THUD!
The enormous Origin Crystal crashed onto the rocky ground.
Ssssshhhh...
Thin streams of white vapour escaped from the magnetic accelerator rings surrounding Jonathan's shotgun as the weapon automatically vented the tremendous heat generated by the System.
Jonathan casually rested the shotgun against his shoulder before turning toward Commander 3.
A faint smile appeared beneath his visor.
"Twenty-four."
Commander 3 remained perfectly still.
His visor slowly shifted from the smoking corpse... to Jonathan... and then toward the tactical display floating inside his own helmet.
His confirmed kill count remained unchanged.
"..."
Jonathan folded one armoured arm across his chest.
"I'm trying to remember..." he said thoughtfully. "What was your score again?"
Commander 3 reluctantly answered.
"...Ten."
Jonathan slowly nodded as though he had just heard something deeply disappointing.
"Only ten?"
He glanced toward the countdown timer floating inside his visor.
"Hmm..."
