29 June 2016 (the attack on the bunker)
There are two attackers, and Stephen gets a good look at them through his rifle sight: semi-open VTOL flying platforms, flying low and approaching at about 100mph, each with four people on board (two crew, two big guys in samurai-type armour) and one missile slung underneath. He and Diamond aim up on the missiles, planning to fire as soon as they launch. This happens around four hundred yards out; they both hit, with Stephen’s missile exploding in mid-air, and Diamond’s falling to the ground and then exploding.
At the platforms get closer, they take aim again: Diamond shoots for the exposed jet intakes, which makes her platform explode in mid-air, while Stephen shoots the two pilots; this takes a bit longer, but that platform nose-dives into the ground and explodes.
The four “samurai” don’t seem to have suffered excessively from this, and start to advance, one pair rather closer than the other. As they get closer, the first pair opens fire with sub-machineguns built into their armour’s forearms. Shooting back at them helps a bit, but they’re clearly heavily armoured, and even penetrating hits don’t seem to stagger them the way they should. Thorfin has the most effect, staring down the two attackers to the point that they look uncertain, then turn and flee.
The second pair is armed with flamethrowers, and seem to have been causing chaos and confusion further down the hill. As they attack, Stephen, Diamond and David all shoot at them, again doing some damage but not taking them out of the fight. Diamond knocks one down with a good hit, Thorfin calls “behind you”, and as it turns Stephen shoots the fuel tank for the flamethrower; this goes up most satisfactorily, and Diamond spins the other with a hit in the shoulder for Stephen to do the same again.
The first two seem to have headed for, and into, the river. The team helps briefly with clear-up in the town, then gets ready to head for the Hard Sell base; this will mean moving on foot, and through the territory of the recently-unfriendly edeinos tribe, though Tiri Tal is happy to go along with them as a guide.