Robbie MacNiven’s first KeyForge short story, featured in the anthology Tales From the Crucible from Aconyte Books, Extermination Examination sees a pair of students embark on a research trip to the dangerous martian territory of the Borreal enclave. Earnest, enthusiastic krxix Nal’ai is desperate to impress her Martian Studies tutor – the 96.7% inorganic professor Longaard – while her roommate, the party-elf Kolli, just wants to get through her second year. Theirs is a simple task – just spend a few days interviewing the enclave’s members – but neither is really prepared for the paranoia and xenophobia of the notoriously insular martians.
MacNiven channels an endearing mixture of high-tech gadgetry, strange alien races (not just the martians but the spider-like krxix too) and academia in a story that’s equal parts gleeful homage to the classic trope of the merciless, warlike martians and wry observation on the realities of student life. There’s lots to enjoy, from Nal’ai and Kolli’s somewhat combative relationship to the interesting dynamic between the martians and the rest of the Crucible, all wrapped up in a little bit of mystery and quite a lot of baffled characters bumbling along and just managing to survive and succeed. It’s a lot of fun, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Click here to read reviews of other KeyForge stories from this anthology.
