Twilla’s Beast was hollow-bellied. The lumbering juggernaut, a comfy shelter custom-built for her. Light years away from home, they were fighting a war waged in outer space.

An enemy warhead blew a gaping hole into the back of Beast’s head. The mecha was now a gnarled mess of scorched metal, wires, and exposed tubes. The damage prompted a critical system failure.

The massive humanoid robot and its pilot veered off course. They plummeted down into planet E42-ALPHA’s atmosphere. On the windward shor...