In that moment, he let it drop. They fell forward when the wall they had pushed against disappeared, and the hammer swung. The crunch when the mechs were crushed by the rocket-powered weapon was more satisfying than Hammerhand would ever openly admit.
The battle had finally swung their way. It would have been more difficult if they had tried to fight while scaling the steps or even if they had tried to sneak to the top under the cover of night, but it had been an enormous risk. Their chosen tactic had involved complete reliance on the defensive mechs to break their position and try to pursue.
It had been a gamble and one they had almost lost, but it had ultimately paid off. Hammerhand didn’t intend to deny that, but he also acknowledged that the situation might have cost them a little too much.
Not only that but the fact that the price had been paid by the lives of rebels from Auburn and damage inflicted on his men rather than shared with the Prophet's Desert Warriors stung considerably. He recognized the cold anger within and directed it to fuel his efforts to annihilate the rest of the mechs who continued to resist them.
Those who remained saw that they were caught between a literal hammer and a metaphorical anvil. The desert fighters finished dealing with the Quadrupeds and artillery mechs and began to circle to finish the others.
The defensive troops didn't like the idea of fighting from that position and one by one, they stepped away from the fighting and began to drop their weapons and hold their hands up in the universal sign that they had given up and now surrendered.
A few still fell as Knights, rebels, and desert fighters alike were a little slow to react to their surrender or maybe too high on the adrenaline of the battle to call it. Hammerhand immediately pinged those he could on the comms and allowed his voice to be carried into the field over the din of battle.
"Lay your weapons down and you will be spared. Continue to fight and you will be destroyed. Make your choice now and be prepared to live with it!"
It was meant for his allies as well as the defeated defenders, and all groups were quick to respond. The FEMA company survivors who hadn't dropped their weapons did so almost immediately, while the Knights, rebels, and desert fighters alike responded by restraining their assault for the moment.
There was something almost unnatural about holding back like this. He’d dealt with raiders for years and that had culminated in the engagement with Athena's zealots, and his instincts were honed to finish the fight himself in violent fashion. There had been times when a few of their enemies had promised surrender before, but it had almost inevitably ended with their attempt to stab him in the back. As a result, he’d reached the point where he learned to not provide them with the opportunity to do so.
But in this case, they fought not only for the victories on the battlefield but those off it as well, and that would be earned by showing that they weren't the bloodthirsty raiders who had likely had been a problem in this area for so many years. They were different, looked for a peaceful solution, and were there to help to achieve that.
Hammerhand lowered his weapon and let the head rest near his feet while Tinker ran a hasty headcount. It had been a victory but at one hell of a cost. He wasn't sure he was willing to commit to these kinds of losses in the future. Aside from the high regard in which he held every member of his team, this kind of combat would mean the end of the Knights Mechanica as a whole. Only their skill, determination, and experience had saved them from fatalities, but it had come horrifyingly close to a massacre.
For now, however, they were committed. They had a plan and damned if he would be the one to pull away from it. Even so, he intended to demand that the Prophet provide some answers while they collected themselves. It was an easy climb to the mesa using the steps provided. There might be a couple of mechs waiting for them as a last line of defense, but the bulk of the fighting was finished for the night.
For now, anyway.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Regrouping after the battle proved more challenging than Hammerhand had anticipated. Over the past few days, he had found that they were increasingly involved in the complicated kind of battle and with every moment, it became more difficult to decide what the right move was.
In this case, there was prolonged discussion over what should be done with the defenders who had surrendered. There was no way they could simply kill their prisoners outright but leaving them in their mechs was also not an option. Even without weapons, they were too much of a threat.
Leaving the mechs behind was clearly not the way to go either since virtually anyone could stroll in and take them for themselves. While that might not be a problem if such strangers proved to have integrity and could be prevailed upon to support them, but the chances of that were nothing short of miraculous. The most likely scenario was the type of dissolute raiders the Knights spent most of their time eliminating.
It was eventually decided that some of the Prophet's men would remain on the ground. These were mostly the dune buggies and smaller mechs that would have trouble climbing the mesa anyway, and it made sense to leave them to guard their rear and secure the prisoners as well.
Hammerhand moved to the front of their line and climbed the first few steps of the stairway slowly. A moment later, he was joined by the Prophet, who piloted his altered
