Dr. Hank Little fidgeted with the casing on the robot torso until it snapped back into place. "That should make a better speaker until we can manufacture a new one."
"Thank you, Hank" the electronic voice of Dr. Faber said in a monotone.
"We'll work on software to create inflection too," Hank responded as he put away his tools.
The door swung open revealing the two soldiers on guard outside. Lt. Col. Holmes strode in with long, quick steps. "You have one hour to get this unit ready for the field."
"What?" Dr. Little was thrown off guard.
"The nation is on high alert. Los Angeles has been leveled, and unidentified flying objects have been reported moving in and out of the area. One abducted the main culprit for the LA disaster. All non-military flights are grounded for at least 72 hours, and all projects capable are to be put into the field. I need this machine ready to go in an hour."
"I'm right here," Faber spoke.
When Holmes refused to acknowledge Faber, Little spoke up. "He's not weapons capable. He would be of no use in the field."
"Wrong. There are several million dollars worth of high grade sensors and scanners integrated into it. If nothing else, it can be used as a scout or tracker." Holmes turned to walk out. He paused at the door. "Oh, as far as its weapons systems go, find a way to make them work."
Almost an hour later, Dr. Little was making some last minute adjustments to the Legionnaire robot as a large helicopter was landing. A series of hard drives was linked together and strapped around the torso in a bandolier fashion. "The fire control software seems to be working," Faber announced.
"Yes, but I don't think the aiming software will be too useful," Hank spoke with a nervous tone. "I didn't have enough time to create a suitable interface. Be careful out there. The whole world's gone crazy."
"Thank you again, Hank," Faber said before being lead off to the helicopter.
Little walked over to Lt. Col. Holmes, who was supervising the operation. "I don't see why I'm not going!" he yelled over the noise of engines and rotor blades.
"Too dangerous," Holmes yelled back. "We can't afford to lose you. Not after already losing Faber."
