"That’s a good point. I'll pass it on." He moved among the group of folks who waited for their chance to strike and issued instructions and advice for what to do. The AIs were likely programmed to take the orders of any pilot who accessed them since they did appear to have been manufactured en masse. She wondered if Athena’s power and resources enabled her to manufacture mechs—something that had occurred to her when they faced the Golem—or had simply managed to acquire them in good condition.
Perhaps they had been abandoned in the manufacturing facilities in the Cities-That-Were and she had been lucky or clever enough to find them. Irritated by the distraction, she pushed the thought aside. Irrespective of where they came from, their uniformity and basic design made them simple and easy to operate so those who were crammed inside needed as little training as possible.
Hammerhand threw his shield up to block an incoming volley from the line of Athena's Lancers that surged forward. Even those without pilots continued the charge since it was a simple enough task, although the fire from them was slower than it should have been.
While not as effective as she would have liked, she and her fellow sharp-shooters had made something of a difference anyway. Jessica13 grimaced when her thoughts led her toward an image of how the men inside were skewered by the hellebore rounds as well as whatever pieces of armor it cut through to reach them. It wasn’t pleasant to imagine them tearing through the pilot and likely causing damage to the controls as well.
To balance this, she reminded herself of the nature of Athena's followers. They were the kind who would tattoo their leader’s sigil onto their skin and when presented with the choice between living and dying, chose dying for the woman. It would have been nice to leave them alive, but it wasn't an option. They needed quick results since the battle lines had already begun to close.
Hammerhand's shield dropped for a moment, which was well-timed as the Raptor behind it had already launched a volley of missiles toward the enemy’s front lines. The rockets tilted downward, however, and didn’t impact the vanguard but rather showered the mechs behind them with as much damage as possible. A handful of Lancers dropped immediately, quickly disabled, while a few others fell and were slow to climb to their feet again.
More managed to get through, though, and some even trampled their fallen comrades to do so. Jessica13 and the two Sherlocks responded with alacrity to target the few that were ahead and eliminated the pilots with pinpoint accuracy. The enemy retaliated with a combined volley seconds before Hammerhand raised his shield again. He leaned forward and buried the barrier almost a full meter into the ground in anticipation of the press that was to come.
The clash was audible when two Lancers drove into his shield. The electric charge to maintain it had to be immense but he stood his ground and refused to allow any of those he resisted to pass.
A few managed to skirt the shield but were faced with the sudden challenge of the three Knights ranged behind their leader, who ached for a fight, and the enemy were quickly cut down.
With a bellowed roar, Hammerhand thrust his barrier forward and shoved the mechs back a few steps before he dropped his defense. Once again, the timing was perfect as the Raptor dispatched another battery of rockets. This time, they struck the mechs that led the assault and delivered significant damage to their ranks.
Those that survived the onslaught by using their own comrades and shields were quick to look up when a heavy hammer suddenly ignited from the back. It swung into a violent descent with a ground-shaking boom to crush one of them and destabilize one on each side of the target.
The shield came up again quickly. The Lancers weren't deterred by their sudden losses and instead, seemed to have been whipped into a frenzied blood-lust. They appeared all too happy to barrel into the teeth of the defense the Knights and Auburn citizens had established.
A crack of an explosion suddenly drew Jessica13's attention away from the center of the battle and she turned swiftly. A handful of Athena's mechs at the rear and some distance away from the actual engagement had likely been ordered to find some kind of way around the funnel. A couple of Watsons had managed to get around the first line of hedgehogs and began to make their way to the second.
One of them quickly ran into the makeshift mines that had been set up for such an eventuality. The mech itself wasn't destroyed but most of its left leg lay near it in a smoking mess. The pilot appeared to be dead or at least unconscious from the way the mech wobbled uncertainly on one leg before it finally sprawled and tripped another mine.
This time, the blast shredded the cockpit and left it mostly in pieces. There probably wasn't enough of it left for repairs and certainly not enough for anyone to take control. They would be lucky if they could pick up scrap pieces at the end of the day.
The other Watson appeared to try to pull away and retreat from the perceived minefield it had entered. There was little the Knights could do as they were still engaged with Athena's men and had to focus their attention on the group that attacked head-on.
Jessica13 swung her rifle and acquired her new target as he tried to circle the minefield. The Watson was likely equipped with the kind of sensors that would be able to pick up the locations of the mines it attempted to avoid but unlike the Lancers, the AI that would work the Watsons would be less intelligent than those that could operate
