"I might have bruises or nicks, but I should be fine."
"My diagnostics tell me that you have pulled a handful of muscles in your back. I would recommend stretching to relieve eventual pain."
"Maybe later. For now, we need to get the hell out of here."
"Agreed. I would suggest using one of the windows?"
Jessica13 had no better ideas and besides, the last time she tried to get creative, she'd almost got them blown up. "This is your show, Mini."
"Affirmative."
He still had control of the mech, and after a few corrections were made to the electronics, they were on the move again. She braced herself as the Minato pushed out of one of the nearest windows, almost removed the whole frame, and launched the grappler to the top of the building which allowed them to climb down smoothly.
Speed was of the essence, as one of the squads already advanced on their position.
"Jessie, are you there?"
Tinker's voice spoke through the comms.
"I'm here. Still alive for the most part. I guess the jammer is down."
"We were worried when we saw them target your position and the comms came back a few seconds after that. Head on back. We've created barriers and defensive positions for the rest of the Knights and rebels to rally behind. Get back here now!"
"I'm on my way." She cut the connection instantly to be sure that none of Athena's fighters could key in on their commlink and trace her.
Even so, the same squad she’d seen earlier was now even closer and despite the fire, smoke, and dust kicked up, they saw her quickly.
"I suppose their comms are back too." Jessica13 hissed through clenched teeth as she took control of the right arm and drew the rifle from where it was held magnetically. She’d felt a definite twinge of pain in her back with the movement.
There were four of them, she realized as she studied them quickly. Three assault mechs worked together like they had done so forever. They circled and checked corners to make sure no one else was in this part of the town. At the same time, they tried to maintain formation as they advanced and all remained tightly positioned around what looked like a Watson. It carried two crates, ready to resupply them when they needed it.
"What are you thinking, Jessica13?"
"I think we need to get out of here as quickly as possible."
There wasn't any other option. They wouldn’t fare well against three assault mechs, and that was assuming others wouldn't be drawn in by the shooting and decide to join the fight. They needed to return to the fortifications Tinker had told her about.
But still, there was something to be said for slowing the bastards if she could.
She looked down the scope as Mini turned the Minato and pulled the trigger. The round struck low and hammered into the hydraulic junction on the knee of the Lancer at the head of their squad. It almost doubled over, tried to right itself, and as hydraulic fluid began to spray from the hole, settled slowly on the ground.
The other in the group took a moment to make sure their comrade was all right before they trained their rifles on the position Jessica13 and Mini attempted to move away from.
"Any time now, Mini!" she shouted. While she didn’t want to sound annoying, she also knew their shooting wouldn’t create a defensive area around the Minato for long. She fired another shot but this one ricocheted off one of the armor plates on another of the Lancers.
Mini pulled back, the grappler still attached to the building, and she finally realized what he was doing. A crack appeared in the concrete of the wall above them and the Minato strained for a moment before a massive chunk fell free. He immediately disengaged the dart from it.
The wall tumbled to land with a massive thump on top of the enemy squad and generate another cloud of dust.
It was likely not enough to kill all of them but certainly enough to slow them down.
The mech pivoted in place before it twisted and altered its shape until they were on all fours. The AI needed no adjustment period and raced them away from the other squads that had begun to converge on the position of those buried by a wall.
The inertia dampeners in the Minato were still not quite in perfect shape, and Jessica13 needed to hold on tightly to avoid feeling every jolt and bump that resulted from their headlong race across the town. Mini hurdled or dodged the chunks of building and mechs that still littered the roads and made it difficult to navigate but certainly not impossible.
It wasn't long before she could see the barriers that were already being thrown up to slow the advancing forces as well as to provide the Knights and rebels with some cover.
Of course, that barrier would do little to no good once the Raptors and Quadrupeds came into firing distance. It was a delaying tactic, at best.
Hammerhand gestured for more to be erected as they set their defenses up in a tighter formation to block access points and build more traps with what remained of the explosives they had.
At the center of it all stood the Beast, which was apparently their last line of defense.
Mini skidded closer to the blockade and proceeded to vault up the rubble until they were finally over it.
Tinker saw her immediately and rambled over to where the AI brought them into a bipedal stance.
"Jessie, it's damn good to see you alive and well."
"Right back at you, old man. What's happening here? What did I miss?"
"The bombardment forced the rest of our people out of range, but now that the comms are working again, their artillery won’t hold to the perimeter anymore."
"Do we have any plans for when they do come into firing range?"
"Well, we could always run the fuck away, but—"
Hammerhand marched to where they stood and the heavy steps of the Excalibur shook the earth
