Jessica13 lowered her gaze as the man spoke. There were obviously open wounds from that time so she could understand why he would not want to speak of it. Certain things simply didn't heal. She hadn’t had much experience of that herself, but her recent discoveries had triggered emotional responses she hadn’t yet come to terms with.
Tinker continued grimly as if he had to power through to the end of the tale. "When Hammerhand found out, he was furious. I don't think I've ever seen the man angry before that moment—or since—but in that, he was angry. The problem was a great many of the other members of the Knights agreed with Athena. They thought they would be in a better position to help others if they had greater control over the landscape, or so they said. I don’t doubt that the decision came from nothing more than a desire for the comfort and power of a centralized location, lazy bastards that they were. Going around and finding folks to help seemed like too much work."
"I'll assume, based on Hammerhand's particular personality—or the little I’ve learned of it—he wouldn't have pushed for an amicable break over differing opinions," she prompted and made sure to keep her voice soft.
He laughed but it was a sad, almost depressed sound from a man who was usually impressively upbeat. "He confronted Athena publicly in front of the other Knights. She saw this as a grievous betrayal on the part of her closest friend and confidant and attacked him and the Knights who stood with him. Hammerhand was able to hold her off and those loyal to him were able to escape, as he did himself, but he swore he would kill her if they crossed paths again. I know this since I was there to help repair the damage she did to his mech. So they were as close as family at one point, but she let her greed dictate who her friends were."
Jessica13 nodded and now understood why Tinker had suddenly changed his mind about attacking Athena. It hadn't only been an affront to Hammerhand's honor and beliefs but his as well. He believed in what the Knights did, and in turning her back on and betraying Hammerhand, she had done the same to all who had stood beside their leader when it mattered.
At least the reaction from the Knights on hearing the news, Windchime included, made sense. They had dreaded the almost inevitable second clash between Hammerhand and Athena. Maybe that was a simplistic assumption, but it explained things for her without confusing her with too many details. And while they might be loathe to accept the inevitable, they also wouldn’t shy away from it.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Jessica13 said, her voice softer and more apologetic than before.
Another dry laugh from Tinker failed to ease her spirits. "It is what it is, I suppose. Athena was never the type to shy away from the accolades the Knights received and they went to her head. She was bound to turn against our core beliefs eventually, and perhaps we should count ourselves lucky that she did so when we were facing her, rather than her deciding to thrust her electro-spear into our backs. Maybe that was why Hammerhand chose to confront her directly about it. He didn't believe she would do the same and wanted to get it over with before any infighting caused the Knights to turn on each other."
"I suppose that makes sense," Jessica13 replied. "And, from how I've seen Hammerhand handle conflict, he might not have been of a mind to try to resolve their differences peaceably."
"If you knew the kind of scum Athena called on to help with her cause, I don't think you would have wanted him to attempt a peaceable solution," he countered. "She even let a few of the bastards into our ranks and tried to give them the legitimacy they needed to establish themselves with the nearby bunkers. There was no negotiation that would keep Athena from tarnishing the reputation of the Knights as a group that fights for those who cannot defend themselves. In acting quickly, Hammerhand preserved the lives and the reputation of the Knights."
He seemed somewhat less than unbiased in his assertions, but Jessica13 could tell that his viewpoint was the result of long discussions with Hammerhand about the future of the Knights, likely similar to the conversation she had seen before. They were equals and didn't always agree on how the group operated, which gave them a good sense of diversity in their leadership.
"What do you think the chances are that we'll actually engage Athena and her group if it is them we will encounter?" she asked and scanned the flat terrain yet again, although Mini provided no alerts that anything might lie ahead. A quick check of her signals confirmed that Windchime was still about a klick ahead of them and would likely return or call for their support if he thought he needed it.
"Chances?" Tinker asked and shrugged in the exaggerated gesture that came from doing so while still in control of the mech. "I’m not sure what you mean by chances. Are you talking about our chance of actually engaging them or our chances of succeeding if we do?"
"Either or," she said. "You know her better than I do, and if we were to encounter the group, there's not much I could do to prevent any fighting from happening. I doubt I would be able to put up much of a fight or make any kind of significant contribution to a battle if that were to happen either. You will know what chance we have of actually being engaged as well as what we would have of walking away from
