"Jessie—"
"Was I fucking unclear?" she demanded. She intended to stand over him and protect him as long as he needed it and he would have no say in the matter until he could get his mech on his feet.
When he managed that, he could yell at her for disobeying a direct order. Not if. When.
She startled at an odd noise in the distance and turned her head toward the hills. The cloud parted a little to reveal a glimpse of the sun starting to set in the west and she frowned at the vivid image of mechs sky-lined in the distance but moving closer.
What sounded like a low, indistinct buzz grew louder as they approached and what she thought might be deep trombones announced their arrival.
"What is that?" Jessica13 asked but shook herself out of her stupor. She had to focus if she wanted to keep Hammerhand safe. While the enemy had, like her, been distracted, they had quickly recovered and now tried to take advantage of his fall and her divided concentration.
"Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner," Mini replied.
"Who?"
"It was a song commonly used to indicate that the cavalry had arrived," the AI said and displayed an image of a long-haired woman riding on the back of a horse with wings.
"What cavalry?" she asked in bewilderment. No winged horses approached as far as she could see.
"One led by our friend Windchime."
Thankfully, her would-be attackers must have realized that the new arrivals might be cause for concern and were momentarily confused. They seemed a little confused as to whether they should continue their efforts to eliminate Hammerhand or regroup to meet what might be a new threat.
She used the opportunity to zoom into the mech that led the others. Sure enough, her teammate strode ahead as quickly as his mech would allow.
There was no mistaking the crazy-looking, four-armed machine of his.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Windchime marched at the head of the troop that hurried into the town to engage Athena's men who now quickly tried to form up again to repel this new and unexpected force. He had brought the two Knights he had taken with him to the neighboring town but had somehow acquired additional fighters.
Dozens of mechs flanked them and rushed into the fight with the same vigor as the Knights themselves. They were a patchwork force, put together hastily but surprisingly competently, no doubt the result of concerted effort to put as many of them in action in as short a time as possible.
Their leader was difficult to miss as he was the first to reach the line of Athena's men. His assault rifles spoke first and delivered a consistent barrage that forced the enemy back inch by inch before he finally attacked them with his blades. It looked like a whirlwind of vibroswords and each strike released a shower of sparks. They began to focus their attacks on him as he sliced into their ranks and almost completely ignored the group of mechs that assaulted them from the side.
The lines crashed together, and the surge of energy that rushed through the other members of the Knights Mechanica was almost visible. A feral kind of violence raced through their veins as their numbers were boosted by their returning comrades and what she could only guess were the members of the nearest town who were willing to help.
She raised her rifle and relished the surge of power in her veins as she continued to target those mechs that tried to attack the Excalibur while their comrades drew the attention of the defenders.
Finally, the massive mech’s systems began to reboot and she turned as Tinker, still alive and well, scrambled up beside her.
"I'll take care of Hammerhand, lassie," the man shouted and immediately opened a couple of panels to help with the repairs. "You get on down there and help them in the battle. They need you."
With a nod, she clambered off to rejoin the combat and rush to the side of her comrades. With Hammerhand in Tinker’s capable hands, she could fight alongside them while still running support.
One of the Balthazars turned and noticed her—and that she was alone and her teammates engaged in the battle. Almost lazily, it fired its assault rifle at her.
Jessica13 paused when she felt the pings as the rounds struck their armor and bounced away.
"Mini, I'll need a little help here," she called and struggled to keep the mech in motion.
"Understood," the AI said and immediately took control of the left arm and the grappler attached to it as reached the outer edge of the fight. They stayed away from the worst of it while he aimed the grappler at the Balthazar and, after a moment of swift calculation, fired it.
The dart with the cable attached flew quick and true and it planted itself firmly and remained rooted in the boot of the Balthazar.
"What the hell was that supposed to do?" she asked. The damage to the other mech was minimal and it continued to fire as if nothing had happened.
"One of the grounding towers is to the left there," Mini replied. "Run in and I'll release the cable into it."
It was risky as she could see the bolts of electricity still buzzing from the pole although it was connected to the rest of the spiderweb network, Still, with Mini manning and timing the grappler, she was more or less confident of success.
If not, she would have to deal with a similar amount of power entering her mech as had gone into Hammerhand's and with considerably less protection.
She turned and dragged the Balthazar, still in mid-air, toward the tower. At what seemed like the final second, the cable came free with a loud twang and whipped forward to wind itself around the base of the tower.
The reaction was less explosive than
