"A building fell on top of us," the AI said. "The Minato appears to be in need of repairs before it can climb out from under the rubble."
"How are we still alive?" she asked.
A short pause followed. "It was a small building."
"Small comfort too," she muttered. "I think I passed out for a while there. How long was I out?"
"Only for seven-point-three-four-seconds," Mini replied. "Which is fortunate. Any longer and you would have required medical attention."
She tried to move again and groaned when her own body fought the effort. "I'd say I need some anyway. Although if what I think is happening around us is correct, medical attention for me might be the very essence of a futile endeavor."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because the pirates are still out there and they likely aren't too happy with us," she pointed out. "I doubt they’ll simply leave us down here."
More processing time passed. "Agreed. Although the hope is still that we survive long enough for someone with the kind of expertise necessary to help you heal arrives."
"I know," Jessica13 replied softly. "I wish I had the time to restore you and the mech to fighting form. You really were magnificent out there."
"Your compliment is appreciated, although tempered by the fact that a stray round managed to sever the hydraulics in my left arm, thus landing us under a falling building instead of making our escape," Mini pointed out.
She shook her head and took a deep breath of the air that was somehow still clear. At least the filters were still functional. "Even with all the processing power of all the most powerful computers in the world, you won't be able to account for a variable known as blind, dumb luck."
A few calculations scrolled across the HUD when he began to run diagnostics on the mech.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"If luck or chance cannot be accounted for as a variable, it stands to reason that a chance still exists of our exiting this situation still functional," the AI pointed out. "In which case, some of my processing power can and should be devoted to helping to fix the Minato. If chance does not favor us, it won't matter."
Jessica13 couldn't really argue with that. A few seconds ticked by as Mini pulled up all the mechanical issues the collision had caused in the Minato. The rubble shifted above them and caught her attention. She wasn't doing that, of course, which could only mean there was someone who wanted to reach them—probably with vengeance on their mind.
She blinked instinctively when sunlight streamed between the chunks of the broken building that were removed one by one. Jessica13 tasted blood in her mouth and now that she had the light, she looked hastily at her body to see what was wrong with it.
Thankfully, nothing appeared to be broken. The pain that came from moving could be the result of a few jolted joints and bruised muscles. Hopefully, that was the extent of her injuries, not that it would matter anyway.
No, Mini was right. As long as they were alive, there was the chance they could remain that way. Despair would do no one any good and she wasn't about to give up yet.
Her eyes adjusted to the light but she couldn't make out who worked to clear the rubble from around them. When she was finally able to squint and focus, however, she looked into the sky and her breath caught reflexively.
The Balthazar hovered, framed in the sunlight, and descended slowly. It seemed to take up the whole of the sky. This close, she could see the details like the ugly yet effective welding job that had attached the jets to the mech's back. As it moved inexorably toward them, one hand grasped one of the assault rifles it had fired at her and held something else in the other.
It looked like one of the chain swords the Lancers had carried. The weapon whirred and spun and she couldn't help but gulp nervously.
The ground vibrated ominously when the jets roared in such close proximity and set the Balthazar onto its two feet before they shut off. Their noise was replaced by a low, annoying whine as the mech climbed on top of the fallen Minato.
The cockpit was framed by reflective glass, which made it impossible to see what or who was inside, but her imagination could fill in the gaps. No doubt, there were teeth missing and the pilot would stink and be absolutely filthy, having been inside the mech for longer than was recommended. Worse, they’d likely had problems with the filter systems in the mech due to gunk buildup.
She stared as it raised the chain sword and aimed it at the Minato, then flinched when a shower of sparks erupted from where it was cutting. It didn't last very long. These pirates had likely taken apart enough mechs to know where to cut when they wanted to reach a particular part of the mech.
A few seconds passed and it reached down into the hole it had cut, grasped and yanked the cockpit cover free, and tossed it aside.
"No…no," Jessica13 protested and tried to fight but there was nothing she could do. The powerful mechanical hand took hold of her and hauled her out of the Minato, then dragged her down the mountain of rubble she had been buried under for the other pirates to see. She noticed immediately that their numbers had swelled somewhat and assumed he’d gathered additional forces while in pursuit.
The man inside the Balthazar was perfectly audible. The outer speakers were on, and it laughed scornfully, obviously at her.
"Poor little bunker rat!" he declared to the vocal amusement of his comrades. "Caught out in the open with only a tiny little mech to help you. A quick mech, but nothing's too quick that it can't be caught. Ask any other rat you find."
It released her abruptly and she sprawled in the
