âTHE DRONES ARE INVISIBLE TO RADAR.â
The Able Team leaderâs jaw set firmly as he scanned the shadowy terrain ahead. âIf they had stealth robot tanks, then they could build a stealth helicopter.â
A red light buzzed on the control console. âWeâre hot! Target radar lock!â the pilot announced as he wrenched the chopper hard right.
Strapped in, Lyons felt the jerk like a dog on the end of a leash. Out of the darkness, he saw a flaming halo growing in intensity and following the helicopterâs thrashing movements.
He knew exactly what the flaming halo wasâthe rocket exhaust of an antiaircraft missile, the lethal shaft of its warhead forming the black void in the center of a hellfire ring.
Death shrieked at the men of Able Team on a jet of flame.
Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona
Dane Whitman watched the MidKnight Mark II armored combat drone roll across the Yuma proving grounds. He glanced over at General Stephen Rogers and smiled.
âHowâs she holding up?â Whitman asked.
âStill quiet on the seismic detectors,â Rogers said as he looked at the monitor. He swiveled the flat screen so that Whitman could look at it. The general hovered the cursor over the infrared sensors. âEven its heat signature is nearly invisible. Good work.â
âStealth and armored combat never worked that well, hand in hand, but this is a revolutionary new design,â Whitman replied. âWith the MidKnight, we can hit the enemy with impunity. Donât want to risk a Marine platoon on foot? Send in a small squadron of MidKnights.â
Rogers pursed his lips. âWhat about regular tanks?â
âThatâs the joy of this. The MidKnights are slave drones. One operator can handle and coordinate two of them. The range on the remotes are fairly limited, so our operators will need to be close. What better place than wrapped in the Chobam armor of an M-1A tank?â Whitman asked.
Rogers nodded. âBut what about the tanks themselves?â
âThe hypersonic vibrational dampeners are modular designs,â Whitman explained. âThey can be installed in M-1As with ease.â
Rogers frowned. âSo why use the drones?â
âTo increase our armored ability. Instead of sending out large squadrons of tanks, we have two armored vehicles and four drones able to do the work of a squadron, with more firepower and superior coordination,â Whitman said. âAnd with less risk of someone with a cheap, shoulder-mounted rocket launcher taking out a tank crew.â
Rogers looked dubiously at the monitor.
Suddenly one of the MidKnights exploded. Chunks of armor plating and flames erupted as if from a metallic volcano.
âWhat in the hell?â Rogers demanded. He stood in the control booth, eyes locked on the field below. Another of the MidKnights detonated in an orange blossom of flame and debris.
âSir!â Lieutenant Aaron Blake spoke up. âThereâs something else out on the field!â
âImpossible!â Rogers bellowed. âThis testing ground is protected on all sides. There are no access roadsâ¦â
The control tower shook.
Whitman held on to his chair, but Rogers and Blake were tossed to the floor. He glanced down to see a spiked disk pass near the bonfire of one of his drones. A long, thick tail rose from the thingâs back. Its bulbous tip spit out another flash of fire. He watched the low, armored intruderâs head spit twin lines of flame that smashed the tent with the MidKnight operators to shreds.