The machine turned its back on them—the ultimate insult to a soldier. It glided rapidly toward the hole it had emerged from. It dove, headfirst, burrowing into the earth with a high-pitched whine, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

The grenade detonated near its feet. Smoke and mud billowed up. The blast knocked Kaelen back, shattering his visor.

Kaelen looked at the churned mud, the empty space where his friend used to be, and the hole leading to the planet's core.

Kaelen raised his rifle. Through the infrared scope, he saw them. Three separatist rebels, crouching behind the roots of a massive, weeping tree. They were dug in, waiting for an ambush.

Silence fell over the jungle.

"That was a hunter," Kaelen said, checking his rifle. The magazine was empty. "And we just grazed it. It'll be back."

Kaelen exhaled. He centered his reticle on the center mass of the lead rebel. He squeezed the trigger. The rifle kicked.