Soldiers yelled and scrambled out of the way as the robot pushed under the tank’s carriage, lifting the front end higher and higher.

Rip jumped back on his feet and rushed around the side with his Webley drawn. But the robot faced the tank. Pressed up against the vehicle’s metal underbelly, it gave him no clear shot.

He used [Vampiric Speed] and blurred forward, running under the tank and jumping up. He squeezed off a round into the bot’s other eye.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment at the end of his burst of speed. He seemed to hover midair, and Rip could see the partially damaged eye clearly, just before he shot out the other one.

The robot let loose with one hand and slugged Rip in the face, arresting his momentum and knocking him all the way out from under the tank. He landed spread-eagled on his back, a bruise forming on his jaw.

The bot resumed pushing on the tank, moving faster now, and the vehicle went vertical, its cannon aiming straight up in the sky just before the robot pushed it all the way over with a final shove.

The men inside screamed again, and Rip watched the driver duck inside his hatch just before everything on top was squashed by the bulk of the vehicle as it fell over, upside down.

The robot turned, its head swiveling as it seemed to search for Rip or any other threats now that this tank was out of the way.

The eye he had shot from side sparked and crackled. Rip thought maybe it still worked. When the head stopped swiveling while facing his direction, he decided for sure it still worked, at least partially.

Rip stood and raised his gun to fire, only to be blocked by the hand again. The bot clomped toward him.

He looked around, trying to think. Soldiers yelled and a few fired off fruitless rounds at the bot’s back. Their bullets spun away, not even leaving a mark.

Now that the first tank had been tipped over on its back, Rip could clearly see the second and third ones behind it. He waved for the attention of the driver in the nearest one.

“I’m going to bring this thing back out at a distance! When I tell you to, I want you to fire your cannon at it!”

The man nodded and waved, indicating he understood. Rip jogged away from the tanks, out into the street. The robot turned to follow.

Major McDougal shoved his way up to the front of the line and yelled at his men, many of whom kept shooting at the robot’s back.

“Stand down! Hold your fire!”

The men watched as Rip kept running, leading the bot back down the street and away from them. At 50 yards he glanced over his shoulder. The bot was gaining ground, metal feet slamming against cobblestones and servos whining.

It kept one hand up to cover its face, but sparks from the partially damaged eye flew out around it, giving the machine an extra-sinister look.

Rip poured on the speed, putting some more distance between himself, the robot and the tanks. The bot sped up, too, trying to keep pace.

At last, Rip stopped and turned. He made a wide arc on the street and headed back for the tanks. The bot turned, too, and followed right behind him.

He yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Do it! Do it now! Fire!”

“You’ll be blown up too!” the driver of the second tank yelled back, a look of horror on his face.

“Do it! Shoot! Quick while he’s in range!”

“Confound it, man!” McDougal yelled up at the tank. “You heard the sergeant! Shoot! That’s an order!”

The men in the tank slammed home a shell and the gunman adjusted the turret, taking it down a notch while the driver looked on.

Rip timed the shot, and blurred away just as the tank fired. The shell hit the robot in its center mass with a loud explosion, knocking Rip off his feet. He rolled forward, dispersing momentum, and came to a stop several feet from the tanks, face down on the cobblestones.

He reached up to his ears and wiped blood away.

“He’s alive!” McDougal said. “Medics! Help that poor man!”

A couple of medics wearing white bands around their helmets with prominent red crosses overlaid on top ran out from the squad of soldiers.

By the time they reached Rip, he was sitting crosslegged in the street. He waved them away and pulled out a health potion, downing it.

“Just give me a minute. I’m enhanced, I’ll be fine.”

The medics stared down at him wide-eyed as the bleeding stopped. He pulled out a washcloth and wiped up all the blood, shoving into his ears to clear them out.

“Say something.”

“What would you like me to say, sir?”

“Oh, good. I can hear again. I hate explosions.”

“Begging your pardon sir, but how is it you’re alive?”

“It’s ‘Sergeant,’ not ‘sir.’ And I’m enhanced, I told you.”

“The robot was enhanced too, Sergeant.”

This came from the second medic, who wore a much more skeptical expression on his face.

Rip looked at him. The man acted like there was some conspiracy going on.

Maybe they’ve never seen the RVS in action, Rip thought.

Other soldiers approached now, along with Major McDougal. A small crowd gathered around Rip as he stood.

“Yeah, well, the explosion hit him, not me.”

“I saw you disappear before the explosion.”

Rip smiled and he wondered how common [Vampiric Speed] was as a skill.

Probably not too common. Not that it’s any of his business.

“What you saw, soldier,” Rip said standing up and putting the washcloth and empty vial back in his interspatial wallet, “was a man running for his life.”

This brought a hearty round of laughter from the other soldiers, and McDougal slapped him on the back.

“We’re happy to have you in our Army anytime, Sergeant.”

“Well, thanks. But I think the king wants me here in the RVS, at least for now.”

“Right. Enough standing around, lads! Let’s get a line on this one the tin soldier tipped over and get it back up. Move along, now!”