"How did you know I had trouble sleeping?" she asked and growled softly. "Do you spy on me while I try to get some rest?"
"Of course I do," he responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "But I can't study something as intimate as rem cycles and the like while you sleep. At least not without your express permission."
"Wait, is the issue with my express permission?" she asked. "Because I don't remember permitting you to watch me sleep."
"You tasked me with keeping you safe," he pointed out. "In that, there were certain permissions you implied. You can withdraw those permissions, of course, but until you do, I will continue to observe as I have been, as keeping you safe is my highest priority."
"No, no, it's nothing like that," she said and shook her head. The rising sun illuminated the landscape around them despite the fact that the sky was covered with a thick layer of clouds. It would be a dark day, but some light was better than none at all.
"What is it?" Mini asked.
"I'm a little cranky, is all," she admitted. "Getting little to no sleep ever since we started on this mission is really telling on the nerves. I know you've always looked out for my best interests, even if I haven't done the same."
He paused and ran a number of processes, and Jessica13 realized that the AI was trying to determine if she was being sarcastic or not. After carefully determining that she was not, the processes closed.
"Well, again, if you would like me to, I think I could help you get better sleep if I was allowed to monitor your sleep cycles," he said finally.
"I appreciate that, Mini, and I might actually take you up on it," she responded with a small smile and ran her fingers over the inside of the cockpit. She knew she couldn't take a mech like the Minato and especially not an AI like Mini for granted, no matter how much she adjusted to having them around. The mech and AI both had brought her through some tough situations when she had been absolutely sure she would be killed.
"We’re approaching Auburn," one of the Knights said. "It appears to still be intact. Thank the Prophet."
"I didn't think they would get here before the balloons did anyway, but it's still good to verify it," Tinker said over the group comm channel. "Let's head in there and make sure all the folk are well and surviving and then we'll figure out what to do about Athena's impending attack."
"Why didn't she simply send her men ahead to take the town?" Jessica13 asked quickly. "Why did they come back to try to deter us if she wasn't already attacking?"
"It could be that she wanted to catch us by surprise," Tinker replied. "Or she simply wanted to slow our progress and leave us little time to mount any defenses. Maybe she wanted us to be in the town while she sets it ablaze."
She turned to look at the hilly grasslands they had left behind in the far distance. It seemed there were some places where sheets of rain fell and would hopefully put the fires out. Others had simply gone out for lack of fuel or wind but a few still burned steadily through the grass and left black, scorched earth behind it. For all she knew, it was simply how Athena wished to be remembered by those who came after her.
Hammerhand indicated for them to keep moving and they left the semi-arid grasslands and entered the denser shrubbery, an indication that they were coming into an area with a more abundant water supply.
The balloons still cruised behind them but were now ahead of the storm they appeared to be forming and the rising sun glinted off their steel or aluminum hulls.
Those still tethered to Auburn's bunker were clearly visible as well where they drifted lazily in the winds that buffeted them. They were almost completely useless both to the people of Auburn as well as Athena now that the connection to the weather-influencing network had been severed.
Maybe that was why Lady Hoot was sending her own balloons. Perhaps she wanted to reconnect those that had been lost—as well as likely burn Auburn to the ground. Networks like the kind the weather-influencing system worked from tended to be less effective if critical pieces were cut out.
Aside from the practical considerations, it was a challenge to her authority and also a direct strike against her influence over her domain.
A handful of townsfolk seemed to have begun to use their own mechs for protection rather than simply to help in the fields, although they were unarmed and would be of little use in an outright attack. Still, at least they had made the attempt to participate in their own defense. The pilots were out of their mechs and seemed to be in discussion about something but the conversation ceased when they noticed the unmistakable sight of Hammerhand's Excalibur striding toward them.
She wondered if maybe they would think it was Athena's mech since it was built in more or less the same style. From a distance, they could be mistaken for one another, but closer inspection revealed the banners hung from his shoulder pauldrons, the lack of the patchwork cloak Athena wore, as well the absence of the owl carved into her helm which inspired her moniker.
As the Knights approached, a group from the town began to move toward the bunker as well. In a few minutes, it grew larger as people abandoned their work in the fields to join the new arrivals.
Any hopes that they might have a friendly greeting from the citizens of Auburn were dashed, however, when she saw their expressions up close. Some looked scared, but the majority appeared to be angry.
"What is their problem?" she muttered, more to herself than to Mini.
"It could be that they
