The mechanism whirred to life and she found the external controls, guided it into position, and nodded with satisfaction when it responded to her control.
The Balthazar immediately realized the danger he was in, pulled back, and descended hastily to avoid being caught in the open.
Its evasive tactic worked out for the best, really. She didn’t plan to shoot it directly anyway.
She turned to look where they were going. It wasn't the smartest move and a cloud of dust whipped into her eyes, but she saw all she needed to see. Her focus settled on the side of the group of steel crates around them and she swung the grappler to aim it toward them and counted the seconds down in her head.
It wasn't often that she wished for the calculating powers of an AI but in this situation, she really wished she could run the calculations Mini could.
She would have to call it by sight.
"I hope I'm right," Jessica13 whispered as the countdown ended and she fired.
The dart rocketed forward, powered by the air cannon, and spun to drive into one of the crates above them. When it connected, their speed decreased and she disengaged the magnetic clamp that held the grappler in place.
Once it came free, Mini surged forward and increased speed when the crates began to slide and topple on the Lancers that were closing in pursuit.
The Balthazar saw the danger and pulled back sharply to avoid the steel avalanche, but two of the Lancers weren't so lucky. These were caught entirely unawares and only looked up when the sun was suddenly shadowed around them.
No screams were uttered and no sound could be heard but the roar and clatter of tons and tons of steel. Even inside Mini, Jessica13 felt the ground shudder beneath the force of impact.
Mechs tended to be tough to eliminate, but she doubted anyone would walk away from that.
Well, aside from those that hadn't been struck, but it had at least given them some space and time.
Mini took advantage of it and raced forward at a speed that seemed even faster than they’d achieved when they evaded capture at Sanctuary. She closed the hatch again and wiped the dust from her face as she returned to the pilot compartment.
"Nice work out there," he said as she settled in. "I think I could have performed it if you had told me what you had in mind, though. It was illogical to risk your life."
"You didn't have access to the spare grappler and it would have taken too long to set it up for you," she pointed out and closed everything down behind her. "And it wouldn't have worked if you needed to stop to use the grappler attached to the mech. It needed to be done and it needed to be me."
Mini didn't respond, although Jessica13 had a feeling he knew he was wrong, somehow, and didn't want to discuss it further since it had worked out for the best in the end. She had disabled a couple of the mechs and given them breathing space that would hopefully get them out of the junkyard.
It wasn't over, however, as the remaining Lancers clambered over the fallen crates. The Balthazar elevated once more, still reluctant to risk itself in case she had any more tricks up her sleeve.
She didn't but hopefully, that wouldn't matter.
Mini still increased speed and it seemed that the added power cells gave them more power to work with. There would be downsides. Adding more stress to the mech would make mechanical stress skyrocket in turn, but those were problems for later.
It seemed as though the AI had adapted well to the added weight and the Minato raced out of the junkyard and reached what appeared to be a road before their pursuers could stop them. The Balthazar accelerated dramatically and would overtake them soon, but that was a risk they would have to face.
Jessica13 turned, retrieved the radio again, and keyed the next broadcast. She needed to find the Knights now more than ever, not only for the sake of the folks in the bunker but for her own as well.
A second later, a sharp crackle issued from the radio and a connection was established.
"This is Hammerhand of the Knights Mechanica," said a thick, gravelly voice from the other side of the connection. "Get the hell off the radio before you give your position away to pirates. Are you trying to get yourself killed, over?"
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. She hadn't actually expected anyone to answer, but if they did, it meant they were inside the three to four klick range of the transmission.
"Roger that, Hammerhand," she said as she pressed the control on the radio. "Unfortunately, it's too late for that. If you're able and willing to help, it would really be appreciated, over!"
Mini halted abruptly and the Balthazar and Lancers gained quickly and opened fire on them. They were attacking with more ferocity than before, likely pissed about their comrades being killed and determined to exact revenge. The sight was enough to spur them into motion again.
No answer issued from the radio. She could only hope they wouldn’t ignore her cries for help. It was time the Knights Mechanica proved the truth of their legends or she wouldn’t last much longer.
Chapter Fourteen
The world flashed past as Mini found them open space and Jessica13 almost couldn't believe how quickly they moved. The additional cells she had fitted were being used to their full potential and pushed power into the mech to give Mini everything he needed to sustain the Minato at a speed she would never have believed was possible.
It was terrifying, breathtaking, and almost beautiful to see the mech brought to its full potential, or as close to that as she had ever seen in a mech before. Support mechs weren’t given much attention based on the assumption that the combat mechs needed most of the upgrades.
Adrenaline surged within and brought an entirely new thrill.
