He looked at her and shook his head. "I doubt it. You have some skill with it, although I can't tell how much is you and how much is your AI. Either way, skills like that can't be wasted. Even if you take a support role, there's always an opening for folks who can hit from a long way off. So keep that damn rifle handy. You might need it."
That was good advice. She took a deep breath as they picked up the pace and hurried to where the Beast had been stopped. Already, all the Knight mechs had begun to leave the city and gravitate to the bunker. When Hammerhand wanted them to rally, they rallied, and they did it as quickly as possible.
Besides, if there was a chance to defeat Athena before she returned to the safety of her bunker, their whole situation would take far less time to resolve.
Hammerhand moved out, already in his mech. He looked over the town and his Knights, hefted his hammer, and positioned it over his shoulder.
He was excited too, she realized.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was decided that the Beast would follow with a small guard, even though they trusted the good folks of Auburn not to steal from them. Hammerhand wanted to move quickly, and while his Excalibur was only fast over short distances, it still moved faster than the Beast.
The Knights formed up quickly and those who had been selected to follow more slowly weren’t happy about the arrangement.
Or maybe they were and simply feigned anger so they wouldn’t appear weak in front of their fearless leader. Jessica13 wasn't sure why they would be happier about heading into the thick of the fighting. Maybe they enjoyed the battles or maybe they simply didn't want to be left out of it.
To watch their brothers and fellow Knights move into danger while they trundled behind to tend to their home on tracks and wheels had to be a little disappointing, she finally had to admit. It was only when she felt a tingle of excitement at the fact that she was among those selected to head into the thick of it that she understood.
They set off at a brisk pace and pushed deeper into the land that was controlled by Athena. As they moved beyond the now reasonably familiar territory around Auburn, the landscape changed. Instead of the dry grasslands that struggled to survive, everything became greener and lusher the farther they moved.
The trees were still twisted and fairly small, but they were covered in green leaves and the grass itself now grew thicker and taller. The soil also transformed, now darker and with more nutrients.
"It’s still shit soil," Windchime said as they walked in formation. "It looks like this area has far more rain and water than the rest, but all it can grow is tall grass and a couple of dry trees."
"It wouldn’t take much to make it good soil again, though," Tinker said and studied their surroundings with genuine interest. "It only needs a little effort, is all. Turn the soil again and direct the water to flow with a purpose. It only gets occasional rain and it's already much richer for it."
His teammate shook his head. "It’s still shit soil. You only think about how to improve this land, and you're right. I'm talking about it as it is now."
"Fair enough." The other man shrugged in the comically exaggerated way the mech's tended to mimic the motions of their pilots.
"Have you ever heard of someone called The Prophet?" Windchime asked to break the silence.
Tinker looked at him and his eyes narrowed. He walked with his head out of the open hatch of the top of his mech. "The Prophet? Capital P?"
"That's right. I heard about him from one of the townsfolk in Auburn. The man specifically mentioned that The Prophet had gathered a group of zealots and believers through talk about finding a land that was promised."
"Citta del Mar?" Tinker asked, sensing where the conversation was going.
"That was how we approached the conversation in the first place," Windchime said. "I asked around like Hammerhand told me to, and the man started talking about this Prophet character and mentioned how they ruled out in the Wild and spread word about whatever god they have chosen to follow."
"What is your concern?" the other man asked. "Aside from their knowledge about Citta del Mar, of course."
"I'm worried, is all," he said with a deep sigh. "We're dealing with Athena here, but who knows what might spawn elsewhere in this land? What if this Prophet is much, much worse than Athena and is already raising an army without people like the Knights to keep them in check?"
Tinker nodded. "It is a valid concern, I'll grant ya. We do need to keep our focus on Athena for the moment, though, and can't afford distractions. When we're done, I'll make sure Hammerhand hears about this Prophet and we’ll see if we can spare the resources to head in and find out more."
"That's all I could ask for, then," Windchime said.
She had a feeling he would have far more to say, but perhaps he’d decided to save it for when they had the time and weren't being rushed quite so much by Hammerhand.
Their leader was single-minded in his hunt for Athena, and he pushed them at a rapid pace in the direction in which he was most likely to find her given the information they had on her latest actions. She had seen determination in the man previously, but he now seemed driven by something far more powerful than merely resolution or tenacity.
It was both determination and a need to rid the world of a problem, she realized. Perhaps Hammerhand thought Athena was a problem of his making, a mistake he needed to correct personally before she caused suffering and hardship to anyone else in the world.
He was wrong if he
