It was possible, he reminded himself, although highly improbable. These tunnels would most certainly be dangerous for non-military personnel and there was no logical reason for civilians to be there. That aside, he wouldn’t simply assume that anyone they might encounter were combatants, exactly like he wouldn’t assume that everyone in the City was guilty of the same crimes their soldiers had committed.
The tunnel plunged into darkness when the bulbs shorted out for no apparent reason. Even before the first reactionary curses were heard, the area suddenly illuminated. Flares were fired on the other side of the tunnel, where he could see a series of shadows move toward him.
Their appearance and the circumstances ended any debate over their identity. These were definitely not civilians.
"Weapons ready!" Hammerhand announced, strode five steps ahead of his group, and focused on the mechs that moved forward to meet them. Even from five hundred meters away, it was obvious that they were preparing weapons. They marched in formation with the kind of precision and steady rhythm that made it clear they were ready for a fight.
It seemed they had advance knowledge that the Knights had initiated an attack. Whether they had tripped a sensor or someone had informed FEMA City about their plans didn't matter. At this point, they were committed.
The tunnels blazed brightly when massive rifles began to fire. A couple of the enemy Cinders tried to secure cover for themselves and clearly wanted to push in where their close-range weapons would be able to do the most damage.
That was a real concern. Hammerhand highlighted their presence on his HUD for the team to see.
"Form up behind me!"
The opposition was still too far away for their volleys to be accurate, but a few rounds struck closer to home than others, and he turned his shield on. The reduced setting would mean it would take longer to heat up. The additional time would be needed given the sheer amount of firepower he hoped it would absorb.
He steadied himself and increased the pace of his march. The heat began to rise with every round that impacted with the shield. He would keep it up as long as possible but could not risk having it overheat, which would inevitably exclude him from the fight entirely.
Unfortunately, they wouldn’t survive an all-out assault without the shield, which left them in a precarious position either way.
The heat began to redline and the focused fire of the mechs ranged against them revealed the numbers the Knights faced, which also increased steadily.
This was unsurprising, of course. FEMA City had taken losses but they still greatly outnumbered any other group in the area. It was how they had managed to hold control for so long.
An alarm blinked in his HUD and displayed how long it would be until his shield overheated, and Hammerhand alerted the Knights behind him. They had kept their distance and waited for the order he issued in the same moment that the blue film dropped out of sight. Even without its light, he could still see a fair amount from the muzzle flashes of the barrage around him.
Fifteen alerts showed where his mech's armor had been hit, and he settled in place, steeled himself, and moved forward. A couple of Cinders rushed toward him, hoping to catch his team off-guard and knock the Excalibur out of the fight. All Hammerhand could do was push the hammer forward.
There was no room for him to swing it, although activating the rocket on the end might do some damage.
The closest Cinder was caught in the chest by the top of the hammer—which was almost twice the size of its cockpit—and it was driven back with enough force to make it stumble and topple heavily. He activated the rocket as the other two tried to advance and the kick of it twisted his mech uncomfortably but it did the job. One of the attackers was caught and hurled against the wall with enough power to leave it crushed into the stonework, and another was struck by the rocket blast. After a few seconds of flailing, the fuel in its tanks ignited and exploded in a powerful and brilliant blast.
The other Cinders were caught out in the open and the Knights leveled a second salvo into them. More fire resulted as they stumbled into their own lines.
The FEMA mechs had no mercy and no intention to let even their own pose a threat and simply annihilated them.
It was something to keep in mind. They hadn't shown that kind of cold-bloodedness during the battle for Auburn. Maybe they had to be less merciful, even to their own people, when they defended their city.
Hammerhand raised the shield again and made a note of the damage that had been done to his mech before he continued the advance. Pushing forward would give them room to fight back, and in the tighter area of the tunnels, the Knights would hold the advantage. Windchime's swords whined, ready to slice into anything that stood in his way.
A smile touched the Knights’ leader’s face as they pushed closer. He kept his shield up and once again, gave the men behind him the alert to fire the moment it dropped.
The FEMA mechs began to fall back when they realized they were suddenly at a disadvantage. Orders were issued as the shield came down and a fusillade immediately erupted from the Knights.
More alarms blared and Hammerhand almost ignored them until they revealed damage to the back of his mech. Something had attacked him from behind, although he couldn’t see how that was possible.
"Tinker, what the fuck is going on back there?"
"Hold on, just—hold the fuck on!"
There was no further explanation for a second and Hammerhand tried not to turn around to see what was happening. The hammer pushed forward again and drove the front line of enemy mechs back. He activated the rocket and scorched a Lancer into falling back, which opened enough room for Windchime to charge into
