Cynetic Wolf

He exploded in a ball of light, shockwave pulsing the hanger, incinerating everything, before the camera konked. A high-pitched static ringing.

‘Paer?’ I said in a shocked stupor.

‘I’m here,’ she answered in a hushed voice.

We’d sent those soldiers to their fate. After a full minute of silence, I asked how things were going.

It wasn’t looking good. ‘Their air support is killing us,’ she said.

‘How soon until the fourth facility’s breached?’ That’s all we needed. Once that was done, there was no stopping it.

An officer passing our alley noticed us and opened fire. We ran.

‘They keep sending reinforcements!’ I yelled to Paer as we raced down the alley. ’Do we have any backup?’

No, and no. And it was an hour until team three arrived on site.

We rounded the corner as a large contingent of protesters charged the Parliamentary steps, flinging homemade bombs and spraying the building with blaster fire.

Four nearby VTOLs turned, concentrating their fiery carnage on those rushing the stairs. Concrete and marble spewed as groups of rebels were cremated in an instant.

An anti-aircraft gun from somewhere in the crowd took out the closest bird. Within seconds, the man holding it—and everyone unlucky enough to be within four meters—had been reduced to ashes.

Our guys didn’t stand a chance. I targeted the nearest VTOL, cycling my blaster settings. After the flying fiasco, I’d done some research. While VTOLs were resistant to blaster fire, their instruments were highly sensitive and relied on precision maneuvering. Small errors or losses of power could be catastrophic.

And catastrophic was just what I needed. Would it be enough?

Selecting stun mode, I locked on and fired twice as the ground to my right imploded. Bingo.

The engine stalled midair and the VTOL plummeted. Less than twenty meters from impact, it roared to life. Crap, pilot must have rebooted. I fired again. The engine froze and resumed its fall, exploding as it bounced off an empty fountain and took out half the World Bank.

The other pilots pulled back. They’d seen their friend’s fates and wanted no part.

A cheer went up from the rebels, even as a micronade clunked at my feet.

Oh crap.

Zedda.

It exploded, launching me into the air.