simply pretend they were someone else.

The Knights dismounted and moved to Armstrong7, who had exited his mech as well and now headed toward his office.

"I can't guarantee that the admins will be willing to trade the parts," the man said and shook his head. "But we do need those you mentioned. The reactors especially—we're running low on those for the filtering systems. I'll put in a good word for you and maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to arrange a trade. You can wait here while I work on that."

Hammerhand nodded. "Your assistance in this matter is appreciated."

"There’s not much I wouldn't do for you, old friend." The CO patted the taller, leaner man on the shoulder. "In the meantime, I think you could all use work on your mechs. Let our bulletfoots know if you need anything. I'm sure they'll be glad to help."

"They won't," Jessica13 said under her breath.

She wasn't sure if he heard her but returned to the Minato without waiting to find out.

The negotiations, as it turned out, dragged on almost interminably, which allowed her the time she needed to work on Mini. There were a few improvements she had planned and with help from Tinker, she was able to retrieve a few legs the man had recommended from his hoard.

"Why are you giving the girl chicken legs, Tinker?" Carson asked, who approached while they worked to replace the limbs. "No need to waste the good parts on the new girl."

"It’s better than wasting them on you, you old mange-covered mutt," her companion retorted and continued to remove the old limbs from the Minato.

"Why are you putting new legs on me?" Mini sounded a little anxious about the changes.

"I have footage of you running from the pirates," Tinker explained without pausing in his work. "Impressive running, of course, but I noted that you had far more traction on the back feet than the power that was transferred there. The balance was a little off too, so that would have been helped with these limbs. I'll keep the old ones in case you don't approve or have stability issues."

Mini remained silent and Jessica13 could tell that he calculated how the change would affect his Bulletfoot mode. They would continue to make him more and more efficient as they initiated improvements.

No mech was ever finished according to the Shimura/Sendai motto, which they printed on the front of the manus she'd gotten her hands on.

"Hey, you!" Tinker called, and a head turned toward him. Jessica13 recognized the bulletfoot who worked on one of the other mechs but couldn’t recall his name. "This one here needs a new paint job. Do you know how to make up green paint?"

The kid tried not to look hostile in any way as he approached them and shook his head.

"You take a load of grease out from the joints of…let's say that baby over there." Tinker pointed at the Excalibur. "You mix it with a little engine oil until you get the right shade. When you're finished, come over because this Minato needs a new paint job to make him fit right in."

Jessica13 couldn't help a small smile when the bulletfoot rushed away to collect the ingredients. "I thought you said you didn't like the green."

"Well, I won’t be out there representing the Knights Mechanica," Tinker said. "You will, so you need to look the part. We'll fit Mini with one of those banners once you've been in a tussle or two."

"But I'm not a Knight yet," she pointed out.

"Well, you can be if you want to," Tinker replied and looked at her while he wiped the sweat from his bushy eyebrow. "Or you can tell him to go back to whatever he was doing before."

"No, no, that's fine," she said and turned to help him. She liked the idea of looking the part of one of the Knights.

It was quick work to replace the legs, made easier by the harness that held Mini up when he didn't have any other support and gave them time to fit the new parts without difficulty.

Once they released him from the harness, Jessica13 held her breath as Mini settled into them. She wished she could have been inside but since he was the one who would operate the mech at the high speeds that would make it matter, it was better for her to simply let him move the mech alone and run his calculations.

Once he was finished with those, he would be able to factor her added weight in.

"Well, you are right," the AI said finally and moved experimentally on the causeway. "I do have better balance numbers with these legs than the others. I'll have to give it a proper test once we're outside."

Tinker nodded. "Of course, and I'll keep the legs from the Minato original on the Beast if you want them back. It won't be as easy to get them on when we’re out of here, but we can do it. I think I have a couple of harnesses on the Beast if you need them."

Jessica13 frowned when Mini moved the mech in an odd up and down motion like he tried to do something with it and it wasn't working. She tilted her head and studied his efforts for a few moments.

"What are you doing?" she asked finally.

"I'm trying to crouch," Mini explained.

She shook her head. "No, no, you can't do it that way. It's against the joint lines. Your legs now bend backward, like a… What was the animal we saw in the city?"

"A fox?"

"Yes, a fox. The legs bend backward, which gives you better mobility when you're on all fours. I think it might slow us when we're on two legs, but it should give us better stability."

The AI paused for a moment to adjust the coding that controlled the movement, then crouched, settled on the new legs, and moved tentatively in the fairly limited space. Jessica13 watched intently as the mech gradually adjusted to the new legs until they

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