He climbed down from the Argonaut he piloted and took the few steps to where Hammerhand stood.
"By the waters of Citta del Mar," the Prophet said in a foreign accent and extended his hand, “I am blessed to meet such a hero as yourself."
He grasped the man’s hand and shook it firmly. "Your help arrives just in time. I thank you."
"When I see the bravery of you and yours, it is I who must thank you. I am the Voice in the Desert, known to some as the Prophet and to others, He Who Speaks the Word. You may call me friend, great warrior."
“I’m known as Hammerhand.”
“You have earned this name, and so you will be called by the People of the Desert.”
Chapter Forty-Three
The smoke hadn't quite cleared yet.
The fires were mostly extinguished, although a couple of blazes had spread farther into the grasslands to die there. Jessica13 hadn't had much time to rest, and what sleep she had managed had been full of dreams of fighting at night while the fires blazed around her. In her nightmares, she felt the explosion when this time, she didn't manage to vault away in time and the rocket brought the building down while she still stood on it.
A few hours were necessary, though. All the Knights had fought through the better part of a full day and a half with little to no rest between them.
Still, it was a gorgeous sight to wake up to. The sun was rising again and painted the smoky sky red and pale yellow as it arced from the hills in the east and began its daily climb toward the west. After a little food, she trudged to where Mini had been parked for the night, plugged into the Beast's databanks to give him something to do while she rested.
The AI could move the mech on his own and could have already joined the work to help the town to recover from the battle it had faced. He hadn’t protested when she had elected to let the Minato get some rest and maybe see if he couldn't put in a couple of repairs while they waited.
The hatch was already open, ready for her to climb inside, and she slipped into the comfortable and familiar cockpit she had spent more time in than out of.
"Good morning, Jessica13."
She scowled at the HUD, which displayed a smiley face and a flower from the AI. "I guess it is a good morning, isn't it?"
"Surviving an assault from enemies that have tried to kill you for the better part of almost a week does constitute as a beneficial element in the morning, yes. There could be detrimental elements as well."
"Is that your way of asking me how I slept?"
The AI paused for a few seconds. "How did you sleep?"
"Well, it was short and not very restful," she muttered. "I kept having the same fucking nightmare over and over again. I was back on that rooftop and I didn't react quickly enough to let you get us off before the rockets struck."
"I imagine that was a fairly traumatic experience for you but thankfully, we did manage to get clear of the rooftop in time. And you did your best to give the Knights as much time to recover as you could, which is fairly admirable. Humans might even describe it as brave."
"What would AIs describe it as?"
"Ill-advised."
Jessica13 nodded slowly. She could agree with that, at least. It had been a difficult fight, but they had managed to survive and in the end, they were on what looked like a long, long path of rebuilding. Many of the locals had returned to the work of tilling the fields that could still grow food, their focus on the long-term survival of Auburn. Those who had mechs and knew how to use them began to clear the rubble from the streets so they could begin to rebuild the town.
There was also the delicate and depressing task of clearing the dead from the area. Dozens had been buried in the buildings when they'd been bombed, and too many of them were left there because others had to look to their own survival. Who knew how many had not been killed by the initial impact and could have lived had help arrived to pull them out?
"Fuck, that's a depressing train of thought."
Mini appeared to know what she was referring to or at least had the good sense not to ask. "I suppose you might want to get some sleep in here while I get some work done?"
"Would you mind that? I have a little trouble keeping my eyes open."
"My databanks tell me that this is a common effect of physical and psychological exhaustion. You would do well to get what sleep you can and tell me whether you are capable of continuing to work later on in the day. If not, you might want to think about getting some proper rest."
"I can't go to sleep. Too many people are working to rebuild their lives out there for me to simply laze around."
"Assuming that you need the rest and it is required for your health, you might want to think that it is a priority. You will not be able to support or help anyone if you have some kind of infection that keeps you out of action for weeks. You would take up more supplies for less work if you don't take care of yourself."
The AI had a point. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been sick, but the few folks who had been sick at Sanctuary had always received side-glances from everyone else. People needed to cover for someone who didn't work, and
