17The beam from the Red's cannon slammed into the upper body of Scott's Battlenaut with shuddering force. Bright light drowned out all the camera feeds at once except the backside view. The comm went dead, and the cockpit filled with a high-pitched, piercing whine.
But the armor didn't blow apart. A moment passed, and the CORE Battlenaut held together against the searing assault. It was still standing, ready to fight back, long past the point at which Scott had ejected from his old armor during a similar attack.
"Now that's more like it." Scott smirked and checked his holo readouts, which showed that all systems remained nominal. His Battlenaut wasn't anywhere near being ready to explode. "You're not getting off easy this time."
"Excuse me," said Frank. "Could you provide me wit
