The Last Mission — Justin S. Leslie

An elite Space Ranger battalion uncovers technology that could turn the tide of intergalactic war in the third adventure of this military SF series.Capt. Ben Dailey’s Nova Rangers rush into situations in which angels fear to tread. Soldiers without peer, combat ready at all times, they achieve victories on behalf of the Federation at any cost. That makes them the perfect team to investigate Teras, a toxic world in the far reaches of the galaxy that’s been devastated by an unknown force. It appears they were sent there by accident—but maybe not . . .With the USF Murphy in orbit, its crew racing to figure out a way home, Dailey leads a detachment onto the planet. There, they find the human survivors of a military outpost and civilization striking an ominous resemblance to twentieth-century America. Teras’s remaining inhabitants are the descendants of the people who moved underground after the surface was poisoned long ago by a strange, lingering fog. Generations have come and gone, managing to live on a dying world that has somehow transformed animals into brutal monsters and created ravenous spirits out of the deceased.The Nova Rangers soon discover the source of the fog—and the planet’s blight: a damaged ship belonging to a dangerous force only whispered of in stories. It is full of miraculous technology that could tilt the balance of power between the Federation and their supposed Alurian rivals. Now, as both the mysterious threat and the shadowy Alurian fleets arrive at Teras, Dailey must keep the ancient alien vessel from falling into their hands and defend the world’s people, lest they become casualties of an interstellar war.With pulse-pounding military action, extraordinary characters, and provocative intrigue, the Descending Worlds sci-fi saga continues in Justin S. Leslie’s The Last Mission.