Scorched Earth (Book 1 of The Scorched Earth Saga) by Terry Mixon

Author:Terry Mixon [Mixon, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Yowling Cat Press
Published: 2017-02-08T00:00:00+00:00

16

Nika had three drones laid out on a table near the GP medium. Two of them were quadcopter designs and one was like a little airplane with the propeller in the back. It was about four feet across. Of the quadcopters, one was fairly large and the other was tiny.

“Okay,” she said. “Each of these has something to offer. Let’s start with the fixed wing. It has the ability to stay in the air for about forty-five minutes. It also has a decent range on the controller.

“The company claims just over a mile, but depending on the circumstances, that might go up or down a little. With the CME making a hash of everything, I wouldn’t count on half that distance.”

“That’s pretty good,” he said. “We can probably work with that.”

“I’ve got some higher-end controllers, and I can eventually modify these to use, but I’ve set them up using what the manufacturers supplied. Well, with a little bit of modification. The fixed wing has a controller that interfaces with your cell phone. That’s okay, but I prefer using first-person-view goggles. FPV for short.”

She held up what looked like VR goggles. Tom had never used anything like that, so he wasn’t sure what the view would be like.

“The way I have this set up, more than one person can link in with their goggles,” she said. “Think of those as receivers. That way multiple people can check something out.”

He ran his hand along the fixed wing. It felt flimsy. “Is this thing really sturdy enough for us to use?”

She nodded. “It’ll take a beating. I’ve seen them crash before. The wings will tear off, things will get scratched up, but it’s very easy to put back together. Oh, and its top speed is about fifty miles an hour.”

The fifty-mile-an-hour capability put it right in the same top speed as the Beast. Not that he expected they’d be doing that for long. It was just too dangerous, particularly when they got close to civilization.

“With only one propeller, it’s quiet if you keep up high,” she continued. “The software limits the ceiling to about five hundred feet. Once I have an opportunity to sit down with it, I’m pretty sure I can remove the restriction. At this point, I’m pretty sure the FAA won’t mind.”

Five hundred feet was good. “How hard is it to launch? Do we need much space?”

She grinned. “We’ll need a little space for the landing, but launching it is ridiculously easy. Watch this.”

Nika grabbed the controller and walked away from the tent. She pressed a button on the controller, and the propeller came to life. It was somewhat noisy from where he was standing, but he supposed it would be quieter at a distance.

She tossed it by the wing. The drone bobbled in the air for a moment and then took off. She wasn’t doing anything with the controller, but the fixed wing rose up above them and began circling.

He put his hands on his hips and watched it. “I’ll grant you that was damned easy.

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