I once heard a Gear talk about why we don't carry flashlights. It was one of those South Islander psychos. 'Might versus light' he'd preached. To clarify, it's the preference of an extra pistol in the pocket or holster or wherever a flashlight would fit. And while I do believe that there is no such thing as too much firepower, I must disagree to the tenth degree. That guy had clearly never encountered the Kryll.

Enemy hammerburst rounds pelting the dumpster I had my back to, I glanced over at what remained of my squad. It was a mess. All four of us in Omega Squad had taken up defensive firing positions on this narrow backstreet, but the dumpster I was behind contained a raging trash fire. As annoying as it was in trying to go through the motions of a firefight (keeping eyes on which targets were where and how many, returning fire, watching for thrown grenades), it was the fire that ultimately saved my life when some clever drone decided to shoot out the streetlights above me and the rest of Omega.

Seconds. It was literally a matter of seconds before the Kryll swooped down and tore my friends to bloody shreds. It was like watching a food processor go to work. The only thing that kept me from vomiting all over the inside of my helmet was the sobering realization that I would be next. That's when I heard the cherry on top.

"Hun-gerr!"

Boomers. Of course. Why not? I leaned out of cover and pointed my boltok. A lumbering locust the size of a bear came into focus over its iron sights. I squeezed the trigger. The recoil alone nearly snapped my wrist in half as the barrel exploded with power. My target's head burst open like a watermelon as soon as the slug made contact. The boomer, who'd been holding a boomshot at ready-low, stiffened and fired an explosive round into the floor, making chum out of itself and three nearby drones.

"Omega-Two, hang on! Help is on the way!" Anya cried through my helmet's radio receivers.

"Tell it to hurry the he-" was all I managed to shout back when an APC suddenly rolled onto the scene. A white ray of UV light blazed through the Kryll swarm waiting for me just outside the glow of the trash fire.

"Move your ass!" Dominic Santiago shouted.

I didn't need to be told twice. I broke from cover and ran for the car.