Free Stone Soldiers 4: Shades of War by C. E. Martin

unavoidable- a precognitive's visions were never completely avoidable.
    On his cue, the two helicopters flanking his own banked, peeling away from the formation. Almost immediately, the stone soldiers on board leapt out- two from each aircraft. Small drogue chutes deployed behind them, pulled by static lines that broke away from the helicopters after their job was completed. The 'chutes sudden breaking action decelerated the soldiers to more manageable speeds, then broke away, letting the men of stone drop the last twenty feet on their own.
    Each soldier was all in black, wearing assault vests and low-slung holsters on their right thighs. They bristled with pouches and equipment, and had oversized goggles covering their eyes.
    Colonel Kenslir, dressed the same as his men, leapt from his own helicopter- his 'chute snapping open for a second then breaking away. He plummeted down, crashing into a tent, splintering its wood frame and collapsing it completely.
    He leapt up from the ground, noting he'd dislocated his ankle in the rough landing. Raising his leg slightly, he forced the foot back into position and let his healing powers take over. The ligaments and tendons quickly mended as he unlimbered the weapon strapped across his chest.
    In the head-up view of his tactical targeting visor, Kenslir saw the superimposed markers indicating the stone soldiers- Atlas, Zeus, Hades and Janus. All were on their feet as well, bringing their weapons to bear.
    Kenslir bent his legs at the knees then vaulted up and out of the collapsed tent, an inhuman leap that carried him twenty feet up and almost twice that forward. His boots tore up soft chunks of sod when he landed- right behind a cluster of specters watching over the battlefield the stone soldiers had just plummeted onto.
    The Colonel swept up, silent, behind the first ghost and thrust his fist into its back. Green light flared around his hand and the ghost broke apart- reduced to smoke-like wisps that scattered in every direction.
    Another ghost spun around as its companion was disintegrated. A bright flash of purple speared into it and it spilled apart like smoke caught in a strong breeze.
    Across the battlefield, more flashes of purple were showing up. Thin, pencil-like beams, erupting from the barrels of the submachinegun-sized weapons the stone soldiers were now firing. Ghosts were flashing brightly and vanishing with each hit.
    Kenslir fired his own weapon once more, disrupting another specter. A fourth lunged at him, or near him. It missed the Colonel by a good foot. He lashed out with his rifle, sweeping it through the solid-looking ghost's head.
    The ghost flickered and flashed as the weapon passed through it and disrupted its energy. When it reformed a half-second later, it was no longer solid, but spectral and translucent. It looked around in what clearly showed as terror on its human-like face, bewildered and afraid, and unable to see its attacker.
    Kenslir kicked the ghost in its torso. Green light flared around his boot and the specter erupted in a flash then was gone.
    ***
     
    Something was wrong. Very wrong.
    From the top of a large catering truck, Clint watched the battle with a growing sense of dread. The screams of dying men had faded away after the three helicopters had swept overhead. Now an eerie silence hung over the area and purplish flashes lit up the fog.
    Clint concentrated, ignoring the input of his eyes and seeing with his mind. With his clairvoyant vision, he could see for miles, could look past solid matter. Seeing through fog would be trivial.
    Clint's jaw dropped open in shock.
    Hidden in the fog were four man-shaped forms, each glowing with a bright energy. They fired short weapons from their shoulders- lasers- that lanced out and disrupted his ghosts.
    The spectral soldiers were being defeated- blown apart by concentrated ultraviolet beams of light. Clint's small army was fading fast.
    He leapt into the air and raced toward the closest glowing man,