CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2027 11:13am
(00:04:15:23)
He advanced methodically across the soft ground, scanning in all directions, hunting. His body shielding danced irregularly across his skin, phasing in and out. Its efficiency was questionable, but he was unable to shut it down. Scorched skin on his left side sent unusual signals reminding him of the damage he was already aware of. He couldn’t turn those signals off either. It was confusing.
At the structure he stopped. The targets were gone, merged with this formation. He could not calculate how. He wasted little time on the effort. Instead, he stepped back several feet, raised his pulse rifle and obliterated the box.
Dust and smoked billowed around him as he stepped forward again to inspect the impact site. There was
