"If we don't give them any reason to continue attacking, they’ll eventually stop," she said. "I hope."
"Enough!"
The voice was unmistakable and far louder than normal, and her cockpit actually shook with the reverberations. Hammerhand had decided to speak and there would be no interruption.
Most of the townsfolk fell silent and some covered their ears, but a small group surrounding Barrios tried to continue their ruckus.
The Knights’ leader raised the hammer and brought the haft down hard enough to make the earth shudder around him. It had the desired effect and brought the pocket of unrest to a standstill. As one, the people of Auburn stared in silence at the massive mech that towered over them.
Their caution was understandable given that it looked even more threatening than it had only seconds before.
"You were pulled out from under the yoke of Athena’s violence, and what have you become in her absence?" Hammerhand demanded and cowed everyone around him by the sheer volume of his voice. "I see before me the same devastating, horrifying kind of monsters you were delivered from. Rather than learn from Athena’s cruelty, you attack a young woman who has worked to restore your town."
Mini hastily adjusted the sound filter in the mech to make the words a little less painful to listen to, but she could still feel the vibrations of the Excalibur speaking through the mech itself. It was possible that the man could use the speakers themselves as some kind of weapon against attackers.
"She had no reason to help you other than the goodness in her heart and the will and desire to help those in need," Hammerhand continued and took a step forward. Jessica13 couldn't help a small smile when Barrios and his men took an instinctive step back. "Outnumbered and possibly outgunned, she still came in alone to help to restore your town to functionality. Yet you have the nerve—the audacity—to accuse her of harming you?"
Her smile broadened and a hint of warmth settled in her chest and stomach when she heard what Hammerhand had to say about it. She had thought he didn't approve of what they had done. A moment’s reflection reminded her that maybe he still didn't.
But he likely didn't like what the townsfolk did either. She wasn't sure why he said she had only the goodness in her heart and the will and desire to help those in need, but it was a nice thought.
"She’s come from a bunker, exactly like all of you,” he said, a little more subdued now that the people around him had settled into a far less aggressive mood. A couple even seemed to realize that he was right and turned to look at Barrios instead. They had to know he was actually one of Athena's men and that was the only reason why he tried to stir them to action against the Knights.
Now that the heat from their anger had begun to diminish, logic seemed to reassert itself. Jessica13 suddenly realized that these people were what the pirates liked to call bunker rats—folks who had only recently withdrawn from a bunker to live Outside. Whatever had prompted them to leave had made them start their lives in the area as well.
"I know there are those who suffered under Athena’s regime," Hammerhand said with a sweeping gesture at the townsfolk around him. Barrios and his supporters attempted to shuffle away in an inconspicuous retreat but were stopped by the locals, who seemed to have rediscovered where their loyalties lay. "Loved ones were taken from you. Injuries were sustained and you suffered injustices and indignities. Those cannot be forgiven or forgotten but, in the end, you were set free from that. You fought back and took control of your town. Don’t fall into the same traps that led you to rely on that kind of monster."
Jessica13 nodded as the people stared at Hammerhand with expressions of growing realization. She had seen the kind of injustices and indignities they had suffered—or at least had seen the video footage of how they had been forced to accept those while going through the checkpoints. That was only a small portion of what the oppressors had done. There was also the woman who had lost her father and whose mother was forced to marry Barrios.
It seemed there were considerably more than the few she was aware of. The words made a strong impact and people began to recall what had happened under Athena's reign—or, rather, experienced them more keenly when they considered them— and the tone of the crowd began to change.
It made her wonder how they had allowed Barrios to talk them into an attempt at action against the Knights. Maybe it was because he was a good father to the little girl and possibly a good husband. The knowledge of that and the fact that he had been some kind of admin for the town might have been enough to help the people decide that his experience was enough to qualify him.
Jessica13 could see how that could happen, but in the end, he had shown that his loyalties lay with Athena. If he had played a part in the horrors inflicted on the people of Auburn and other neighboring towns, they would ultimately remember that most of all.
"We stand at a crossroads, people of Auburn," Hammerhand said. "You live in a time of change in which your freedom has been restored to you. But this is also your time to choose. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight to keep it, or will you stand back and let this Lady Hoot grind you under her heel once more?"
The consensus of the people gathered before him was a resounding no and they shook their heads and muttered agreement.
"This freedom is a beautiful thing and should not be squandered," he continued.
The crowd appeared to agree again, and Jessica13 looked at the people around her with both surprise and curiosity. Where
