Blade and Bone
Novella 23,955 words Recommended by 2 award/anthology sources
"Konstantinov’s Company found the hostages just a few hours after setting out on the trail of the True raiders who’d taken them. Leaving behind the tar sands mine, its extraction plant, and the smoldering ruin of its tank farm, the fresh graves and ramshackle defenses got up by grim survivors."
Quasar links out; the story lives on Asimov's, where the author gets the click.