Free Invasion Wars 1: Crimes of War by Ray O'Neil Page B

rapidly, not saying another word. Demeitri held himself against the glass in anticipation, watching the doors and platforms bring in the reinforcements. From all sides, Beowulf drones entered, already firing at Captain Washington. Firing back while on the move, he leaped off of the containers and dropped back onto the ground, letting out a few burst before he did. Beowulfs fell near the west door, crashing and blowing into each other as the cannon rounds turned them and anything behind them into wrecks of useless metal.
    The AI in the Beowulf drones were still at a human level of inaccuracy, the shots coming from their MBC3s filling the containers with holes all around the Siegfried Exoframe. A round hit Washington’s left breast plate, a wave of purple energy dispersing the throwback; the damaged plate of armor smoldering. Staying down while the gunfire continued, liquid metal bubbled around the area that was hit, pooling around the small hole to make it like new. Shaking his head as if he was fighting to stay awake, the captain stood up. A compartment of his leg armor swung outward, revealing a fragmentation disc.
    In one quick move, he entered a sprint and tossed the disc over the containers towering over him; the suit’s computer system giving him the right volley arc with a dotted line display. The disc spun horizontally, floating down towards a cluster of Beowulf drones. Skipping on the ground once, it bashed into the foot of the drone in the middle, activating its armament. Crumbling into dozens of individual pieces, the disc turned into anti-personal Javelin rockets, all shooting off in different directions. The heat-seeking rockets all found their place, a few spinning around near the ceiling and flying back down to attach to a victim.
    The rockets burned their way into the armor, melting a small hole in order to have the explosion happen within the Exoframe. Beowulfs bursted into pieces, one after another; bits of robotic limbs filling the air. Reloading his rifle, the captain struggled to stay standing. A burst of steam shot out of the magazine port, the hissing ceased once a fresh one was slammed inside. Getting out of cover, he moved over to the other side of the arena, and kept zig zagging through the maze on his way to his next targets.
    One of the Beowulfs charged in blindly, expecting to get to him before he could see it flanking him. Washington swung around a corner and clotheslined it with the broad side of his rifle, dropping it to the ground hard enough to have armor plating come loose in the back of its helmet. Lifting a leg up high, he slammed his boot down onto the drone’s face. The impact-activated heel sent a wave of purple energy downward, turning the drone’s head into an explosion of bend plates and wires. Its arms fell limp, the red lights lined around its body dying out.
    Stumbling, the captain held his chest, the inside of his visor flashing red. His breathing grew sharp, his legs buckling. All of the remaining Beowulf units charged in and surrounded him. They didn’t fire, sensing that he was already defeated because of his vitals going haywire. Falling back onto the wall of a container, he clutched at his helmet, trying desperately to take it off.
    In the observation platform, a video feed of the captain from within the suit showed him screaming in pain. Everything was going through the roof: heart rate, EEG, body temperature. Foam was bubbling from his mouth, his eyes turning bloodshot. Demeitri slammed a fist into the glass. It was more out of anger than concern for the dying soldier.
    “No, not again! Not with him!”
    “Don’t tell me you lost another one,” Valarie said, blowing on her left hand to finish up.
    “I’m not losing him like I did with the others.” Demeitri stormed out of the room, taking Valerie's hand as he passed by her. “Come with me. I need your good luck more than ever.” Looking over his shoulder, he sent out an order to the technicians before he left.