"But why do they seem angry with us?"
Mini paused. "I have no idea. Maybe they are angry at the situation rather than with us and simply think we can protect them. Or perhaps they think we are to blame.”
Either of his situations might have made sense, but she was too tired to consider them fully. All she could think was if these people wanted to know about what happened to the other town or the clouds approaching them, there was a nicer way to go about it than approaching the Knights in what looked like a mob.
They pointed fingers mostly at Hammerhand, who seemed unperturbed by the less than warm welcome and simply led his team on.
When the townsfolk reached them, a leader stepped forward from their ranks—likely the man they had elected as their mayor from the look of his clothes—and advanced directly on Hammerhand himself. It was as if he had scant regard for the fact that the man who stood in front of him piloted a massive mech designed for large-scale warfare against ships in the sky from space. His apparent assurance seemed more incongruous given that he wore only fancy-looking clothes that were a little too big for him.
"What happened to our neighboring town?" he asked and spoke loudly to make sure all the people behind him could hear as well. "Did you attack them as you did us?"
The Knights leader made no answer, possibly because he wanted to give him the opportunity to have his say before he responded.
"You took the town in an attack that was unprecedented," the man shouted and looked around in a way that suggested he was actually addressing the people. It seemed fairly obvious that he attempted to rouse the crowd of Auburn citizens for his own purposes. "Your people came into our town in the dead of night to take what wasn't yours and intercede in events you had nothing to do with. You interfered without the consent of the people of Auburn."
Jessica13 leaned forward to study him more closely. "Wait, I think I recognize him. Yes…he was in the town when I infiltrated as a peddler. He was one of Athena’s agents and actually approached me. I was talking to one of the younger women and he was her stepfather—Barrios, I think his name was."
"Well, that explains why he's trying to turn the townsfolk against us," Tinker said and scowled at the group of citizens that grew steadily angrier with every word from their new mayor. "He is Athena's man and is therefore trying to work for her while he maintains his own anonymity."
"Why don't we tell them that?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Even if we manage to present them with proof of it—which I doubt we could—he would be able to say it is only a ploy to remove him. Mobs like this cannot be swayed by logic, especially when they are whipped into a frenzy."
"What can we do?" She sensed the growing hostility take a turn for the worse when a group arrived and joined the rear of the crowd with comparatively small improvised weapons. Others, seeing this, began to return to their homes and places of work to collect weapons of their own. Pitchforks and plowshares obviously wouldn’t do much damage against the mechs they tried to threaten, but she could tell that the end this careened inevitably toward was not a happy one.
"Nothing, really," Tinker said. "Hold your ground, try not to get involved if they decide to fight, and protect yourself without hurting anyone around you. They'll eventually take our lack of hostility and their inability to disable the mechs on their own to mean that it is an effort in futility and be more open to calm, rational debate. Of course, the time lost will be to Athena's benefit, and we can only hope they run out of heat quickly and allow us sufficient opportunity to deal with her when we have to."
Jessica13 nodded. There would be no need for the rifle on her back, but Mini had shown her there would be some use for the grappler if they used it correctly.
"Mini," she said and called up the controls for the grappler, “do you think there might be some way to temporarily reduce the power in the air gun for the grappler when we disengage it from the dart?"
"Yes, the settings are adjustable," he confirmed. "It would likely have to be done manually if you didn't have an AI to operate it, but thankfully, you do, and so—"
"Yes, I do, and I'm eternally grateful for that," she said briskly. "So there's no need to remind me constantly of how useful you are. Well, it might be a good idea to make sure I don't take you for granted, but at the same time, choose your moments, yes?"
"Understood. I will only remind you of how useful I am to you when we are not in some form of danger," he agreed.
"That is appreciated," she replied with a small smile. "Now, get it ready."
Mini did as he was told and pulled the grappler around and away from the dart it usually fired to give them space to operate from as she backed away slowly.
Unfortunately, that action on its own was enough to call the attention of Barrios, who still attempted to whip the citizens into a violent mob.
"That one!" he shouted, almost frothing at the lips. "She was in our town under false pretenses while she studied our defenses in preparation for the attack her people were planning. Now, she presents herself in our town like some kind of hero and not the infiltrating spy she is."
Jessica13 scowled and fought the urge to smack the man across the mouth, mech and all. Like Tinker said, they needed
