Chronicles of Two Powers

4th of July Special - Ironman

Hello to my readers. I haven't updated all three of my stories in a while. I'm already in my second year of college, so writing isn't a priority (sorry). However, updates, discussions, and artwork for all three stories can be found on my Discord server. Please join my server to see all three.

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/YfMCwZcTs7

Happy birthday to America.

___

The blazing sun shone down from above the red desert of Nevada, heating the testing grounds of the army. The test pilot felt how the sweat soaked through the flight suit inside the steel cage of the prototype. Every single move made him fight the machine.

The powered armour moved heavily across the deep puddle of mud, moving its hydraulics and groaning under the load. It stepped into the pit of testing material and pulled itself out of it with a metallic crunch.

Ahead were endless rocky plains stretching towards the horizon under the blue, unclouded sky. In the hands of the powered armour was mounted a water-cooled machine gun, 50 Cal. This enormous weight would be impossible to carry by an ordinary soldier, but it did not bother the exoskeleton at all.

The rows of soldiers of the American Army, Marines, engineers and contractors of the defence industry observed the test from the shadow of the spectator stands. Some were excited; some were sceptical after weeks of tests.

The pilot groaned as he dragged the machine further through the mud.

"This damn thing weighs a tonne."

In one final move, the power armour suit made contact with the ground. There were four steel silhouette targets situated approximately two hundred metres away. The loudspeaker came to life on the observation platform.

"Prototype One, shoot at the targets."

The pilot quickly glanced at the speakers and looked straight ahead again. The machine gun held up firmly to fire, and the armoured suit resembled a mobile fortress.

The pilot fired.

CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG

The water-cooled machine gun started firing, sending out a stream of .50-calibre bullets in the direction of the target. The earth flew everywhere, and one after another, the targets were shredded, riddled with holes.

Empty shells fell to the ground, while the engineers frantically took notes about the experiment. The officers exchanged surprised glances as the firing of the gun continued.

The firing stopped. Silence returned to the field. 50 bullets were fired. The pilot brought the heavy machine gun down with a deep sigh.

"Finally..."

There were sounds of hydraulics as the powered armour suit deactivated itself. The locks opened one after another, followed by the opening of the torso section in clamshell fashion. The cool desert breeze filled the area as the pilot emerged from the armour suit, wiping his sweating face.

The sound of an alarm went off across the proving grounds. The manoeuvrability and fire test of the armour suit were complete.

–

Within the hangar of the Nevada test site, there were representatives of the Department of Defence, Army, Marine Corps, and numerous defence contractors surrounding the machine in silent awe. The powered suit stood idle under the floodlights, with the technicians busy stripping off the armour plates and examining the inner workings of the machine after several weeks of extensive testing.