"I have a handful of subroutines that would be able to support you in aiming and shooting from a distance," he said, called the programs up, and showed them to her. They included a targeting reticle that followed the position of the assault rifle and provided her with an idea of where it would shoot.
"Huh. This is interesting," Jessica13 said. "It can also keep track of their movement over the longer distances too."
"It was software originally developed for the Sherlock class for long-distance shooting with its hellebore rifle, but it should adapt fairly simply to an assault rifle," he assured her.
They accelerated so they were able to overtake the train, but she still kept her distance. It moved faster than she’d expected, given what it was, but not dramatically so, and maintained its serpentine pattern. The mechs appeared to be held magnetically on top of the convoy, and from the way they moved, she could almost believe they were simply there as scarecrows intended to scare away any potential attackers without actually being operative.
She couldn't take that chance, however.
"We should set up on the bluff over there," Mini said and highlighted a slightly elevated location thirty meters ahead of them.
They climbed to the top and adjusted smoothly out of the Bulletfoot mode. She took the rifle from where it had been clamped onto her back and aimed it at the moving train.
"All right," Jessica13 said and took a deep breath. "I can't say how long before those mechs see us, so we might want to start whatever it is we intend to do here."
"Do you want to take a few practice shots at the mechs on top?" Mini asked and zoomed her vision to focus on the closest mech.
"Sure, what’s the harm?" she asked and ignored the fact that she was supposed to wait for Windchime as she drew another couple of deep breaths to calm herself. Her heart ticked loudly in her ears, somehow, or maybe it was her pulse. Whatever it was, the sound was a little distracting and she fought to focus past it to the task she’d set herself.
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
