Bulletfoot One

by Marshall Rust

  Mini ran the programs, brought the rifle up, and locked the reticle on to give her the shot.

  Another deep breath seemed necessary at this point, mainly because her little inner voice reminded her that she was, in fact, disobeying what Windchime had no doubt intended as a direct order.

  Common sense said that he was right. She had absolutely no experience and wasn't sure what she was doing, and it seemed both reckless and foolish to not only ignore him but also draw attention to herself when she was alone. At the same time, though, something within her pushed her to do this. It might have had something to do with an inner longing to achieve something more than simply dart around in support of others—as if something greater awaited her and she needed to get this done as a step toward it.

  She sighed again, decided to follow her bold yet foolish impulse, and opened fire.

  A single round from the rifle took at least a second to reach the train less than six hundred meters away and punched powerfully into the cockpit of the mech she had targeted.

  It lost most of its movement and slumped forward when its power cut out. There was likely no AI to keep it moving without its pilot to direct it.

  The crack of the rifle caught the attention of the others, who turned to see where it had come from.

  "Keep the rifle steady," Mini warned her. "Too much movement could make the targeting reticle a little less precise."

  Jessica13 nodded but made no attempt to speak as she turned her attention to the second mech, which seemed to try to track her location. After a few more calculations by the AI, she pulled the trigger. This one struck a little too high but she still hit the cockpit and Windchime's armor-piercers were lethally effective and killed the man inside.

  "I think you're a natural," Mini said.

  "I think we need to find a better target than these support mechs," she said. Success had made her bold, and she chose not to allow any doubts to intrude and diminish the satisfaction she felt

  He began a hasty search along the length of the train. It continued to move despite being under attack, and a couple of the support mechs opened fire on the general area around them. None were even remotely close enough to her to indicate that they knew where her shots had actually come from. All they had for now was a general direction, which wasn’t anything to worry about as yet.

  "I have found a target." Mini highlighted a small section between the lead car and the second. "I detect a central weakness in the armor that would allow you to detach it from the others, especially with the armor piercers you have in that assault rifle. It might take more than one, though."

  Jessica13 pivoted and focused on the part he’d indicated. She tilted her head and considered it. While it did seem like a challenge given her inexperience, she had Mini’s help. That aside, it seemed both logical and natural to decide that she would at least try to bring the whole convoy to a halt.

  For some reason—nothing in her experience or upbringing added any insight—this came easily to her. It was like fixing machines and mechs, simply a part of who she was.

  She fired a three-round burst and the piercers cut smoothly through the rusted metal pins that held the convoy in place. The successive impacts made the train shudder but the vehicles didn't separate from the main car. The mechs now turned their weapons directly toward her as Athena's men finally pinpointed her position.

  An odd calm descended on her. It wasn't as easy as people had said it was in the stories she’d heard, but it still came naturally in that second when she chose to take her final shot rather than seek cover.

  Another shower of sparks indicated a successful strike and the lead car lurched ahead, suddenly free of the weight it had dragged behind it. The motion was too fast and too abrupt and it skidded and rolled onto its side in the dust it caused.

  The momentum of the other cars kept them in motion for a few yards, but they ground slowly to a halt.

  Jessica13 raced toward the edge of the bluff and hunkered into cover as she pressed the button to contact Windchime.

  "Son of a whore!" he shouted as soon as there was a connection. "Is that you? Was that you shooting?"

  "What's a whore?" she asked.

  "Never mind that. Did you shoot?"

  "Yes. I killed a couple of Athena's men before I brought their supply train to a halt. They'll probably come out to try to get their hands on me, so I really hope you can get here quickly before I have to fight them on my own."

  "Fuck you," he all but snarled before the comm cut.

  She shrugged and assumed he was angry because he’d missed out on the action and she’d stopped the convoy single-handed. That aside, he could be counted on to get to her as quickly as he could. In the meantime, she had more relevant issues to worry about like creeping a little farther away from their original position without revealing themselves. Heavy mech boots thumped around the immobilized supply train and questions were yelled in an effort to determine why it had come to a stop and who was to blame.

  Gunshots were fired at her previous position but none were around her current location, which confirmed that they still had no idea where she was. That wouldn’t last, unfortunately, as the enemy would soon realize that she had nowhere to go without exposing herself to them.

  Jessica13 looked around for something that might help and held the assault rifle primed and ready in case she needed to use it. They hadn't seen her, likely because they didn’t expect a smaller mech to attack them, but she doubted they would spare her if they found her simply because of size.

  Two mechs appeared from farther down the slope and she turned slowly. They were Lancers, but she hardly recognized them. For one thing, they were in decent shape, which alone made them different from the ones she had seen before.

  More footsteps indicated the approach of other mechs and from her scant cover among a handful of straggly bushes, she saw the shadow cast by what could only be a Cinder.

  "I suggest we run," Mini said as she began to back away quietly.

  The perverse instinct surged again, both annoying and titillating, to remind her that she had a gun and now knew how to use it.

  It provided a persistent temptation, but she pushed it down and decided to wait for Windchime. Perhaps part of this unexpected new development was to learn to live to fight another day—if only because she’d barely explored the unexpected and immensely satisfying new development.

  "Let's go," Jessica13 said and the mech settled into Bulletfoot mode again. She couldn't hear the men behind her as they were likely on one of the secured comm lines, which allowed themselves to talk without informing their quarry about their plans.

  The decision came not a moment too soon.

  Bullets kicked the dirt up around them when an assault rifle locked onto her back. The Minato surged forward in the direction Windchime would most likely come from. She didn't know how long it would take her to meet up with her teammate, but as long as she stayed alive, there was nothing to fear. They might have greater firepower, but she had speed and maneuverability. She could outrun the bastards and outlast them if she needed to.

  "Where the hell are you, Windchime?" She hissed through her teeth when the alarms warned her there were a number of breaches in her armor. Nothing critical was hit, but it wouldn't be long before something was.

  Gunfire suddenly erupted from ahead of her and the shooting from behind quickly stopped. She didn't have time to look to see if it was because they had been killed or merely tried to find cover before that happened.

  Mini kept them in motion and varied their path randomly to make them a more difficult target and a few minutes later, Windchime appeared, racing toward her at phenomenal speed.

  "Pull the mech up!" she called and waited until the AI had drawn them out of Bulletfoot mode before she took control of the upper half of her body. He retained control of the lower half to keep them running as she twisted, yanked the rifle from her back, and turned to look at the five mechs in pursuit.

  Three were Lancers, with
one Sherlock and the Cinder she had noted lagging behind. They were slower mechs and better suited for standing ground than running attacks.

  Windchime's fire had pinned the Sherlock down and forced the mech back a few steps so it wouldn’t be able to deliver effective shots.

  Jessica13 took advantage of this and twisted while her legs continued to run in the opposite direction. It was difficult to aim while in motion and at that speed, but this wasn't the time to insist on precision when she had a full mag of bullets to use. She set it on full auto and noted the bullets she had at her disposal before she opened fire.

  The bullets kicked dirt up and she tried to keep a solid grasp and aim the weapon where she wanted. It wasn't easy but a Lancer was hit three times, tripped to land face-first, and made no effort to rise.

  One of the others was struck as well but in the knee area rather than in the cockpit. A spurt of black liquid issued from the joints and the mech rapidly lost the ability to move with its now damaged hydraulics. All the pressure released and it stumbled and fell.

  "Get down!" Windchime shouted, and Mini was more than willing to oblige. He dropped the Minato to its knees while she turned to toss the assault rifle to her teammate.

  He caught it smoothly with his second right hand and adjusted both rifles to do more than lay down covering fire. His concerted barrage eliminated the final Lancer by simply destroying the cockpit. The Cinder burst into flames and the man screamed inside and attempted to climb out.

  Already burning, he didn't make it all the way and only managed to haul himself partially free before the smoke or the heat killed him. He sagged, still mostly in the cockpit, and smoke billowed to allow only fleeting glimpses of the slowly blackening corpse.

  "Stay down!" Windchime yelled, still in motion as he drew his swords.

  The Sherlock immediately realized the danger it was in and a piercing alarm screamed and easily drowned out the sounds around them. Jessica13 covered her ears. She knew the reason why, of course. Sherlock mechs had a highly unstable core fueling their movements, and instead of fixing them with something more stable, the designers had fitted them with a button that would blow the core instead.

  She didn't like them for precisely that reason. In simple terms, like Cinders, they tended to blow up. Unlike Cinders, when they blew, they tended to leave a massive crater.

  Windchime knew it and had already taken steps to hopefully avoid disaster. First, he shot the man inside to prevent him from making any more mistakes that could doom them all. With him disposed of, he worked quickly, sliced into the back of the Sherlock, and dug within to find the core.

  He located it, yanked it out of the mech, and after a moment's thought, hurled it as far as he could away from both the train and the two of them.

  Jessica13 ducked instinctively and closed her eyes while she imagined the explosion darken the sky.

  Fortunately, the core, without the rest of the mech to feed on, had only a bright flash and little real power.

  It was over in a moment and she looked up cautiously and surveyed the carnage.

  "Are there any more of them at the train?" Windchime asked as he moved beside her.

  "Probably," she replied. "My guess is that they're only support mechs, though."

  She frowned and focused on her HUD to determine the source of the alarms that blared in her ears. Her teammate snorted and waved a hand dismissively.

  "What did I tell you?" he asked and shook his head. "Don't attack. You're not built for that."

  "I felled two of them, didn't I?" she asked and ran a hasty systems check on the mech. "More than a couple, actually, if you count the first two on the convoy. Besides, that's why you gave me your rifle."

  He growled and shook his head again, vehemently enough this time that his mech reacted to over-emphasize it dramatically. “No. I gave it to you in case you needed to defend yourself, not so you could start a fight you couldn’t hope to finish. What would you have done if I—”

  "If I could interrupt," Mini said and effectively cut off the admonition the man seemed ready to deliver. “I’ve examined the fallen mechs. The rifle attached to that Sherlock would actually be far more accurate for you to use for the pinpoint shooting software I can provide."

  "Huh," Jessica13 replied and moved immediately to the mech in question. Windchime muttered something inaudible and ran a couple of systems checks to make sure he was ready for another fight. She wasn't sure what he intended to do next, but she wanted to support him better than simply carrying bullets for him.

  Her teammate watched in silence as she detached the weapon from the Sherlock, hefted it, and studied the software.

  "You really want to be involved in the fighting, don't you?" Windchime said finally as she returned to him. "You can't simply leave it to me, can you?"

  "I thought you might need me for more than only support," she replied and tried to sound casual. "Besides, if I pick them off from far away, I'm not exactly in the thick of it myself, am I?"

  "So long as you don’t shoot me too," he grumbled. "Come on. We don't have time to waste."

  He had a point, and it was sufficient to render her possible protest unspoken. The remaining members of the convoy would be able to make necessary repairs in short order and would soon be on the move again. While it would be interesting to work on the train herself, that wouldn’t be possible if she had to shoot it again. She wouldn’t say as much to her teammate, but who the hell knew what kind of damage she might cause the second time? Her achievement brought real satisfaction, but she was at least honest enough to admit to herself that she wasn’t entirely sure she could repeat it.

  "Nice work stopping the train," Windchime admitted grudgingly. "But it looks like they're trying to get everything moving again. Maybe they don't realize they’ve lost their attack team?"

  "Or they don't care," Jessica13 replied and immediately looked for a reason to try her new rifle. "I think I can distract them and give you cover fire to approach them without being seen."

  "Okay, why not?" he said after a moment’s thought. "Wait for my signal."

  For the first time since they'd left Auburn, she decided she would actually follow his orders. While she still believed she had abilities and intuition that had begun to emerge along with her instinct to test her limits, she also knew she’d been lucky thus far. Too much too soon might be the death of her, and it was better to rely on his experience and skills for now.

  With this in mind, she set herself up on a small rise that gave her a clear view of the mechs below. Windchime moved quickly and remained as low as possible in the tall grass.

  "You may fire when ready," he said.

  "Are you ready?" Mini asked. "I've updated the software to adjust for the new weapon."

  Jessica13 nodded and leaned forward a little while the weapon primed.

  The hellebore rounds were more than what was required. Three more Lancers and a Balthazar kept an eye on the train and a handful of Watsons began to push the lead car upright where it had toppled in an effort to put themselves in a position to move again.

  She was tempted to eliminate the Watsons while they were focused on the car and possibly crush those that supported it, but it wasn't a good idea. Windchime would probably have the same thought and he would be in a better situation to do it.

  It was an easy decision to turn her sights to the Balthazar as the rockets flared visibly on its back. He wanted to take to the sky, obviously, but for some reason wasn't able to.

  "We might want to help him with that," she said softly and inclined her head as she zoomed in to the rockets.

  "Help who with what?" Windchime asked.

  Jessica13 didn't answer and merely exhaled a long breath as she squeezed the trigger.

  The hellebore round thumped into the fuel line on the rocket and set it off. The fuel didn't erupt as explosively as she had hoped, but there was still some effect. The rockets ignited and the Balthazar elevated abruptly and spun crazily to a height of almost twenty mete
rs before it tilted and plunged to a hard and definitely fatal landing.

  The other mechs whirled when they realized they were under fire but again, were unsure of where it came from. She adjusted her position slightly and resisted the urge to simply open fire in a blanket barrage.

  Windchime elected to be safe and circled to the other side of the convoy to give himself cover. She looked down the rifle's scope to select another target—one of the Lancers—and decided to use the targeting reticule to put the round inside the cockpit.

  The mech fell and remained motionless, and the others turned as they had now identified where the shooting originated from and were ready to retaliate.

  Her teammate emerged from behind one of the motionless carts and used his swords to attack the remaining combat mechs with his vibroblades. The weapons sliced through them cleanly and threw up a shower of sparks. Jessica13 wasn't sure why the dry grass didn’t simply catch fire, but that seemed like an irrelevant detail and she pushed it aside.

  The mechs were eliminated quickly and efficiently. The Watsons, now unprotected, were trapped under the half-raised vehicle, unable to push it further without help and with no way to release it safely.

  She wondered if she should act on her previous instinct but, exactly as she’d expected, Windchime turned and gunned them down in a concerted volley.

  The car, only a quarter of the way up, fell again and crushed the mechs under it.

  "Nice shooting," he said casually and scanned the area. "I’m fairly sure the coast is clear but I'll check the rest of the train. Keep your eyes peeled."

  Jessica13 had heard the term before. Armstrong7 liked to use it from time to time, and she hadn't understood it then either. It sounded both ridiculous and painful, but maybe it was merely a way to say keep her eyes open. If so, why not simply say that?

  Either way, she watched warily for any sign of danger as she headed over to the convoy at a leisurely pace to give her teammate time to make sure it was clear.

  "Do you think you'd be able to repair it so it can move again?" Windchime asked once he’d checked all the cars. "It would really be terrible to have to drag these all the damn way back."