"Hammerhand, I have targets. Am I clear to engage?"
"Roger that. Fire at will. Give them something to think about as they advance."
She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and relaxed into the controls. The Balthazar that was closest activated the rockets on its back and prepared to take off.
"Fire when ready," she whispered and pulled the trigger.
The head of the target mech snapped back and it overreacted to the jerking motion of the human within. It continued to rise, but the pattern soon became erratic when the AI failed to pick up that its pilot was dead. A few seconds later, it twisted and flared earthward. The crunch could be heard even in the town as the rocket on the Balthazar's back deactivated.
The other long-distance specialists fired on the command to eliminate a handful of the advancing mechs. They continued to move, but slower and with jolting motions.
Those that were closer opened fire on the town. Rockets and grenades impacted the walls of the buildings at the edge.
"No one else open fire until they're within the city perimeter. They'll probe for our defense points. There’s no sense in letting them know before they're inside."
Athena realized what was happening and ordered them to increase the pace. More of the rockets rushed overhead and filled the air with the ghostly screams that chilled Jessica13 to the very bone. She maintained her position and pulled the trigger in a continuous rhythm.
A few of the rounds didn't find their targets. It came from having to choose them and shoot quickly. Mini helped with the aim but even then, a couple of the shots struck the shoulder pauldrons and bounced away into the darkness while the mechs moved on.
There were too many of them. Those she did manage to eliminate were merely a drop in the proverbial bucket. Dozens more broke through the tree line and savaged through the defenses that had been set up for the first battle using rockets to obliterate them and create them more openings to attack through.
"Jessie, are you ready to kill comms?"
Hammerhand sounded like he was under stress, a far cry from the full-blooded confidence he had filled the commlinks with.
"Ready for your mark." She pulled the trigger again, focused on two Sherlocks that attempted to set up a firing position from beyond the tree line. One dropped quickly with no AI to keep it up. The second realized what had happened and jumped out of the way in time to take cover behind the trees.
Her rounds could punch through the trunks easily, of course, but there was no way to be sure she could hit him where she needed to. She had no desire to waste the bullets.
"Put a highlight on that tree," she snapped at Mini, who quickly did as he was told. "Blink it if the Sherlock moves out from behind cover."
"Understood."
Athena's men had breached the perimeter of the town and now funneled into the kill zones, where the Knights and the townsfolk were more than happy to greet them. Hammerhand gave them the signal and they opened fire to decimate the front lines.
Jessica13 let the others deal with those who were already in the town. Her gaze turned to those mechs that weren't marked like Athena's raiders. They held back and while they opened fire here and there, they didn’t join the initial attack.
Unlike the raiders, these likely realized that they were being pulled into a location where their numbers advantage would be irrelevant and their weapons would be less effective. They would likely charge in anyway, but only after they had a quick discussion about it.
"Since when do raiders and pirates take the time to discuss tactics?" Jessica13 asked no one in particular as she pulled the trigger. “I guess these are from the Citadel.”
One of the Lancers, looking oddly intact, snapped back a few steps and the gyros inside worked smoothly to keep it on its feet despite the death of the human inside. The other mechs quickly reorganized. A couple held what looked like shields above their heads in an effort to provide cover.
Their attempt was doomed to failure. Jessica13 selected another target and fired. A few of the other Knights chose the same ones, and five of them were killed almost instantly.
It seemed the meeting of the Citadel mechs was over. Tactics had been decided, and the newer, cleaner mechs began their advance toward the town.
The push forward had no sooner begun when Mini highlighted the tree he'd marked before and pinged it once. Jessica13 immediately swept her gaze to the Sherlock that now tried to sprint to join the ranks of his comrades.
Her single shot was perfectly placed. The mech stumbled and landed hard enough to spray a wave of dirt around it.
Almost immediately, something moved in the scope line. She zoomed out and narrowed her eyes to locate the mech illuminated by new flares shot into the sky. Even profiled like that, she knew what she was looking at—the largest mechs she'd ever seen aside from the Excalibur.
"Hammerhand, we have Guardians incoming," she advised their leader.
"Not yet. Windchime, bring them in!"
Windchime burst out of hiding where he and three of the Auburnites had taken cover behind a number of wells in the farming fields. The group that raced to take cover in the city skidded to a halt and stared at the four-armed mech that confronted them. He opened fire and swung his swords viciously.
It was mostly for effect, but what an effect it was. Jessica13 wasn't sure what she would do if she was attacked by something like that.
The other knights took firing positions behind him and moved smoothly as he cut through two of the mechs on his first swing. The vibroblades sliced through the steel armor plates and into the pilot inside and released a spray of blood from the newly created opening.
A couple of rounds hit Windchime, but he
