like she didn’t want to believe it.

  “No,” she whispered. “Not Hammer. He can’t be gone.”

  I reached out and pulled her into my arms, holding her tight. She buried her face in my chest, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

  I didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. Hammer was dead, and no amount of words could change that.

  We crouched there on the walls of Cinder Hollow, holding onto each other for a full minute. The sun was getting lower, now. Soon, evening would come.

  The Techborn had pulled back a bit, hiding behind ridges and in gullies. They were letting the natural rough terrain out there give them cover. The thunderbolt snipers on both sides had slowed and almost stopped as no one wanted to expose themselves to sudden death.

  The Techborn wouldn’t stop until they’d crushed the Dusters and taken control of Haven-7. But right now, all Megan and I could think about was Hammer.

  He’d been my friend, my brother in arms. We’d fought side by side, watched each other’s backs. And now he was gone, cut down by the Techborn like he was nothing.

  Somehow, Megan’s tears made a rage boil up inside me, hot and fierce. I wanted to make them pay for killing Hammer Vargo. I wanted to see their blood spilled on the sand, their bodies broken and lifeless.

  Chapter 31

  As evening fell, I watched refugees stream out of Cinder Hollow. Their faces were drawn with fear and desperation. They clutched their meager belongings and dragged their children behind them. I couldn’t let them leave. They’d be slaughtered out there, easy pickings for the Techborn.

  I stepped in front of them. “Stop. You can’t go out there. It’s suicide.”

  A man pushed forward, his eyes wild. “We’ve got families. We have to try. We can’t stay here and die.”

  “You’ll die out there for sure,” I told him, shaking my head. “The Techborn are everywhere. They’ll capture you, torture you. Is that what you want?”

  The man hesitated, looking back at his family. I could see the indecision in his eyes. He wanted to protect them, but he didn’t know how.

  Forcing my tone to soften, I tried again. “Listen, I know you’re scared. But we have a better chance if we stick together. The Dusters are fighters. We can hold them off.”

  The man looked at me, his shoulders slumping. He knew I was right. They all did. Slowly, the townsfolk turned back towards their homes. Their faces were grim.

  I watched them go, feeling responsible for whatever disaster might follow. I’d convinced them to stay, but now I had to make sure they survived. I had to help the Dusters win this battle.

  Looking out toward the horizon, I could see distant fires begin to spark into life. The Techborn were settling down for the night, camping in the desert. They were out there, calculating the right moment to strike. I hoped this wouldn’t turn into a siege. I didn’t want these townsfolk to face starvation on top of everything else.

  My fists were clenching and unclenching, seemingly of their own accord. Anger. That’s what I was feeling. The sensation was coursing through my veins.

  They’d killed some oaf named Hammer, a guy who had befriended me. Who else had tried to do that on Haven-7? No one. A few women had taken an interest, sure… but that was different. With Hammer, the only motivation had been friendship.

  Footsteps crunched behind me. I turned to see Silas approaching. He had a solemn look on his face, like he was about to deliver bad news—I didn’t see how things could get any worse.

  “Dane?” he said. “Can we talk?”

  I nodded, following him to a quiet spot behind one of the buildings. I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “What’s on your mind, Preacher?” I asked.

  He sighed, running a hand over his face. “I came to ask you something. Do you want to leave? To go back to Earth?”

  I stared at him, not sure if I’d heard him right. “What?”

  “I can send you home,” he said. “Haven-7 is hopeless. There’s nothing more you can do here.”

  His offer was out of the blue, but it tempted me. It was true, things didn’t look too rosy out here on this colony planet. Things had gone very wrong. The thought of leaving this hellhole behind and going back to the relative safety of Earth...

  But then I thought of the people here, the ones who were counting on me to help them. I couldn’t abandon them, not now.

  “Why are you offering me this opportunity now?” I asked him. “Do you figure Haven-7 is better off without me?”

  “No. I heard what you tried to do back at the Arabella. If you’d succeeded... who knows? Maybe this war would have been over before it started. I can’t blame you for that. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”

  “How’s that?”

  “I’m the one who arranged for you to be sent out from Earth, remember?”

  “Yeah…” I shook my head. “But, to answer your question: no. I’m not leaving. These people need me.”

  Silas nodded, like he’d expected my answer. “I understand. But you need to be prepared for what’s coming.”

  “I’ve been up close and personal with these Techborn assholes plenty by now. Hell, I’ve been aboard Arabella twice… I appreciate your offer, Preacher, but consider me informed.”

  Silas lifted his nose in the air. He looked pleased. “I know you’ll do it—if anyone can. I won’t even ask what your plan is—I’m sure it will be better than your last one.”

  He clapped me on the shoulder. Shit, way to shovel on the pressure, old man.

  “Who’s commanding this defensive effort?” I asked.

  “Helga is her name.”

  “Does she know much about heavy weapons?”

  He blinked at me a few times. “We don’t have much that would fit that description… unless you mean that old sand-cannon.”

  “That’s it.”

  He nodded. “Okay. I’ll introduce you.”

  I followed Silas through the narrow streets of Cinder Hollow, my mind still reeling from the events of the past few days. The Techborn were coming, and we had to be ready.

  Silas led me to a small, nondescript building near the center of town. He knocked on the door, and a gruff voice called out, “Enter.”

  Inside, a woman stood hunched over a map of the surrounding area. She looked up as we entered, her eyes narrowing as she took me in.

  “Who’s this?” she asked, her tone sharp.

  “Dane Tanner,” Silas replied. “He’s here to help.”

  The woman glared. “We don’t need help from spies and outsiders.”

  I stepped forward, meeting her gaze. “I’m not an outsider. I’m here to fight the Techborn, same as you.”

  She studied me for a moment, then nodded. “I’m Helga, commander of the Duster garrison here. We’ve got a sand cannon, but it’s not doing us much good where it is. We need to move it up high, where it can do some real damage.”

  I nodded. “I can help with that. Just point me in the right direction.”

  Helga was tall for a woman—even a Duster woman. Her face was mostly freckles, but that gave her a nice look. She wore it better than most redheads did in desert climates.

  She hesitated for a moment, then gestured to a group of Dusters standing nearby. “Take him to the cannon. Let’s see what he can do.”

  I followed the Dusters out of the building and through the streets of Cinder Hollow. The sand cannon was a massive thing, all gleaming metal and intricate gears. It was an impressive piece of machinery, but it was clear that it wasn’t being used to its full potential.

  Rolling up my sleeves and getting to work, I used Helga’s name to get things done. Grumbling Dusters helped me haul the artillery piece uphill to a better emplacement. It was grueling work, but I didn’t mind.

  Finally, we had the cannon in place. I stepped back, admiring our handiwork. It was an impressive sight, the massive barrel pointing out over the desert, ready to rain down destruction on the Techborn.

  I stepped back, surveying our work. I’d worked with light artillery emplacements during my stint in the military. That all seemed like a long time ago, but you never really forgot how equipment like that worked. It was an intensive training program designed not to let you forget.

  The cannon sat atop a pile of rocks, its barrel pointed out over the desert. But something wasn’t right. The platform wasn’t level. I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked out over the desert, watching the distant fires of the Techborn camp.

  Helga appeared beside me, her face grim. “It’s a start,” she said. “But I doubt it will be enough. We need more weapons, more fighters.”

  “We don’t have them—and we’re not done with this emplacement yet. The cannon is high enough now, but it must be level as well.”

  Helga looked at me. “The Techborn won’t stop until they’ve crushed us. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Then we’ll just have to crush them first.”

  She thought that over. She must have liked what she’d heard, because she said: “I’ll give you six more workers.”

  I nodded.

  We set to work, using sticks and bricks to shore up the platform. Finally, the platform was level. I stepped back, nodding in satisfaction. The Dusters looked at me, waiting for orders.

  “Good work,” I said. “Now, let’s get the armor plate and shielding up. We don’t want the Techborn taking out our gunners.”

  We set to work again, using whatever materials we could find to construct a makeshift shield in front of the platform. It wasn’t pretty, but it would do the job.

  At last, my crew of Dusters connected the power cable to the town generator again. They brought the sand cannon back to life. A low hum filled the air as the weapon charged up, ready to beam something into ion-charged slag.

  Just as we were about to test-fire our setup, a lot of shouting started on the wall top. We were instantly concerned.

  “What’s happening?” Helga demanded.

  “A lone rider is coming—from the Techborn lines!”

  I could see him now, when I used my hand to shade my eyes. The rider was a tall, imposing figure. He was clad in the black robes of a Magister.

  “Viktor?” Helga guessed. “What does that old fart want?”

  The Dusters around me tensed, their fingers tightening on their weapons. They wanted to burn him down, and I couldn’t blame them, but Helga didn’t give the order.