Mark marched through the high grasses secure in his knowledge that he was the most dangerous thing on the rocky plain. Nano-mites buzzed inside, outside, and through his skin, giving him a shield that could absorb almost any amount of kinetic energy. His mind interfaced with the rest of his equipment and many of his weapons thanks to a secure wireless cloud that he generated. Thanks to a series of nodes that he had dropped upon deployment, he also had direct access to the Archangel satellite, specifically, the satellite’s orbital beam cannon.

He knelt as a low flying helicopter passed overhead, still unworried. Several programs were running that de-encrypted and monitored all nearby radio traffic and nothing had flagged him as dangerous. Yet. That would change very shortly.

A voice crackled to life inside his head. Everything okay, Mark?

Yeah, I’m 1500 m from my objective and everything is real quiet.

The good kind or the bad kind?

Want me to ask them?

Very funny.

Mark grinned and moved on.