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## I.
The laser holds for 0.2 seconds.
Then the air tears open.
[AUDIO DETECTION: ROTARY CANNON DISCHARGE][CALIBER: 30MM. RATE OF FIRE: 3,600 RPM. SOUND PRESSURE: 142DB]
The first burst hits the mech hull where I was positioned 0.4 seconds ago. 30mm tungsten-core rounds at 1,100 meters per second.
Each impact transfers 48,000 Joules into the target surface. The hull perforates. Shrapnel sprays in a 5-meter radius.
I am already moving. Three-point scramble.
The second burst tracks left. Rounds chew through a scrap pile 2 meters behind me.
The ground shakes. Rust and gravel fountains upward.
[EVASION ANALYSIS][DRONE TRACKING: INFRARED + CHEMICAL SMOKE SIGNATURE][SMOKE SOURCE: RIGHT WRIST — BEACON MODULE][EVASION PROBABILITY WITH ACTIVE BEACON: 2.1%]
Third burst. Two rounds impact within 0.8 meters. The concussive wave rattles every joint.
A tungsten fragment embeds in my right hip housing. 14mm deep. Non-critical.
The smoke trails behind me. Every movement draws a 90°C line in the air pointing directly at my position.
The beacon must be removed.
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## II.
I slam into cover behind a load-bearing steel pillar. 40-centimeter diameter.
The drone circles. Rotor wash at 4,500 RPM. The cannon pauses to recalculate firing solution through the obstruction.
[BEACON MODULE LOCATION: RIGHT FOREARM — SUBCUTANEOUS][DEPTH: 3CM BENEATH OUTER ARMOR SHELL][REMOVAL METHOD: MANUAL EXTRACTION — NO SURGICAL TOOLS AVAILABLE]
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A sheared piece of titanium rebar protrudes from the pillar's base. The broken end is jagged, torn at a 40-degree angle.
It is sharp enough.
I brace the rebar against my left knee coupling. The exoskeleton joint locks it in place.
I drive my right forearm down onto the jagged tip.
The rebar punches through the outer armor at the 4-centimeter mark. Penetration: 2 centimeters. 78dB.
Not deep enough.
I shift my weight. 220kg bearing down through the forearm.
The rebar slides to 3 centimeters. It severs hydraulic line R-4.
[HYDRAULIC LINE R-4: SEVERED][PRESSURE DROP: 800 PSI → 0 PSI IN 1.2 SECONDS][RIGHT ARM TORQUE: 4% → 1%]
Black hydraulic fluid sprays from the wound. 60°C. It hits the pillar and runs down in thick streaks.
The rebar tip scrapes the beacon housing. Metal on glass. 4,200 Hz.
I twist. The jagged edge catches the mounting bracket.
I pry.
The bracket snaps. The beacon module — glass, iron oxide capsule, melted polycarbonate — tears free from the forearm cavity.
Still smoking. 90°C.
[BEACON MODULE: EXTRACTED][RIGHT ARM: 1% TORQUE — HYDRAULIC FAILURE]
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## III.
15 meters northwest. A pile of pressurized coolant tanks against the perimeter wall. Seismic scan reads six cylindrical masses. Estimated internal pressure: 200 PSI each.
I throw.
1% forearm torque. Release velocity: 8 meters per second. The throw is ugly and low.
It lands among the tanks. 52dB.
The drone responds instantly. Rotor pitch spikes 200 RPM as it reorients.
[DRONE BEARING: SHIFTING TO 315° NORTHWEST][WEAPON SYSTEM: SECONDARY — MICRO-MISSILE RACK]
High-pitched whine. 11,000 Hz. Missile ignition.
Detonation: 0.9 seconds later.
[BLAST YIELD: 4KG TNT EQUIVALENT + SECONDARY TANK RUPTURE][OVERPRESSURE WAVE: 14 PSI AT 10 METERS]
The shockwave hits at 340 meters per second. My chassis lifts 8 centimeters off the ground.
The stolen left leg coupling shears clean off. The right arm slams backward against the pillar.
Then the ground fails.
Compacted earth over corroded concrete fractures along a 6-meter line. The ceiling of a subterranean cavity collapses.
I drop.
[FREEFALL: 4.2 METERS][IMPACT SURFACE: REINFORCED CONCRETE][IMPACT FORCE: 9,400 NEWTONS]
Every joint registers the shock. The stolen leg is gone.
The right arm is functionally destroyed. The left arm remains severed at joint B-3.
[STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 11%][LOCOMOTION: COMPROMISED — SINGLE LIMB FUNCTIONAL (RIGHT LEG)][POWER CELL: 2.1%][OPTICAL: OFFLINE. AUDIO: 31%]
The drone's rotors are muffled above — circling the crater, scanning through 4 meters of rubble.
It does not descend.
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## IV.
The seismic array picks up a new signature. Light. Rhythmic. Bipedal.
[SEISMIC DETECTION: FOOTSTEPS — HUMAN][ESTIMATED MASS: 52 KG][STEP FREQUENCY: 1.6 HZ — UNHURRIED][BEARING: 6 METERS SOUTH — CLOSING]
Heart rate: 85 BPM. Resting range.
[THERMAL SCAN: FEMALE HUMAN — 37.1°C CORE][ANOMALY: CRANIAL REGION — 44°C][SUB-DERMAL HEAT SIGNATURE: COPPER HEAT PIPES][CONFIGURATION: BILATERAL — TEMPORAL TO OCCIPITAL]
The footsteps stop. 0.8 meters from my chassis.
A hand grabs the edge of my dented chest plate. Five fingers. 36°C. Firm grip. No tremor.
A voice. Female. 170Hz fundamental. No stress markers.
"Kill your power core. Now. Or the next drone won't miss."
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