She wondered if he didn’t also take a little of his frustration out as well, as he had no other enemies to focus on.
It was long, arduous work, and while the smoke would linger around the area for days and possibly weeks, the fires were out. They could all focus on scavenging and finding anything they could use, not only from the fallen mechs but also from the town around them. It felt almost disrespectful to the people who had died in their homes, but they lived a life that didn't allow for respect of the dead to take precedence over the survival of the living.
Jessica13 sensed the despondency among the Knights as they went about their work with their usual efficiency. A few hours later, the Beast rolled in together with those who had been tasked to bring it safely. It was impossible to miss the shocked and awed looks in their eyes as they moved forward almost seamlessly to do their share of the work.
"Fucking savages," Tinker said as he came over to her. "She needs to be all kinds of insane to do something like this. I'll never be able to understand what drives that woman to go to these lengths. A part of me wants to say it's not human, but I've seen too many humans acting like her to truly believe that. But never quite on this fucking scale, though."
She looked around, unsure of what she was supposed to say to him. Did he expect her to have something to say on the topic?
He didn't seem to notice that she hadn't replied. Maybe he had talked mostly to himself. After a second of reflection, he turned to face her fully. "How are you doing, lassie? I see you're not much the worse for wear, aside from a couple of bumps and scrapes and…what looks like acid eating into the nethers of your mech. Did you step into a vat of it?"
"Nothing quite that concentrated," she said and shook her head. He had not been present for the fight as he had doubtless been in contact with the three Knights in the Beast and had waited for their arrival. "We encountered a Golem that spouted an acid steam from its vents that settled on the ground around us. I almost didn't realize it until Mini picked up on it."
"Wait, hold yer horses," he said. "You battled a Golem? What kind?"
Jessica13 wanted to show the man but remembered that the monstrosity in question had been crushed by Hammerhand. "Well, it was big—almost as big as the Excalibur—but rounder and it didn't have any assault rifles. Instead, it had a laser-point defense grid, big clubs for hands, and shoulder-mounted rocket launchers that it turned on me once I tried to destabilize their containment technique. And there was the acid steam release that I thought was very interesting from a mechanical standpoint at least."
"The acid steam came from its cooling vents?" he asked and moved closer to her where she took one of the Lancers apart. "That's incredibly dangerous. It would corrode the vents themselves and it would kill the pilot when he was exposed. When, not if. I know the kind who work for Athena, and while they enjoy danger, the suicidal type they are not. Usually, they’re quite greedy and like to take what they want, but they would never put themselves inside a mech that would kill them."
"I don't think there was a pilot inside the Golem," she said. "There were dozens of bits and pieces put together and a huge amount of armor. It was meant to take as long as possible to eliminate it, but Hammerhand was a little more motivated than usual."
"What do you mean?" Tinker asked.
"I think this whole thing affected him," Jessica13 said. "Seeing this many people killed and that Athena wanted to lay a trap for him and his people—and the fact that he walked right into it—well, he destroyed it on his own, then attacked any of the mechs that stepped in front of him. And one of the buildings that were on fire. Well, it was effective and did put the fire out, I suppose, but in the end, it seemed like he needed to vent heat of his own that had nothing to do with his Excalibur."
Her companion nodded and looked pensive for a moment. "I've known the man for years and I can say that sounds exactly like him. Seeing folks killed like this would tick him off something special as he's an empathetic man. He feels their pain rather acutely and will go to great lengths to make sure it’s reduced, at least somewhat if he can."
She sighed, looked at the man who stood over her, and shrugged enough that her mech would exaggerate the motion with a hint of annoyance. "Be that as it may, I can sense his despair. More importantly, so can the Knights, and I fear it is starting to spread. I wouldn't want to overstep or comment on something that is not my place, but if he needs something to lash out at, it should be Athena and not random buildings."
"It's not overstepping to speak your mind, lass," Tinker said. "And what you have to say makes a good deal of sense, I won't deny that. Hammerhand is a leader, and with his position comes the expectation from those he leads that forces him to be better—and sometimes better than human. I am concerned for the man, make no mistake, but you are right. He does need to collect himself."
Jessica13 scowled. She hadn't meant that he wasn't allowed to grieve for the people who had been killed by Athena, especially since the most admirable trait about the man was how he was able to feel the pain of others and allowed it to fuel his
