He pulled the trigger. Two electrode studs launched from the gun, each connected to a wire that transmitted however many volts in an attempt to disable the mech.
Jessica13 had to resist the urge to laugh as the studs bounced off the armor and fell harmlessly.
Mini stepped forward, and she could see the grappler had disengaged from the dart it was supposed to launch as well as the cable it was supposed to tow.
It was such a simple change and yet now, she could see the compressed air cannon wind up and release to strike the guard with a blast of air strong enough to pick him up off his feet and hurl him into the table her things had been on.
Becker3 tried to back away, but Mini was already advancing on him. Before he could take three steps, her right hand caught him by the right leg and picked him up effortlessly.
The other two guards and three pilots were already rushing toward the other side of the room and away from the mech that appeared determined to attack. They seemed to have no qualms about leaving Becker3 alone and unaided.
"Holy shit," the man shouted as he was raised up to eye level—the cockpit—at an angle that allowed him to see what was inside.
Or rather, what wasn't inside.
"There's no pilot!" he shouted and struggled to twist free.
It was difficult, hung upside down as he was, but he could see that no one was there to hear his declaration—or, rather, no one who cared.
Jessica13 rushed toward the mech, yanked the chest open, and tossed her bag inside before she scrambled in and shut the chest behind her.
"Good afternoon, Jessica13," Mini said cheerfully when she pulled the headset on. "How are you today?"
"I'll be honest, I've been better," she replied. "Do you mind if I take the controls?"
"Affirmative." The AI released control of the mech to allow her to take over.
"What do you think we should do with Becker3?" she asked.
"Make an example of him?" Mini suggested.
"There’s no time. We need to get to that elevator," she replied and turned her attention to the man, who still dangled by one of his feet.
"No!" the pilot protested and shook his head wildly, but she simply dropped him despite his plea. Sure, the fall wasn't the most pleasant, but it was better than being thrown.
Jesscia13 paid no more attention to him and now focused on the elevator. The doors, thankfully, were still open but alarms would be triggered soon.
"How did you come online, anyway?" she asked as they moved as swiftly as she dared toward the doors. "I thought I needed to be around for that to happen."
"Your agreement to allow me access to the controls of the mech was not revoked," Mini informed her. "As such, the authorization of control was never relinquished and so I was allowed to access the controls of the mech at will, which included disengaging from the harness and coming to your rescue."
"And I have to say thank you for that. I was sure I was in a whole pile of shit before you came along."
"Your appreciation is noted. Although, as you have consistently helped me, you might say I owed you the help. Either that or the fact that your continued existence would allow you to consistently help me in the future. As such, we are helping each other. As I have been able to determine, that is what you humans call a friendship."
"Well…yes, I guess you're right," Jessica13 started to say but immediately increased speed when she heard the alarms activate and flashing red lights filled the hangar like they had when they were being attacked.
Most importantly, of course, the elevator doors began to close.
She pushed herself to move faster and watched nervously as the hydraulics began to protest the pace they were being used at, but she didn’t dare to slow to ease the pressure put on them.
The doors were massive but slow-moving, possibly a reflection of the AI that operated them. They did inch shut, however.
"Faster, faster—must go faster!" Jessica shouted and barely registered how loudly she was speaking. She couldn't hear much of anything over the sound of rushing and thudding in her ears. Adrenaline spiked in her body, the instinctive response to her desperate need to get to that damn elevator.
The doors were almost completely closed and left barely enough space for her to squeeze through. Seconds felt like hours and each step felt like it took for fucking ever to complete before she dove forward to push through the last few feet of opening still available to her.
She made it inside and landed hard with a jarring impact on her shoulder, but the doors clanged shut an instant later.
Mechs weren't designed to dive like that, and it took her a moment to rearrange it before she was able to stand again.
"We did it?" Jessica13 asked, looked around, and pushed into the mech's natural position. "We did it!"
Mini remained silent but did show the same smiley face on her HUD when the whole elevator shuddered and began to move upward.
"Huh." She grunted and looked around in disbelief. "I would have thought they would shut the elevator down with the alarms activated."
"Normally, that would be protocol," Mini replied. "But in this case, the elevator is being sent up to the defense level because there are currently members standing guard up there who need to be retrieved before Sanctuary can be locked down."
"I…didn't know about that. Wouldn't they try to stop us before we get to the top?"
"Did you have a plan if they had shut the elevator down?" Mini queried.
"Yes—open the hatch above us, use the grappler to scale the shaft, and force the doors at the top open by disengaging the magnetic lock," Jessica13 said. It was so nice to finally have someone to discuss her plans with, even if they were ultimately unnecessary.
"There is a seventy-five-point-three-two percent chance that
