Zephen awoke slowly, his vision blurred and various aches across his body. His regenerative abilities were putting the damage to rights, but hitting the wall had still not been a pleasant experience.
After lying still for several moments and listening to his surroundings, Zephen got up, looking for his attacker. When he spotted the remains of the tank and the plane, he realized that the opponent he was looking for hadn't survived.
There was a jagged opening in the small aircraft that revealed seared flesh. Given the size of the craft, it must have been the body of a cyborg. No humanoid Zephen knew of would fit into something that small.
Advancing cautiously, he scanned the area, rifle swinging back and forth for potential targets. Seeing nothing immediately threatening, Zephen moved closer to the ruined vehicles.
The tank was obviously so much scrap at this point, although the computer was still reporting to his helmet with what data it could.
As he got closer to the plane, Zephen started noting details. The wings were variable geometry, swinging forward and aft for better control at different speeds. There were auto-lasers mounted in fixed positions for dog-fighting at the nose of the small ship. Particle beams on swivels allowed for heavier attacks.
The most startling thing, though, was the fact that the exposed flesh, held in an egg-like compartment, seemed to be all there was of the pilot. It looked like some sort of slug.
Zephen probed at the thing with his healer's senses, then jerked back in surprise and disgust. The… body… in the craft had more or less human DNA!
With a grunt, Zephen went back to examining the site, but there was nothing else to be had except for a couple of laser rifles. Zephen left them alone, not having any space to carry so many guns.
Topping off the power in his survival pack and his rifle from the tank's still functioning power plant only took a couple of minutes. Then, Zephen made a final goodbye to the tank.
An hour later, while his grav boots moved him steadily north on the remains of Highway 40, a new clearing appeared in the ruins of Baltimore as the tank's fusion power plant touched the Earth, if only for a moment, with a miniature sun.