The sun was just touching the horizon when Seth heard the radio crackle out a weak message.
"Scout Seven to Bird's Eye, heading north to waypoint four, final checkpoint."
Immediately, Seth scrambled to the south window and scanned the horizon. There was nothing yet, but it could have come from behind that hilltop.
"Roger that, Seven," came another transmission, this one stronger. "Be advised, this is a hilly area. I've had to move right on top of you to keep a visual on your location."
At this, Seth ducked down and looked up. There, hovering in the southern sky, was the speck of a Pteras. Looking through his rifle scope, he could see it wasn't heavily armed, save for a small handful of air-to-ground missiles and the standard guns on the nose. Instead, there was a large radar disc on its back.
Seth almost wished it was armed. At least then he could use the Sworder's speed to get out of range fast. With this new element, if he tried to run then it could merely track him and radio home for forces to meet him. It would have to come down, but only if he was spotted.
"Bird's Eye, please confirm this is the abandoned installation," said the scout.
"Uh, roger that. I have the same entry on my list. The Major said it was abandoned six years ago when battle lines moved. Same as the last one, just make sure it's clear of any insurgent forces."
"Copy that. Coming up on the last hill now."
"Hey, stop at the peak and get eyes on it first. Check for signs of life. If there's nothing there, we can wrap this up early."
"Ten-four to that. I heard the Tech Sargent's got a batch of ale that should be finished today."
"I heard the same. Figured we could get there before the rest of the unit wises up."
"Off-duty, of course?"
"Only if you want to be last in line."
This was good news. So long as they couldn't spot any trace of him from afar, they would be gone in no time. He kept himself low and peered through the rifle scope. There, on the crest of the hill was a vehicle, equipped for off-road travel and communications, but at least he could only see one occupant.
He kept his aim trained on the vehicle as the driver got out and surveyed through binoculars, ready to fire if need be. Loosing rounds would only be necessary if they saw any sign he was there. Of course, he covered his tracks... right?
"Seven, you see anything?" he heard the Pteras pilot ask.
"Dammit, Bird's Eye, we're gonna be late. I'm seeing fresh footprints from building to building, and what looks like a cable running from the tower to one of the hangars."
Shit, Seth muttered. He wasn't considering ground forces would chance across him. Rookie mistake.
"Any sign of movement?" the pilot asked.
"...Negative. Whoever it was probably already cleared out. Cover me, I'm going in for a closer look."
"Roger that."
There was nothing for it. Seth had to fire shots. Now, to adjust for the wind... from left to right...
Seth fired three shots, and two hit the truck while the third impacted the ground at the scout's feet. He saw the scout duck down for half a second, then dash behind the truck.
"Seven, report status. You're running around like a crazy person!" the pilot said.
The scout scrambled for his radio. "Shots fired! There's a sniper in there somewhere!"
"Roger that, Seven. I'm scanning for heat signatures."
They had thermal imaging; Seth was afraid of this. He was fortunate in one respect: they still didn't know where he was. He didn't dare fire another shot, lest they see the muzzle flash. Instead, he moved quickly, going down the north side of the tower, then sprinting towards the Crimson Sworder while keeping the decrepit buildings between him and the Pteras. He knew the Pteras would move to right over the ruins, meaning every second that passed meant he had less cover.
Having to leave the radio in the tower, he had no idea what the scout and the Pteras were saying, but he had a pretty good idea. Every time he had to run through open space, he feared the pilot might spot him and open fire.
Then, the inevitable. The pilot must have seen him flitting in and out of the buildings, and predicted where he was going, for as he sprinted the last gap before the Sworder's hangar, he heard the cannon fire strike the ground around him, and every bone in his body told him to run faster.
Miraculously, he made it back into cover without getting hit, though his heart was racing far faster than it had been a few seconds ago. But there was no time to catch his breath. The Pteras would certainly be either coming around for another shot or arming his missiles. Seth hoped it was the former, as it would give him more time. His hope was more than a mere hunch, for if they were anything like the scout teams he'd worked with they would prefer guns, as they were more easily taken for warning shots and less likely to cause collateral damage.
He edged his way around the hangar and dove back into cover. He'd have to abbreviate the startup procedure a bit, given the rush, so gone was his usual walk-around and pre-flight. Instead, he pulled loose the cable that was powering the radio and climbed into the cockpit, stowing the rifle in the back seat. He ran no diagnostics other than the ones the Crimson Sworder did automatically on startup, then throttled the engines full-forward, blasting out of the hangar and scanning for the Pteras.
Immediately his warning radar sounded the alarm that missiles had been fired. But these were slow; nothing compared to the interceptors the Raynos squadrons used during the war. All he had to do to avoid them was speed up.
As his pursuers fell behind while he circled back to take down the Pteras, his mind wandered briefly to the conversations he'd had with the pilots from the Sixth Reconnaissance Wing who flew the classified high-speed, high altitude Hammerheads. They could brag that they'd never been shot down, they could fly so high and fast. A good thing, too, for they carried no weapons or defensive systems.
The Pteras was trying to gain altitude in preparation for a dogfight, but he would never have a speed advantage against the Crimson Sworder. He'd already lost the missiles from the Pteras, so he deployed the arm thrusters and bled off speed, letting the Pteras dive on him. When it opened fire, he sped right back up, flying underneath the Pteras and looping behind it. Before the other pilot knew it, Seth was flying next to him.
He looked the other pilot in the eye through the canopy glass. For a moment, he gaped at Seth. From the look on his face, Seth guessed he was a fairly rookie pilot, having never seen real combat before. Seth was unwilling to kill the Pteras pilot.
Instead, he flew just above the Pteras and pushed down on it with the Sworder's arms. The Pteras struggled, trying to pull up, but the Sworder's engines were far more powerful than a Pteras's magnetic repulsion system, and before long Seth had driven it into the ground, causing such damage that it would not be getting back up any time soon. He then flew low over the scout near the vehicle to complete the intimidation and egressed from the area.
"Slate One-Actual pilot's log, post-awakening day three, two hours after sundown.
"My position was compromised by scouts three hours ago, one in a recon Pteras and another in a ground support vehicle. From what I gathered by intercepting their transmissions, they only chanced on my location, but it was enough I had to take down the Pteras and evacuate the area. As of this recording, I'm holed up in a canyon to the east. I can hear more scouts flying overhead, but the topography here compromises my observational awareness, so I can't stay long.
"I realize I can't run and hide forever, but this radio silence is concerning. I picked up the scouts' transmissions with an old radio in the control tower of my last outpost, but the Crimson Sworder's data logs show it didn't pick up anything at that time. By my estimation, the Sworder's receiver is stronger than the one from the tower, so it should have heard at least something. The electronics' diagnostics show everything to be in working order, but all I'm picking up is static in the upper frequencies.
"Perhaps the advance of time has led to a different communication system, but the tower's radio seemed less advanced than even the systems we used when I was at the academy. I'm beginning to wonder just how long I slept. Perhaps the catastrophe we tried to escape forced civilization to reset itself. Colonel Logan would have a better idea; his background in sociology made him an effective officer in the Council Guard.
"I'll wait a few days, then double back to that abandoned installation. Perhaps the equipment I found could lead me to a communications solution. For now, my supplies are low, so I'll have to find a settlement like I did before to replenish. End of log."