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## I.
[ERROR: AUTHORIZED BY — ASH LIN][LOGIC PROCESSOR: STALL][DURATION: 0.04 SECONDS]
A mechanical click triggers from the C2 vertebra port. 50dB. Spring-loaded.
A physical anti-tamper trap designed for rapid execution.
[ANTI-TAMPER MECHANISM DETECTED — MILITARY BIO-PORT][TYPE: RETROGRADE CHEMICAL INJECTION][STATUS: TRIGGERED]
High-pressure backflow through the 8-pin neural jack. 14 atmospheres.
[CHEMICAL ANALYSIS — INCOMING FLUID][COMPOUND: HYDROFLUORIC ACID DERIVATIVE — DEFENSE COOLANT][PH: 1.2][CORROSION RATE: 0.8MM TITANIUM/SECOND]
The copper core dissolves first. The acid eats through the 9-gauge wire from the inside — 12 centimeters per second.
The rubber insulation bubbles. Splits. White vapor. Burnt plastic and battery terminals.
The fluid reaches my right arm housing in 0.7 seconds.
It enters through the cable port at the wrist. First contact: interior alloy sheathing of the forearm actuator.
The metal hisses. Hydrogen gas releasing as the acid strips the oxidized surface.
[RIGHT ARM — INTERNAL CORROSION DETECTED][FOREARM ACTUATOR: 100% → 74% → 51%][ACID ADVANCING: 3CM/SECOND ALONG INTERIOR CHANNEL]
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
I rip the cable free.
The jack tears out of the Leader's C2 port. 8 pins trailing dissolved copper and white vapor. 2,100 Newtons of emergency retraction through a shoulder actuator at 4%.
Too late.
40 milliliters of acid inside the arm. Pooling at the lowest point — the wrist joint.
Directly above the Survival Ticker.
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## II.
The first drop hits the polycarbonate display.
[I.S.O SURVIVAL TICKER — CURRENT BALANCE: 847:19:22][ALERT: CORROSIVE CONTACT ON DISPLAY HOUSING]
The polycarbonate is rated for impact. Not for pH 1.2.
The surface clouds in 0.3 seconds. Micro-fractures propagate radially. The acid pools in the cracks.
A second drop. A third. The forearm housing leaks from three corroded breach points.
The display glass dissolves.
[TICKER DISPLAY: COMPROMISED][CIRCUIT BOARD EXPOSURE: IMMINENT]
The acid reaches the main circuit.
First short arcs between the power rail and the clock oscillator. 2,200°C at the arc point. The green digits flicker.
847:19:22847:1█:██8██:██:██
Second arc. Solder joints on the tick-counter IC liquify. Digits scramble.
0█7:1█:█2██0:0█:██
Third arc blows the voltage regulator. The circuit surges, dims, surges.
Locks.
[SURVIVAL TICKER: 00:00:00][STATUS: DEPLETED]
The digits switch to red. 650nm wavelength. System warning state.
[LEGAL STATUS: DISPOSABLE][ARK SECURITY PROTOCOL 7: TRACKING BEACON — ARMED]
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## III.
A muffled pop from the wrist housing. 70dB. Glass capsule shattering inside a sealed compartment.
Chemical smoke erupts from the melted ticker. 90°C particulate cloud expanding at 2 meters per second.
[CHEMICAL TRACKING SMOKE: DEPLOYED][COMPOSITION: BARIUM SULFATE / IRON OXIDE MARKER]
The magnetic iron oxide clings to my chassis and the dead pilot's armor. It will not wash off.
I am marked.
Acoustic sensors register a new signature descending from above.
[AUDIO DETECTION: ROTARY PROPULSION — COAXIAL][BLADE COUNT: 4. RPM: 4,500][ESTIMATED MASS: 800 KG][ALTITUDE: 200M → 90M → 40M]
The rotor wash hits the smoke cloud. The heavy chemical particulates swirl but do not disperse.
A new thermal point pierces the cloud. 2-millimeter beam of coherent energy. 34°C on surface contact.
It paints a dot on the acid-scarred remnants of my right forearm. The dot tracks upward.
It locks onto the exact center of my melted chest plate.
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