“Create the opening,” Dr. Winder said without urgency: more like a sigh.
“Yes, sir,” one of the pilots confirmed.
Dr. Winder aimed with one arm and a tiny pinprick opened in the drones’ swarm. He saw the woman touch the ground beneath her, tears flooding out of her eyes. She locked eyes with Dr. Winder and mouthed his name. The ground beneath them began to shake. A crack started to form under the mech’s feet.
“Now!” Ramsey shouted.
Dr. Winder sighed, c****d his gun. “Wake up, wake up, they took your voice.”
“Sorry, repeat that, sir?” the pilot asked, puzzled.
Dr. Winder muted his communication and whispered sadly, “Goodbye, Maria.”
He fired, and the gun shot a small missile. The missile went through the opening in the swarm, and from within, light combusted and swallowed the drones
