"I could stay here and help the folks to get their mechs running and maybe work out alternative water sources," Tinker said. "The two of you should be able to find the train without too much trouble."
Jessica13 nodded and interrupted Mini, who continued to work on the bunker’s software.
"Are you ready to go hunting?" she asked.
"Always," he replied. "I think we are getting the hang of hunting people."
"That's…great," she muttered as they set off using the shortest route out of town. A few of the locals asked where they were going and why, but they directed them to Tinker. He would have to explain it rather than them being held up in what might become a lengthy discussion when folks found out they intended to track the supply train.
Fortunately, it wasn't difficult to find a trail. The convoy used literal tracks to move over the soft earth and there would be no shortage of very obvious impressions for them to follow. Mist droplets had already collected in shallow puddles in the indentations, which suggested that their quarry had passed through the area in the morning.
"These are recent," Windchime said and confirmed her assumption. "Do you think they were around to see what happened to their comrades?"
"If they did and somehow managed to get a transmission out, Athena already knows what we've done," Jessica13 said. "Which could be a problem. But I don't think so. For one thing, they’d have to find really high ground and I don’t see anything anywhere close to as high as the tower was. Also, Mini would have picked it up, I’m sure. She would have already sent people to retake Auburn if she knew. Either way, I guess Tinker will find out.” They traveled for a short while in silence until she said. "I could rush on ahead and make contact with you if I find anything."
"It would be best to take weapons," her teammate said and handed her one of the assault rifles. "It should be a little easier to handle than the sword, and maybe your AI will be able to help you with aiming."
"Oh…all right, then." She took the weapon up and settled it on her back. It was a sensible precaution, although she questioned the wisdom of having to learn how to use a weapon like that in the heat of the moment. Maybe she needed to talk to Tinker about lessons and possibly a weapon of her own. Still, she’d wished she’d had one a few times in the past so wouldn’t refuse it.
Windchime nodded encouragement and Mini quickly engaged their Bulletfoot mode. Once they’d settled onto all fours, they increased speed and followed the tracks.
The vehicle appeared to be heavily laden, which left a definitive trail that was easy to follow, even at a fast pace. To alleviate the monotony and distract herself from the anxiety that had crept in, she tried to estimate how large whatever she was tracking could be and how much she could actually do on her own to stop it.
Mini used Bulletfoot mode to reach impressive speed and it wasn't long before they moved out of the tougher terrain around them and into open grasslands again. A small and somewhat hazy blemish in the sky ahead drew her attention. She squinted to try to make it out and as they drew closer, it settled into something that resembled small puffs or trails of dark black smoke. There wasn’t enough of it to indicate a fire, but it hung in the air for a long time, constantly replenished from an as yet invisible source in an almost rhythmic sequence that suggested a mechanical cause.
Finally, she could actually identify a solid shape that emitted the steady trail. From a distance, it appeared to be a very long, snake-like vehicle that pushed slowly yet steadily through the soft soil despite its weight. As she approached, however, she could see it was actually a convoy linked together and dragged forward by a lead vehicle, which was the one that produced the smoke.
It proceeded in a winding pattern, which allowed it to move quickly across the soft soil. Jessica13 knew it had to consume a great deal of some kind of fuel to do the work required to tow four tracked vehicles both with apparent ease and at an impressive speed.
Mini didn’t need to be told to crouch as low as possible while they pushed forward. A handful of mechs stood on the train cars and kept a watchful eye on their surroundings with their weapons aimed into the open grasslands around them.
None of them had seen her yet which wasn’t surprising, given that she was mostly concealed by the tall grass, but it wouldn’t last for much longer. It was hard to miss a mech out in the open, even one as small and lithe as a Minato with improved leg functions.
"What do you think?" Jessica13 asked once she’d made contact with Windchime and let him have a good view of what she was looking at. "I think I can engage them to perhaps distract them and slow them down until you get here. From what I can see, it should be fairly easy pickings. The mechs on top of the train are mostly support mechs like Tinker's or mine and shouldn't put up that much of a fight."
"You don't think actual combat mechs might be hidden in there too?" he asked. "No, do not engage them. Keep an eye on them, and I'll be there in…ten minutes or so."
"Understood." She cut the commlink.
"Will we stand aside and let Windchime do all the work?" Mini asked after a brief moment.
"Hell no," she replied with a small smirk. Now that their quarry was in sight, her previous hesitation over having to actually use the weapon seemed to have vanished. "We have a gun so we might as well make good use of it. Windchime said you might be able to
