“I know,” she interrupted impatiently. “But maybe because you’re older or have more experience, you were…okay, a little more practical about it. We both know Windchime took it much worse and it still bothers him. It was all Hammerhand could do to convince him to take that guilt and use it to fuel his actions to protect others from a similar fate. If he were here and forced to do nothing while the locals accused him of the same thing he accuses himself of…well, I can't imagine what that would do to the man. I'm glad he's off doing something that's actually useful."
"Do you think what we're doing here isn't useful?" he countered. "Sure, in our current position, we can't take any action at this point without risking losing everything, so the best thing to do in this moment is nothing. Well, aside from protecting ourselves and making sure they don’t damage our mechs. Aside from that, nothing at all."
"Could I use the air gun on my grappler?" Jessica13 asked. "It's not lethal, at least not the strike itself. I used it when I broke away from Sanctuary. There might have been some injuries I didn't know about, but he wasn't killed."
"Maybe keep it on hand in case we need it, but only use it as a last resort," Tinker said. "Once again, we don't want to push them into committing further violence."
She nodded. In all honesty, she’d half-believed he would forbid the use of it, but at least he’d agreed it was something to keep in mind. She grasped the controls a little tighter as the people milled toward her. Barrios still pointed at her while he ranted about how she had betrayed their trust. She wondered if she could possibly have misremembered what had happened. While she had entered the town under false pretenses, she had done so with their best interests at heart and not only that, she had put considerable time and effort into repairing and rebuilding their town.
The Knights had also worked hard to do what they could to restore everything while they were content to wait for them to decide if they wanted to offer any kind of reward for their work.
"Maybe that's why," Jessica13 said to Mini. "Maybe they don't want to give us any reward for our work for them."
"It is unlikely, given that Hammerhand told them to decide what kind of reward they wanted to give, if any at all," he replied. "Although I suppose the reward element could have played a part. They don't have much to give and that could make them feel guilty. If they convince themselves we are not entitled to a reward, they no longer have to feel guilty if they don’t give us anything."
That made no sense to her, but maybe people in general didn’t always make sense. She wasn't sure why anyone would feel guilty about not rewarding someone for helping them. If they couldn't spare anything, the Knights would have understood. They were fighting to end that kind of shortage of supplies in the area, after all, since Athena bled the towns dry of resources to support her regime.
In that case, why would they want to remove them as the only chance that they had to get rid of Athena and her ilk?
She fiddled with her controls and took a deep breath. Understanding the kind of thought processes these people operated on—that made them make so many odd, illogical choices—was more difficult than understanding Mini’s AI. She wasn't sure how much it would help to tell them the error of their ways, but like Tinker said, maybe saying anything at this point would only make them angrier.
Machines were so much easier to understand.
Reluctantly, she decided it was best to simply wait for them to get it all out and hope it passed.
"Mini, what do you think we can do to keep them away without hurting them?" Jessica13 asked because she did see sense in being prepared.
He had no time to answer as the group appeared to reach the peak of their anger and surged forward at the group of mechs. They held weapons in their hands and tried to attack in a rage. The instinct to fight back rose in her stomach and pushed her to take some kind of action that would prevent them from inflicting injury on her or her mech.
Tinker's words rang in her brain and helped to calm her as the crowd battered the outside of the mechs or tried to pry the armor plates loose to find something they could strike at and disable them. Most had targeted the combat mechs, perhaps because they were the greater threat, but a small group with pitchforks turned their attention to her.
"You're not welcome here," one shouted, stepped closer, and brandished his weapon. It seemed ludicrous that he could act like he wasn't trying to intimidate a young girl in a mech that was taller, larger, and heavier than he was.
"Maybe they know we won't attack them and that is where their courage comes from," Mini commented.
"If we don't give them any reason to continue attacking, they’ll eventually stop," she said. "I hope."
"Enough!"
The voice was unmistakable and far louder than normal, and her cockpit actually shook with the reverberations. Hammerhand had decided to speak and there would be no interruption.
Most of the townsfolk fell silent and some covered their ears, but a small group surrounding Barrios tried to continue their ruckus.
The Knights’ leader raised the hammer and brought the haft down hard enough to make the earth shudder around him. It had the desired effect and brought the pocket of unrest to a standstill. As one, the people of Auburn stared in silence at the massive mech that towered over them.
Their caution was understandable given that it looked even more threatening than it had only seconds before.
"You were pulled out from under the yoke of Athena’s violence, and what have you become in her absence?" Hammerhand demanded and cowed everyone around him by the sheer volume of his voice. "I see before me the same devastating, horrifying kind of monsters you were delivered from. Rather than learn from Athena’s cruelty, you attack a young woman who has worked to restore your town."
Mini hastily adjusted the sound filter in the mech to make the words a little less painful to listen to, but she could still feel the vibrations of the Excalibur speaking through the mech itself. It was possible that the man could use the speakers themselves as some kind of weapon against attackers.
"She had no reason to help you other than the goodness in her heart and the will and desire to help those in need," Hammerhand continued and took a step forward. Jessica13 couldn't help a small smile when Barrios and his men took an instinctive step back. "Outnumbered and possibly outgunned, she still came in alone to help to restore your town to functionality. Yet you have the nerve—the audacity—to accuse her of harming you?"
Her smile broadened and a hint of warmth settled in her chest and stomach when she heard what Hammerhand had to say about it. She had thought he didn't approve of what they had done. A moment’s reflection reminded her that maybe he still didn't.
But he likely didn't like what the townsfolk did either. She wasn't sure why he said she had only the goodness in her heart and the will and desire to help those in need, but it was a nice thought.
"She’s come from a bunker, exactly like all of you,” he said, a little more subdued now that the people around him had settled into a far less aggressive mood. A couple even seemed to realize that he was right and turned to look at Barrios instead. They had to know he was actually one of Athena's men and that was the only reason why he tried to stir them to action against the Knights.
Now that the heat from their anger had begun to diminish, logic seemed to reassert itself. Jessica13 suddenly realized that these people were what the pirates liked to call bunker rats—folks who had only recently withdrawn from a bunker to live Outside. Whatever had prompted them to leave had made them start their lives in the area as well.
"I know there are those who suffered under Athena’s regime," Hammerhand said with a sweeping gesture at the townsfolk around him. Barrios and his supporters attempted to shuffle away in an inconspicuous retreat but were stopped by the locals, who seemed to have rediscovered where their loyalties lay. "Loved ones were taken from you. Injuries were sustained and you suffered injustices and indignities. Those cannot be forgiven or forgotten but, in the end, you w
ere set free from that. You fought back and took control of your town. Don’t fall into the same traps that led you to rely on that kind of monster."
Jessica13 nodded as the people stared at Hammerhand with expressions of growing realization. She had seen the kind of injustices and indignities they had suffered—or at least had seen the video footage of how they had been forced to accept those while going through the checkpoints. That was only a small portion of what the oppressors had done. There was also the woman who had lost her father and whose mother was forced to marry Barrios.
It seemed there were considerably more than the few she was aware of. The words made a strong impact and people began to recall what had happened under Athena's reign—or, rather, experienced them more keenly when they considered them— and the tone of the crowd began to change.
It made her wonder how they had allowed Barrios to talk them into an attempt at action against the Knights. Maybe it was because he was a good father to the little girl and possibly a good husband. The knowledge of that and the fact that he had been some kind of admin for the town might have been enough to help the people decide that his experience was enough to qualify him.
Jessica13 could see how that could happen, but in the end, he had shown that his loyalties lay with Athena. If he had played a part in the horrors inflicted on the people of Auburn and other neighboring towns, they would ultimately remember that most of all.
"We stand at a crossroads, people of Auburn," Hammerhand said. "You live in a time of change in which your freedom has been restored to you. But this is also your time to choose. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight to keep it, or will you stand back and let this Lady Hoot grind you under her heel once more?"
The consensus of the people gathered before him was a resounding no and they shook their heads and muttered agreement.
"This freedom is a beautiful thing and should not be squandered," he continued.
The crowd appeared to agree again, and Jessica13 looked at the people around her with both surprise and curiosity. Where there had been fear and impending violence, all that remained was a little confusion mingled with both determination and hope. She knew she couldn't inspire people like that, which was the reason why Hammerhand led the Knights and she was merely a mechanic who worked for him and was similarly inspired by him.
It was the result of his enormous charisma that was powerful, even through his mech, to touch the minds and hearts of the people around him. He could encourage them to take actions they never thought they could simply because he inspired them.
And maybe because they didn't want to disappoint his expectations of them. This was certainly something that played a role in her interaction with him, so it was a likely possibility.
It was, she realized, a dangerous kind of power to have over people. Athena probably had something similar—the ability to speak and put the people around her under what she assumed was a kind of hypnotic spell that made them do what she wanted them to. Unlike Hammerhand, she abused that ability. While it was pure assumption, it seemed to be a logical deduction when she considered the issue of the woman’s power over people.
The Knights’ leader moved forward again and made it seem like he joined them in looking forward to their future.
"I understand that the concept might feel a little foreign at first," he said. His voice remained calm and measured but carried a depth and strength that could not be ignored. "The thought that you can choose your own destiny might cause fear, but that is simply part of the beauty of it. None will have a say in how you run your lives—not even the Knights Mechanica. When I ask what you will do with your newfound freedom, you need not answer to me but rather to yourselves. What is that freedom worth to you? Will you fight for it? What would you do to keep it?"
The fear, the excitement, and the tension were almost palpable around them. These people finally realized what they had and the reality of what threatened it. Hammerhand's words showed them the way and they were following through.
"How easy it would be," Jessica13 said in response to her thoughts that vacillated between awe and alarm.
"What was that?" Mini asked. "Do you want me to connect you with someone?"
"No… I was thinking," she replied and shook her head. "How easy it would be for someone to use Hammerhand's ability to influence people for evil. Or bad things, anyway."
"His oratory skills are a little antiquated but very effective," the AI conceded. "I suppose it’s possible that he practices his speeches in his mech where only he can hear them and so improves them before he actually speaks. But aside from that and a few other tricks, it is something some people are simply born with. They know instinctually how to speak in a manner that would help others see their point of view. There are a few genetic components, according to my records, but it is mostly due to upbringing and skills that are learned while very young and improved upon over time."
"I don't think I'd be any good at it," she grumbled.
"You have a great many other skills that make you invaluable," he said. "Your obvious knowledge and passion for those are what make people listen to you when you talk."
She smiled. "Well, you have a pleasant quality to your voice that makes it nice to listen to you as well."
"Your compliment is noted and appreciated," Mini said.
They turned their attention to Hammerhand, who pointed his hammer at the sky in the direction of the balloons that approached the town slowly. They had made noticeable progress and would soon hang over them, but even from a distance, they were an impressive sight—like a very real harbinger of the possible doom they would inevitably face.
"That is what is coming to take this newfound freedom from you," he stated. "They would fight to put you under their control again or, failing that, burn Auburn to the ground to meet their perverse need for retribution. There is only one way to hold them at bay and that is to fight them!"
The people roared in response. Where Barrios had roused them based on deeper, fouler emotions, Hammerhand brought out the best in them. He reminded them of who and what they wanted to protect and what they could do to accomplish it.
They were inspired. There was no other explanation for it.
The clouds rolled closer, hard behind the balloons, and Jessica13 pulled her rifle from her back and attempted to look more closely through the scope.
"I really do need to get a proper holster for this," she reminded herself. "The mag clamp can’t have a very good effect on the metal. It could even warp it if I leave it on long enough."
"That is possible," Mini agreed as she adjusted her view to the plains around Auburn.
The scope still worked well and the software quickly corrected and zoomed into an area where she could see movement. It had simply looked like the grass moving at first and she’d almost moved on. But as the visibility settled and the cloud shielded any glare from the sun, she was able to determine that the movement actually came from a group of mechs that headed in their direction.
"Tinker!" she shouted into the comms. "You might want to take a look at this."
He moved hurriedly to where she stood and took the rifle she offered him.
"You might want to think about getting one of these for yourself," Jessica13 pointed out.
"I don't like firearms or weapons in general," the man said. "Of course, I know they're necessary, but I chose the role of support mech precisely for the reason that I handle weapons only rarely and mostly only to keep them in shape for others to use."
"We'll have to talk more about that later," she said. "But due south…maybe more southwest…there is movement on the hills. I'd say between forty and fifty klicks away."
Tinker peered through the scope in the direction she indicated.
"It looks like they're a way out still," he commented. "They could get here faster, but my guess is they're pacing themselves by those balloons, which probably means they won’t push ahead. It might give us about half a day or maybe a little more. Alert Hamme
rhand and he’ll know we should start to put defenses in place and get the village folk who don't want to be involved in the imminent violence as far away as possible."
"Understood." She reclaimed her weapon from him. "You could always simply find yourself a scope, you know. There’s no need to have a weapon in your hands."
"That might work," Tinker said. "I expect there will be one I can scavenge should we live out the night."
Barrios and his supporters were jostled and shoved away from the bunker and toward the town. She wondered what was in store for them but decided it didn’t concern her. They had betrayed their community, and the community would rightfully decide their fates. "We have friends with us," she reminded Tinker, relieved that Auburn had embraced the freedom and the challenge.
"Let's hope they live out the night too." He chuckled but it sounded grim rather than amused. "Run along, lassie."
Chapter Thirty-Two
It proved to be far more difficult to prepare for an attack than Jessica13 had imagined. There were enough points of entry to make it a nightmare to defend the town itself and Hammerhand finally decided they would remove the fighting from the streets.
It was a wise decision, as there was too much risk that Athena would simply order her men to set fire to whatever they could reach during the battle.
Moving out of the town presented even more difficulties. With even three of their Knights away to defend the other town and the numbers that appeared to advance on them, they would be heavily outnumbered.
Hammerhand could hold the center of a line but he was vulnerable to being flanked. After discussion, they decided to find a ravine or small defile into which they could draw Athena's people and contain them. Hammerhand and the flawless efficiency of the Knights he commanded would be more than able to wear the enemy down until they were left with nothing and no one to fall back on.
That would only happen if they weren't flanked and surrounded, however. Still, this plan would mean they only needed to worry about rocket-powered mechs that would be able to break free and move over them to position themselves to attack their vulnerable points.
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