At least when they were moving again, she could put this all behind her. Unlike the people of Auburn, she would not be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor once everything was rebuilt.
"Jessie, a word?"
A little surprised, she turned quickly to where Hammerhand stood behind her mech. His Excalibur had been left where Tinker and some of the others now fussed over it, and the man seemed a little reduced without it. Of course, an Excalibur was something to see in action, and it was easy to forget that the man inside was, in fact, a man. He was lean, tall, and shaved to his skin to prevent any gunk from getting in the processors, but still a man.
"Sure," she replied and climbed out of her Minato to face him. He was still taller than she was to the point where she had to crane her neck to look at him.
"We discussed the logistics of the attacks that will be required and considered the nature of the fight ahead to determine if all the Knights would be able to hold their own or if some should remain here."
His low tone of voice and the slow, deliberate way in which he spoke said all that needed to be said. Jessica13 couldn't help a small scowl at the man but quickly removed the resentment and irritation from her expression. She might not like it, but he was the leader of the Knights. He could have simply ordered her to stay behind. At least he had taken the time to explain the decision to her, although it appeared as though he wished he didn't need to.
She steeled herself, straightened her back, and tried not to let the disappointment she felt show. "You’ve decided that I'll stay behind."
Hammerhand clenched his jaw. "The Minato is a fantastic mech, to be sure, but we face combat situations where the style of hit and run we are accustomed to might not play out as well as it usually does. Tighter confines underground and in the bunkers mean that you will not be able to move out of hostile situations as quickly as you might out in the open. Not only that, you do not have either the experience or the weapons to protect yourself."
That made sense. It still didn't help the sting, though, but once again, she tried to keep any of that from playing on her face.
"In the meantime," he continued, “your time in Auburn should not be seen as having no value. It will mean a great deal to me that you will remain in Auburn and continue with the mission of rebuilding their homes and their lives."
She had nothing else to say, and it seemed he didn't either. Neither appeared to be any good at this kind of tense situation and after a few seconds during which he simply stood silently in front of her, Hammerhand spun away and returned to his mech.
He'd done his best, at least. She breathed in and released it slowly in an effort to settle the rampant urge to scream before she climbed into the Minato again.
"I'm sorry," Mini said, having heard everything.
"There’s nothing to be sorry about."
A few seconds ticked past while Jessica13 got herself situated.
"He did make a good point. The Minato is best equipped for a battle out in the open where its mobility will give it an edge. That advantage is removed when in the tight confines of tunnels and bunkers."
"I know. I know he's right." She looked at the HUD and ran a couple of system diagnostics before she put them in motion to join one of the work parties and begin her task in Auburn. "It still sucks, though, especially since I’m the only one."
"Indeed it does."
Chapter Forty-Five
"It's not that I like being out there in the action," Jessica13 said. "I'm not a violent person when it comes down to it, and I'm not the kind to get into altercations on my own. You know that, right?"
Mini added a thumbs-up to the HUD.
"It's only… I want to feel like I'm contributing and pulling my weight with the Knights. It's not that I wanted to be a fighter or a champion like Hammerhand is. I only wanted to head out and be free here in the Outside."
"On that we have to disagree."
She paused in her work of clearing rubble from the road. "What are you talking about? You know me better than anyone else and you have to know that all I really wanted was the freedom the Outside provided."
"I will not deny that freedom to do as you will plays a large part in who you are. But, if you will recall, one of your first actions once outside the confines of Sanctuary was to go and help people who were in need. And when they needed more help, you went out of your way to provide it. That included putting yourself in danger to find Hammerhand and bring him to aid those you couldn't help yourself."
Almost absently, she noted that the AI core ran a little hotter than usual, which was what usually happened when Mini considered human behavior.
Or her behavior, in this particular case.
"Well…I couldn't leave them out there without any help. They had lost their home and there were children who would have died if I didn't help. How could I not at least do my best to help them rebuild? Kind of like what we're doing here."
"Calculations picked up from the database tell me that the average response to seeing the bunker smoking as it was would have been to turn
