"Well played," Jessica13 conceded.
"Your compliment is noted and appreciated," the AI replied.
It was easy enough to quickly reload another dart into the grappler as Windchime came over to where she stood.
"Good afternoon there, Jessie," he said over comms and laughed.
"You have no idea how good it is to see your face again, Windchime," she replied with a broad smile. "Well, not your face, but you know what I mean."
"I do, and I have to say, it's good to see you alive and well too," he said. "I see you're still not taking my advice to stay far away from the fight."
"It's against every fiber in my being," she tried to explain but he raised a hand.
"Soon, you'll learn there are times to follow orders and times to follow your instincts," he said. "Let's get these fuckers out of here and we can talk more about it."
It sounded like the promise of something to look forward to, and as she settled in behind him and used her rifle to deliver what damage she could, it was impossible to miss the sight of Hammerhand rising from his prone position. It was a slow, difficult process, especially for a mech of that size, but a few Knights had assembled to help him with a combination of pushing as well as cables to pull him onto his feet again.
One of his teammates helped him grasp his hammer again, and the speakers came alive with a loud crackle.
"Knights Mechanica, to me!" His voice rolled across the clearing around them to draw their attention. The defenders gravitated toward him and he twisted a little in place, likely still dealing with a handful of difficulties with his mech.
But if there was ever someone who could power through it, Hammerhand could.
The shield came up with a crackle as the Knights fell in behind him. Not all had been Knights at the beginning of the day, but all had fallen under the same banner by the end. It wasn't long before they surged forward into Athena's fighters, who had managed to regroup as well.
While the enemy might have regained their battle-readiness, they were still unprepared for the reinvigorated and reinforced Knights. With Hammerhand at the tip of the spear, they powered into the fray.
Jessica13 fell into the back lines to provide support once more and fired at those she could while her teammates drove forward in a powerful assault that decimated the lines of Athena's men by half almost without effort. Their leader used his shield to push them back and his hammer to finish, while the others delivered killing blows to those adversaries not directly in his path.
Athena's men were separated by the wedge and shoved aside and into the streets of Auburn. Once they lost their group formation, the combat quickly devolved into a group of smaller skirmishes. One of the teams that still managed to find a way to resist was led by two Guardians that used their plasma cannons to keep the Knights at bay.
They seemed to reach a stalemate when the team was forced to take cover behind Hammerhand's shield.
"I have an idea," Mini said.
"I won’t like it, will I?" Jessica13 responded cautiously.
"Well, you have been fairly reckless all day so I'm fairly certain you will," he told her.
The AI still had control of the grappler arm, and with a quick shot of the new dart, the cable was launched to the top of one of the taller buildings near them. The retractor was quickly engaged and the building was stable enough to allow them to climb the side of it without tipping it, which gave them a view over Hammerhand's shield.
They were exposed as well, but the Guardians below and the Lancers in the formation were too occupied with the Knights they confronted to care about a small support mech that overlooked their position.
"What are we doing here?" Jessica13 asked.
"There is a weak point on the cannons that can be exploited on the Guardian mechs," Mini explained and highlighted it. "If exposed to oxygen, the plasma slugs will overheat. They will either expand in the cannon and jam it or cause a backfire that damages the mech itself."
After a very brief moment of thought, she decided that either scenario was acceptable and took aim at the closest Guardian. Rather than rush it, she gave herself time to follow the weapon's motions carefully before she pulled the trigger.
There was no backfire but the stream of superheated plasma slugs came to a halt as the last round expanded and jammed the chamber shut.
Jessica13 adjusted her aim to the second Guardian, who realized they were under fire from above and scanned for targets. Her heart seemed to jump in her throat as the massive canon swiveled to aim at her and she squeezed the trigger almost without thinking and held her breath.
The bullet penetrated the weak place on the mech and the explosion that erupted was thunderous. It ripped the rifle free from a hand that was instantly transformed to mostly charred junk metal. The Guardian stepped back and the pilot almost instinctively knew they were in trouble.
Hammerhand, seeing their sudden advantage, pressed the Knights forward in a concerted attack and rapidly defeated those who still stood their ground.
A few realized the danger they were in and tried to make their way surreptitiously out of the twisting streets of Auburn, but they were quickly overtaken and eliminated. None of Athena's men thought to drop their weapons and beg for mercy. Surrender was no option for them. They would either run or die.
And die they did. As the last mech fell, the Knights turned their attention to the balloons and airships overhead. While the battle raged, no one had thought of the airborne threat and they had gradually descended—possibly, Jessica
