To counter this, any Knights who could deal precise damage from a distance positioned themselves in the formation in such a way that they could focus on the barrier line. Until the combat became close-quarters and demanded their full attention, they would attempt to eliminate any who might try to sneak in behind their team.
At the front and center, predictably enough, Hammerhand stood his ground beside his hammer that he’d planted in the earth. He knelt for a moment—she assumed to say a word of private prayer—before he settled his gaze on the seemingly endless lines of Athena's men in mechs that marched inexorably forward.
He stood slowly, then turned to face the men and women who followed him and seemed to sense the growing unease in them. When he lifted his hammer to catch their attention, even the Auburn townsfolk focused on him with bated breath and waited for him to speak.
All those gathered need his words to revive the inspiration he'd given them now that they actually faced the invaders that had previously been a concept rather than a reality.
"Be not afraid." His first declaration resounded through the forest to the point where Athena's men could probably hear him too. "Freedom is your goal and fighting for it is noble. Know that those who stand with you will not falter and will not be afraid. Take heart, my warriors."
Jessica13’s heart pounded loudly in her chest.
Hammerhand arced his hammer into the soil with a thunderous thud that shook the earth around him. "As long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so. Tyrants are active and ardent and will devote themselves to their cause in the name of any number of gods, religious or otherwise. They will readily place shackles upon sleeping men.”
She thought she'd heard the words before, possibly in one of the instructional vids. They sounded vaguely familiar but for the life of her, she couldn't remember where she'd heard them.
Hammerhand looked at the townsfolk and nodded at a few more who had chosen to join the battle. Some had mechs that had been improved somewhat with weapons to make them useful in defending their current position since they weren't overly mobile. Others had no mechs but were ready to fight regardless. There was little they could do in actual combat between the heavy, powerful mechs, but they had a valuable role to play. A handful of them had put work into laying improvised mines and others had offered to sneak in with tools that would help to disable some mechs and weapons to kill the pilots.
They had finished those tasks and now gathered on the battlefield itself, grim but determined. It was very clear that they were afraid, but Auburn was their home. While fear was evident in their eyes, they stood their ground with clenched fists and set jaws.
“Auburn has slept long enough, collar-bound to the bed and left in a hellish nightmare,” Hammerhand declared and cut the air around him with a sweeping gesture of his hand. "No more. You’ve broken the shackles of Lady Hoot. Now, break the backs of the oppressors. Sleep no longer but dream as waking men and women and see your dreams realized."
The roar from Knights and citizens alike was deafening as he raised his weapon and swung it again. His team beat a rhythm on their armor and the citizens joined in as well as they could as the first lines of the familiar-looking Lancers became clearly visible through the dense foliage. They felled trees as they advanced to create as much space to attack as possible, although they avoided the tactic of burning their way through.
Jessica13 could only imagine that it was because of the unpredictability of a forest fire that could as easily turn on them.
She joined the two Sherlocks who had positioned themselves at the back in marksmen roles and they raised their rifles, aimed quickly, and selected their targets. They were in a group commlink that would allow them to see which mech the others had highlighted as a target so there would be no wasted round between them. A good shooter only needed one shot to kill the pilot in a Lancer, and while the mech would still pose something of a threat, it would not be as effective as it was with a human to guide it.
There didn't appear to be any kind of caution or assessment on the part of Athena's men, who pushed forward almost as soon as they had a clear shot at the Knights. They allowed themselves no grace period to study their opponent and no sign that quarter would be asked or given.
Their purpose was to kill, burn, and destroy. Auburn, in their minds, would be another example of the power Athena wielded and a statement of what she was willing to do with that power.
Jessica13 took a deep breath to calm her suddenly frayed nerves, looked down her scope to choose her target, and together with the other Knights, opened fire.
The front line of Lancers shuddered and stuttered in place when they suddenly lost the control of their pilots and the AIs began to take over. It looked like upgrades had been installed since it only took a few seconds to achieve full control and they simply continued their advance.
"Tinker, let the loose townsfolk know how to identify the mechs that have lost their pilots," she called over the comms. "They should be able to take control of them and attack Athena's people from within their own ranks."
"Loose townsfolk?" he asked.
"The ones who don't have any mechs," she clarified and selected another target quickly while she spoke. "If
