"Delta leader, we are under attack," Davis5 announced over the comms and highlighted targets. "Get in position, you sons of bitches! Hold the line, and would someone please fucking fire?"
Chapter Forty-Two
Jessica13 scowled, frustrated by the fact that she was out of ammunition.
Her bullets were long gone and she made do with the grappler to keep the enemies at a distance while she fought back. Fortunately, they didn’t pay her too much attention at the moment and most only shot at her if she got between them and the other Knights.
The defenders held their ground for the time being. Athena's fighters didn’t fling themselves forward to soak bullets in like they had before and now played the role of the attacker with far more care and caution. Even so, they assaulted a well-defended position and one that was difficult for their heavier artillery to reach.
That aside, she knew it was only a matter of time. The refugees who had been sent away in advance of the fighting had been forced to return. They’d told of troops who held the roads outside Auburn and made it clear there was no escaping this.
Hammerhand was still standing, as were Tinker, Windchime, and most of the Knights. None had died yet, but a handful had their mechs damaged to the point where they had to be dragged away from combat between waves of attacks. The same couldn't be said of the townsfolk. Even those who had mechs of their own weren't quite as disciplined or trained as the Knights and had a tendency to charge after Athena's men when they retreated, despite orders.
They could feel the heat of the fight and likely personally knew those who had been lost when the buildings were bombed. It explained their fervor, but it would also cause more deaths if they continued like this. Every time she saw one of them fall, unable to get up, something cold struck her in the chest. It was like the point was hammered in that they wouldn’t get out of here alive.
Jessica13 had thought her reaction would have been different. She’d expected something a little closer to panic and the shaky rage she had felt when she’d faced the raiders who had pinned her down in the city. But that wasn't the case. She wasn't calm, by any means, but there was a certain serenity that came from knowing that she was on the right side of this, even if it meant they would pay the ultimate price for it.
And there was, of course, the fact that there wasn't much time to think about it. The fatigue in her body from moving to and from the Beast was evident but she pushed past it and largely ignored it. She was able to do that when she focused on her role to keep all the weapons loaded and ready to fire. When the opportunity presented itself, she assisted those she could and even joined the fray to distract and maybe drag a couple of Athena's fighters away with her grappler.
Mini had taken control of the mech when she needed him to, and with the nicks and dents in the armor, it was only a matter of time before something found her in the battle and that would be the end of it. Hopefully, it would be quick.
She steadied herself and studied the battlefield through the scope of her depleted rifle. Their attackers rushed the line much less than she’d expected, and the Guardians and Argonauts held their positions farther away from the Knights. If they had joined the assault with their other attacking mechs, it would have ended the battle long before. The only reason she could think of why they would have held back was their memory of what Hammerhand had done with those that had rushed in.
They didn't want to lose their heavy mechs—which was understandable, she supposed. Athena herself had held back from committing to the battle for the same reason, or so Jessica13 assumed. She gestured her men forward but she made no effort to join them herself. They seemed content to poke and prod at the defenses instead of committing their full might.
Even so, a few of the waves had ended with Hammerhand being forced to step into the fray. He swung his hammer to keep the enemy at a distance and blocked any further advance with his shield until his people had regained enough momentum to retaliate. There was nothing she could do except stand beside them and try to support them however she could. The Minato's magnetic clasp carried ammo and weapons from the Beast to the front lines and back again.
She had taken her shots where she could, but Windchime had been right in the end. The Minato wasn't designed to go head-to-head with mechs that had been designed to fight other mechs. Throwing herself into combat would get her killed, exactly like it had the Auburn residents who broke formation and ran out to continue the fight and were cut down in the process.
Not that anyone really expected to get out in one piece, of course. But there was still something to be said for fighting as hard as they could for as long as they could. They would last and make an impression on Athena and the rest of the area that she had held in an iron fist. This was a way to send a message of their own.
A ping on her comms snapped her out of her reverie. The alert told her that the enemy had initiated another assault and a handful of highlighted mechs needed more ammo. The townsfolk had been pulled back to mostly support roles to stop them from throwing themselves into the fray, although they were called in when the fighting grew intense. Their lack of tactical coordination was made up for by the need to have numbers to bolster their ranks.
Jessica13 put her rifle on the ground beside the Beast where she would be able to retrieve it later. Mini knew what that meant and immediately dropped the mech to all fours. They surged into a sprint and jumped and dodged as the Knights engaged the attackers. The AI made full use of the uneven terrain and raced around the other support mechs that moved in the same direction.
She chose two of her teammates who were in the most desperate need of ammo and highlighted them for Mini's benefit as well for the other support mechs that needed to know who needed a refill. A couple had their partners in the assault lines and were generally there to keep them alive, whether they needed someone to distract or to run and get them ammo. The coordination between those smaller teams felt akin to family. Their friendship always extended beyond the battlefield.
The idea was appealing. She wondered if she would ever have that kind of chemistry with someone to allow her to work together with them almost exclusively, but she still had to prove herself to the Knights.
With her teeth gritted, she braced herself as Mini brought them to a sudden halt beside one of the mechs that needed ammo the most. He was still firing and engaged three enemy mechs that took advantage of his rationed shooting and tried to drive their attack home.
Instinctively, she moved to pull the crate of ammo from her back but thought better of it.
"Thought?" Mini queried when she hesitated for a moment.
"Distract."
The AI remained in Bulletfoot mode and sprinted to the mechs that pinned her teammate down. She twisted, drew their fire, and jumped into the two-legged mode to barrel directly into the arms of the Lancer closest to her. Mini lowered the shoulders and impacted the midsection of the other mech to drive it back while remaining too close for it to be able to shoot at her with its assault rifle.
They managed to force him back a couple of steps, but the legs quickly locked and after a few more feet of dragging through the dirt, it finally managed to pull to a halt.
She was ready for that and already had the dart engaged to the grappler's gun. Quickly, she lowered it to the mech's left knee and pulled the trigger. The dart punched through the weaker armor and found the hydraulics inside, disabled the mech's leg, and reduced the pressure over the rest of it, which made it less effective overall. Mini pushed them forward again to bulldoze it into its fellows before he turned them to sprint to the Knight waiting for her.
"Nice fighting!"
"Thanks!" She didn't delay, pushed the crate into his hands, and made sure he was reloaded before she raced away to her next load-off. He was out of ammo and fell back as a couple of the townsfolk stepped into the breach that caused chaos in the rest of their line. She yanked the crate off her back and signaled the pilot before she tossed it to him. It landed a few meters away, which was b
etter than hitting him with it, and the Knight moved to reload rapidly and return to the fight.
More alerts for ammo appeared and Mini dropped them onto all fours to rush to the Beast when a completely unidentifiable noise distracted them both.
Jessica13 had no idea what was, but something different now overshadowed the cacophony of war. The sun had begun to rise, although it was difficult to see through the clouds of dust and smoke that shrouded the town, but the odd sound was definitely not her imagination. It seemed to roll over them like a vibration that shook windows and buildings before it settled into the deep thrums of horns blown that grew louder with each passing moment.
She paused and squinted into the sky to see what was happening. It sounded like hundreds of horns blared and drew steadily closer. The blazes on the edge of the town had died down somewhat, and in the gap created in the greenery by the fire, it appeared that a battle of some kind was in progress.
Who could have started a fight out there? In the previous battle, they had managed to win with help gathered by Windchime, but that had been a last gasp kind of effort. Who else would come to help them this deep in Athena's territory?
They hurried to the Beast and she retrieved the rifle from where she'd dropped it and used the scope for a clearer view. These were unfamiliar mechs and looked nothing like the raiders they'd encountered before. They had been put together using anything salvaged from wherever they could find the pieces, and spikes jutted from their armor.
"What the hell?"
She turned, almost unable to believe the evidence of her own eyes when more of the strange mechs pressed into the town and surged through the defensive lines that had been put up by Athena's fighters. They were all lightly armored and moved rapidly in a seemingly disjointed and yet coordinated formation to breach the defenses. Most used buzz tools and vibroblades to slice through armor and peel the pilots out of their mechs.
It wasn't long before they reached the artillery and swarmed over them, climbed up, and severed wiring and hydraulics to bring the heavy mechs down before they advanced on the others.
She wasn't sure how it was possible, but it appeared that someone was helping the Knights. A whole horde of someones, in fact, who were well-armed and well-trained, and even a group of heavy mechs now joined the fray as well. They delivered a concerted succession of shots that destroyed the defensive formations the enemy tried to put in place to counter the new assault.
Hammerhand realized that the tide was turning and immediately indicated for the mechs around him to press ahead to where Athena wielded her spear deftly to keep the attacking mechs at bay. Despite her obvious skill and the power of her suit, she was still forced back step by step.
The invaders attempted to stand their ground, but the Knights’ leader decided he'd had enough of defending. Two Lancers tried to stand against him, but he swung his hammer into both of them and hurled them out of his way without missing a step. There was only one target on his mind—Athena.
The newcomers who had tried to harass the Excalibur quickly gave up. They didn’t want to commit to a fight against a mech that large, especially with her being able to hold them out of range while she brandished a shield similar to Hammerhand's when they backed away.
Jessica13 didn't want to miss that fight. She noticed the moment when Athena realized that Hammerhand was advancing on her position and decided to do the same. Rather than show any hesitation or fear, she simply raised her shield and rushed to meet him.
They collided with a violent impact. The shields clashed with a crack of thunder and electricity sparked from the contact and forced both back. Neither seemed surprised by this reaction—which meant they had likely tried something like this in the past—and both dropped the shields as the mechanisms now smoked after the collision. Athena was quicker and thrust her spear toward the chest of Hammerhand's Excalibur. A subtle sidestep was enough to send the thrust wide and he clamped his arm over the weapon before she could pull it back.
The electricity that arced from her spear skittered over his mech, which showed that the improvements Tinker had put work into weren’t only meant for absorbing a lightning bolt. No problems would be caused by the electricity that arced from the weapon.
On the other hand, the rocket on the back of the hammer activated and launched it around to power into her side. Athena was quick enough to drop her arm to block the blow, but some plate damage resulted even though the hammer was forced around. She leaned back, yanked her spear free of Hammerhand's trap, and took another step away as his weapon returned. The controlled swipe barely missed removing her owl-ornamented helmet.
More and more, it looked like Athena had no interest in remaining in the fight. The rest of her men had begun to pull back from the unerring onslaught of the newcomers and as Hammerhand tried to recover his balance from the swing, she retreated to where her men were gathering.
"Where the fuck are you all going?" she snapped and the speakers on her mech ensured that most of the town could hear her, even over the shooting and explosions. "Stand your fucking ground! Will you abandon the attack because of one setback?"
A handful of enemy mechs initiated an organized retreat. When Athena tried to stand between one of the Guardians and the rest of his troop, he circled her with no apparent fear.
"We don't take orders from raider scum," the man replied, careful to knock into her as he passed, and strode to where the rest of the troop began to withdraw from the battlefield.
A few stragglers remained, but not for long. The Knights realized that the impossible was happening and swept through Auburn once more. This time, they cleared the few pockets of resistance until not a single invader remained. Athena had melted away with the withdrawal of her troops and it seemed she had little stomach for a fight without her allies.
There were those who insisted on pressing their advantage against the retreating forces, but it was easy to see why it was a bad idea. The Raptors and Quadrupeds were still in position and launched flurry after flurry of rockets to cover the withdrawal of those who had managed to escape the town.
Once they were gone, the rockets ceased and all that remained was the carnage.
Jessica13 leaned back in her cockpit, breathed a little heavier, and smelled the sweat inside the confined space. Yet somehow, the sweat, grease, and hint of smoke didn't smell that bad.
She pulled the hatch open and stepped outside. All she could feel was the sting of cordite and smoke from the fires, but it was still the most beautiful sensation she had ever experienced.
Actually, when she thought about it, she recalled feeling something similar when she had escaped death at the hand of the raiders thanks to the Knights’ intervention. She wouldn’t complain, but after fighting for what felt like forever, there was little she could do other than sag against the leg of her Minato and rest for a few seconds.
Hammerhand's Excalibur marched through the clouds of smoke that were tinted with the glow of early sunlight. He dropped his hammer beside his mech as a trio of the foreign mechs approached him.
Most of the newcomers were light assault mechs and used spears and vibroblades, with some assault rifles or similar alternatives. The three larger ones appeared to be the only heavies among their number, which also included a few dune buggies and ATVs with heavy guns mounted on top or on the side with the same spikes as the mechs.
She wasn't sure if they were meant to be ornamental or defensive.
Either way, it wasn’t relevant. The three larger mechs reached Hammerhand and held banners up that glistened in the sunlight and displayed desert dunes in gold and a blue sky.
"Who are they?" Jessica13 asked aloud although she was alone.
“I have a working theory,” the AI replied.
“Which is?”
“I have no data to make any educated guesses and as such, would rather not reply until the data is provided.”
The Knights’ leader climbed out of his mech as the three stopped in front of him and seemed to stare
at him for a long moment before the pilot in the center mech dismounted as well. Unlike Hammerhand, who was clean-shaven and looked lean and dangerous in his dark-blue flight suit, the man who emerged from the mech looked more like a prophet than a pilot. He had a thick beard and a mustache that curled upward, an odd contrast to his shaved head. His long, flowing robes were gold and blue like the banners.
He climbed down from the Argonaut he piloted and took the few steps to where Hammerhand stood.
"By the waters of Citta del Mar," the Prophet said in a foreign accent and extended his hand, “I am blessed to meet such a hero as yourself."
He grasped the man’s hand and shook it firmly. "Your help arrives just in time. I thank you."
"When I see the bravery of you and yours, it is I who must thank you. I am the Voice in the Desert, known to some as the Prophet and to others, He Who Speaks the Word. You may call me friend, great warrior."
“I’m known as Hammerhand.”
“You have earned this name, and so you will be called by the People of the Desert.”
Chapter Forty-Three
The smoke hadn't quite cleared yet.
The fires were mostly extinguished, although a couple of blazes had spread farther into the grasslands to die there. Jessica13 hadn't had much time to rest, and what sleep she had managed had been full of dreams of fighting at night while the fires blazed around her. In her nightmares, she felt the explosion when this time, she didn't manage to vault away in time and the rocket brought the building down while she still stood on it.
A few hours were necessary, though. All the Knights had fought through the better part of a full day and a half with little to no rest between them.
Still, it was a gorgeous sight to wake up to. The sun was rising again and painted the smoky sky red and pale yellow as it arced from the hills in the east and began its daily climb toward the west. After a little food, she trudged to where Mini had been parked for the night, plugged into the Beast's databanks to give him something to do while she rested.
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