She felt a little bad about telling him to not engage his human-understanding software since it was exactly what made him such a unique AI. But honestly, there were times for experimental study and times for him to get his combat subroutines up and running.
Jessica13 chose to simply not reply and focused to place her shots a little more carefully. The rifle had a fifteen-round mag that took about three seconds to reload and a few quick alterations to the Minato allowed her to carry five more mags that were automatically reloaded from their slot in the arm.
It seemed she’d subconsciously adjusted to Mini’s erratic movements as she fired a couple of rounds that both found their targets. She wasn't able to see if they managed to do any significant damage as Hammerhand's shield was restored and the Knights surged to attack the few of Athena's forces that had managed to get through. Their numbers increased now that they had improved their timing, and they would begin to push in harder.
It wouldn’t be long before the defenders would have to begin a retreat from their current position and fall back to the secondary defense points. She didn’t have much personal experience but if any of her somewhat random reading on how battle structures worked could be relied on, retreats were bound to be the point in battles where the most could go wrong. Positions needed to be adjusted effectively so those who retreated could be covered by people who were hopefully already in position.
Hammerhand would be the last one to withdraw, of course. That was the job he had taken by assuming the forward position and there was no indication from the man that he was anything other than ready for it. Jessica13 wouldn’t tell him about the dangers, obviously, since he probably knew them better than she did, but she would try to help and cover him if she needed to.
She moved in beside the Raptor while Mini kept them low so they wouldn’t be accidentally targeted by one of the enemy. Quickly, she inserted the new rockets into the slot that would take them into the firing mechanism of the mech.
A quick ping from the pilot expressed his thanks as he fired another volley.
Hammerhand's shield was down, and the rockets turned five of the mechs that attempted to pass him into scrap metal. She counted at least a dozen coming through, however. Most of them were Lancers, but two Cinders followed quickly and moved uncharacteristically subtly to avoid being targeted first.
Their ploy seemed to work. Most of the shooting was directed at the Lancers, which left the two Cinders unhindered. They took advantage of their position near Hammerhand's ankles to fire a couple of flechettes into the legs of the massive Excalibur, hoping to find a weakness they could exploit.
There was none, and they immediately proceeded to spark their throwers.
"We need to help him!" she shouted, not sure who would be able to hear her over the cacophony of the battle around them. She couldn't even hear herself, and the Knights were busy holding the Lancers back while the flames crept up to Hammerhand's knees.
"Shit." She hissed her frustration. Mini had already anticipated her needs and quickly shifted onto all fours as she slapped the rifle onto her back again.
Jessica13 knew the AI would take control and put them in motion now, and all she could really do was brace herself since the damn inertia dampeners were still out of sync with the rest of the mech.
The Minato moved smoothly and sidled around the combat to keep them out of it. They evaded the Lancers that began to push toward the Raptor in an attempt to prevent it from being able to eliminate the front ranks that drove forward.
Mini took them quickly to the other side. Hammerhand was intent on keeping the shield up and pushing back despite the fact that he was attacked from below. None of the other Knights were able to reach him to help.
Except her, she reminded herself. It was odd how she still had difficulty thinking of herself as one of the Knights.
"Do you have any idea what we can do against two Cinder mechs?" the AI asked as they came out of Bulletfoot mode.
"Keep us moving," she said.
"I can't help but note that you haven't answered the question," he persisted.
She didn't know what she would do, which was why she hadn’t answered the question, but she did have a basic idea of how to destroy the mechs. The only issue was that if she blew them up so close to Hammerhand's position, she wouldn’t be able to contain it. They might cause damage to the Excalibur that they hadn’t been able to accomplish in their attack.
"We'll have to be creative," Jessica13 said, yanked her rifle clear of the mag clamp on her back, and looked around for an opening for her to shoot. Hammerhand moved his feet in an effort to knock the Cinders away, which didn't do any damage. It was, however, enough to keep them occupied and they barely noticed her.
She pulled her grappler up, kept it connected to the dart, and pulled the trigger to fire it quickly while still on the move.
The dart embedded itself in the back of one of the Cinders' shoulders and she braced as the retractor began to pull. The first tug drew her closer instead of hauling the mech away, but when she leaned back and put the full weight of the Minato behind it, the Cinder finally began to tip and lost its balance while the AI inside tried to compensate. There wasn't much it could do, however, and she held her breath until it finally toppled heavily onto its back.
The other Cinder turned to see what had happened and swung the thrower and the flechette gun to aim at her while it maintained the same position. Its feet were set for maximum balance against
