The fighter's hatch slowly opened. Already suited up in his Mecha, He Ao stood at the opening and raised a hand to connect his Mecha's communicator to the fighter.
"Mr. Bode, this is too dangerous!" Mark's panicked voice came through the moment the connection was established.
"It's just as dangerous if we stay together." He Ao looked up at the blue sky beyond the hatch and the endless desert beneath it.
At the far edge of that sky, tiny black specks were rapidly closing in on them.
"Draw their fire," He Ao said calmly. "I'll take out the part that matters most."
He drew a slight breath. "That's an order!"
Mark paused, then answered at once. "Yes, sir!"
He Ao had already leaped through the hatch, plunging toward the boundless yellow sands.
At first, he fell through the sky like a stone, leaving blurred trails of air behind him. Then his Mecha's thrusters roared to life. Just before he struck a dune, they pulled him up in a graceful arc and sent him soaring skyward.
By then, the dense mass of pursuing Mechas had caught up. Their engines thundered beneath the heavens, exhaust flames streaming behind them.
He Ao watched the Mechas flying toward him, then glanced at his armor's readouts.
Bode had originally kept this Exoskeleton Armor for a quick escape when things went wrong. It carried few combat modules; its engine power and endurance had been pushed to the limit instead.
A miniature nuclear battery powered the armor. It could not compare to Vian's miniature reactor, but it was among the finest batteries on the Federation market.
The armor itself was made of the latest ultra-high-strength alloys, maximizing its defense and durability. Paired with the Federation's newest ultra-compact engines, they allowed the Mecha to operate briefly at an