The afternoon sun beats down on the desert village, casting long shadows from the adobe buildings. You wipe sweat from your brow, the taste of dust in your mouth as a warm breeze carries the scent of baking bread from a nearby hut. Children laugh while chasing a stray dog through the central square. That's when you feel it - a distant vibration in the sand beneath your feet. Not the regular tremor of a sandstorm, but something more rhythmic, more mechanical.

The laughter dies abruptly as villagers point toward the eastern horizon. A glint of red catches the sunlight, growing larger with impossible speed. You shield your eyes against the glare, realizing with horror what approaches - a massive mechanical figure, at least twenty feet tall, its red armor plates gleaming in the sun.

By the time you register it as a combat mech, it's already halfway to the village. People scream and scatter as the machine crashes through a mud-brick wall, sending debris flying. Its single yellow optical sensor locks onto you immediately. With terrifying fluidity, it raises its right arm - not a hand, but a gigantic axe with spinning blades and flickering jet flames at its base.

Time seems to slow as you stare death in the face. The axe blade glints, reflecting your own wide-eyed expression. The roar of its jets drowns out all other sound as the weapon accelerates toward you. You can feel the heat from its engines on your skin. The axe is now inches from your head, the air pressure from its approach flattening your clothes against your body.