As the ion thrusters flared to life, Tiber released the locking level on the aft-turret. It was an old fashioned, rudimentary turret made for local planetary forces, but Tiber preferred it that way, in a strange conceit. The steel and oil made him feel as if he was fighting with his grandfather on the Xolidan campaign, where the planet had been so war ravaged, it took twenty years of terraforming to make the world sustainable for colonization again. The wheel was gas powered, and as Tiber activated it he heard the hydraulics kick in, swiveling the gun. The mount was push-button and moved by battery power, and it gave the gun an extreme range of view, despite the primitive technology. 

As the ground fell away, the MAR flashed. Two objects half a kilometer to the west approached rapidly. 

"Faex," Tiber cursed. He balled his hand into a fist and struck the back of the assault boat thrice, and then twice, indicating they were being pursued. A red indicator blinked just above him, affirming Sabatine received the message. They began to bank to the left, drawing their path over the sparsely wooded foothills and leaving the town and the valley in inhabited off to the south. It was then he got a good look at what pursued them. 

They were API2's, autonomous pursuit interceptor drones, meant as safeguards against enemy assaults. Ideally, they would be used to harass fleeing enemies after a failed attack, driving the weakened foe away before they had a chance to lick their wounds. In the event a raid was successful, they would be used to track a foe back to whence they came from. But considering they made no secret of their approach, stealth was not a prerogative for their programming in this situation. They were robust, nearly as large as the soldier's vehicle, with two plasma guns mounted on a small column hanging below the main 'body,' giving it the look of a metallic hornet displaying its stinger threateningly. 

Tiber got a lock on the drone at the fore, flipping the safety off and pulling on the trigger. 12.7mm rounds roared out of the turret, every twenty shells releasing a green tracer. The first API2 went down swiftly, more out of luck than anything. Tiber's well aimed volley hit it center mass, detonating the small engine and sending it flying into the bush, streaming flames. The next veered to the right, flipping end over it as it careened for their position. Moments later, wet green projectiles chased them, narrowly missing their assault car. Tiber switched tactics, aiming the gun to the right and just above the drone, but its algorithm realigned it, spinning it counterclockwise. 

Fortunately, Tiber had dealt with these before. 

As it performed its pre-generated maneuver, Tiber swiveled his gun and realigned the mount, placing the drone at the center of his reticle. He pulled the trigger again, bullets streaking past the API2, nicking it in the side. It wavered in the air, trying to keep itself upright. Tiber did not give it a chance, and even as it fired at him defiantly, he ended its flight with another burst from the mounted gun, sending it below as nothing but a memory.