Bulletfoot One

by Marshall Rust

  "Since when do raiders and pirates take the time to discuss tactics?" Jessica13 asked no one in particular as she pulled the trigger. “I guess these are from the Citadel.”

  One of the Lancers, looking oddly intact, snapped back a few steps and the gyros inside worked smoothly to keep it on its feet despite the death of the human inside. The other mechs quickly reorganized. A couple held what looked like shields above their heads in an effort to provide cover.

  Their attempt was doomed to failure. Jessica13 selected another target and fired. A few of the other Knights chose the same ones, and five of them were killed almost instantly.

  It seemed the meeting of the Citadel mechs was over. Tactics had been decided, and the newer, cleaner mechs began their advance toward the town.

  The push forward had no sooner begun when Mini highlighted the tree he'd marked before and pinged it once. Jessica13 immediately swept her gaze to the Sherlock that now tried to sprint to join the ranks of his comrades.

  Her single shot was perfectly placed. The mech stumbled and landed hard enough to spray a wave of dirt around it.

  Almost immediately, something moved in the scope line. She zoomed out and narrowed her eyes to locate the mech illuminated by new flares shot into the sky. Even profiled like that, she knew what she was looking at—the largest mechs she'd ever seen aside from the Excalibur.

  "Hammerhand, we have Guardians incoming," she advised their leader.

  "Not yet. Windchime, bring them in!"

  Windchime burst out of hiding where he and three of the Auburnites had taken cover behind a number of wells in the farming fields. The group that raced to take cover in the city skidded to a halt and stared at the four-armed mech that confronted them. He opened fire and swung his swords viciously.

  It was mostly for effect, but what an effect it was. Jessica13 wasn't sure what she would do if she was attacked by something like that.

  The other knights took firing positions behind him and moved smoothly as he cut through two of the mechs on his first swing. The vibroblades sliced through the steel armor plates and into the pilot inside and released a spray of blood from the newly created opening.

  A couple of rounds hit Windchime, but he shrugged the impacts off. The arms with assault rifles continued to fire at the mechs around him and they staggered back.

  "Fucking hell."

  Jessica13 swung her rifle to locate the targets that withdrew from her teammate’s attack and tried to set up a counter-offensive.

  "The downside of surprise attacks is that if your enemy survives the surprise, they can retaliate," Mini commented.

  "Well then, we’d better give them a couple more surprises to keep them on their toes."

  "A fine idea, Jessica13."

  She fired, thankful that the mech absorbed the kickback of the rifle against her shoulder.

  There were many targets to choose from. The gunfire from the streets had increased in intensity. More of Athena's men now swarmed the city. The raiders didn't seem to care and willingly offered themselves as cannon fodder. Those in the clean mechs were more careful and used the buildings around them for cover once they realized what they were facing.

  "Look out!"

  She looked up. Hammerhand's warning was meant for the Knights supporting Windchime.

  One of the Guardians broke through the tree line, the plasma cannon in its arm raised and glowing. The blast was blinding in the darkness, and the plasma bolt streaked forward faster than she would see if it wasn’t for the telltale smoke trail.

  All that was left was a smoking crater where one of Windchime's fighters had been. The pieces had been melted by the heat of the bolt and vanished into the soil.

  "Get the fuck out of there!" their leader commanded

  "There are only a few!"

  Hammerhand would have none of it. "I said get the fuck out of there—now!"

  Windchime pulled back and Jessica13 took the opportunity to eliminate the mech that stood in front of him.

  "Retreat."

  The order was clear. Those remaining had done what they were supposed to do, which was to draw the Guardians out of the tree line and closer to the town. They needed as many of Athena's heavy hitters in range of the jammer as possible.

  The mechs moved forward and tried to choose their targets from the three that now hurried to safety. The invaders no longer fired at the buildings.

  "Jessie, are you ready?"

  "On your mark, Hammerhand."

  Another shot felled the last of the squad Windchime had engaged. The others had made their way to cover and a few even used the bodies of their own fallen as a shield.

  Windchime and his two remaining men slipped into the streets as dozens more of Athena's clean mechs rushed in behind them. The Guardians marched forward, sensing weakness and looking to exploit it.

  Jessica13’s mouth was dry. Sweat made her hands clammy and she cleaned them quickly on her shirt.

  "Come on, Hammerhand," she whispered.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  "Jessie!"

  "I'm here."

  "Hold…"

  She had held for what felt like forever but resisted the temptation to tell him that. While she waited, she dealt with a few more targets here and there and was mostly ignored by the return fire from Athena's mechs. There were other sharpshooters and it would take too much time for the invaders to locate and kill them all. They intended to attack the town anyway and probably thought the nuisances would be caught up in the battle.

  There seemed to be no end to the marauders and the mayhem. Rockets screamed overhead and the earth shuddered from the explosions when they landed. They were all for show, of course, but the knowledge didn’t stop the cold sweat on her hands or the warm tears running down her cheeks.

  Jessica13 cleaned her palms on her shirt again and brushed a few of the tears away. If she simply continued to target, aim, and fire, she could hopefully distract herself.

  "Jessie…mark!"

  She released the breath she hadn't realized she'd held, turned away from the battle, and connected with the jammer to bring up the rudimentary controls she'd set up and started the sequence.

  It seemed like nothing happened at first. Shots, explosions, and the screams from above continued.

  The chatter had died down, though. She tilted her head and checked all the comm signals that had rushed across the battlefield. They were all dead.

  "Huh." She grunted and locked the controls in.

  "Did you not think it would work?"

  "I had my doubts. That much power rushing into the wiring could have fried all the circuits."

  "I won't tell anyone of your doubts."

  "That would be appreciated."

  There was no word on how the battle was going, obviously, but she could see a fair amount from her position at the top of the building beside the jammer. Athena's men looked around as if to work out why orders were no longer coming in. The Guardians stopped their march toward the city and displayed clear signs of confusion over what was happening.

  That was all the signal the Knights needed. Most had remained out of sight and inside the buildings Athena's men had likely been ordered not to damage.

  Windchime was among them and his blades slashed into the two mechs that were closest to him. There was more frenzy in his movements than before. She didn't need to see the man to know he was angry beyond words and the only thing that would sate that rage was killing the fuckers who had killed one of his comrades. The pilot who had been killed wasn’t one of the Knights but he had fought side by side with him and that would have been enough to earn his loyalty.

  More joined the assault and used their blades to hack into Athena's fighters up close where they milled in the streets of Auburn, unable to move away from the attack and trapped in a situation where their greater numbers had no value. They were unable to find cover, and even if they did, the blades would still find them. All they could do was try to shoot the Knights before they pushed in too c
lose.

  But they were well-trained and despite their difficulties, they seemed about to recover from the surge by the defenders when the townsfolk made themselves known. Jessica13 hadn't seen where they had been hiding, but it was impossible not to see their fervor. The Cinders they had commandeered—both from retaking their town as well as the first battle of Auburn—entered the field of combat. The loud reports of their shotguns were hard to miss and they filled the air around them with white smoke before the flames erupted. The fire shone in the darkness and quickly covered the mechs closest to them.

  The pilots withstood the barrage for a few moments longer before they turned and flailed wildly. They didn't realize that they spread the fire in their attempt to put it out. Their line wavered but held, strengthened a moment later when those who were on fire were quickly cut down by the Auburn rebels and Knights alike, only to be replaced by those who pushed in from behind them.

  Jessica13 settled into her position and kept watch on the Guardians who began to advance into the city as well, but from a different angle. They could see the smoke and flames rising from their own ranks and knew that if they followed the same route, they could be caught in the trap along with their comrades.

  There was no way for her to inform Hammerhand of their approach into town, but she doubted she would need to. The townsfolk who didn’t actively participate in combat sent messages between them and to the various fighters who still waited for their turn to join the fray.

  She highlighted the heavy mechs as they entered but chose different targets. Balthazars still attempted to gain height to find out where the jamming signal originated so they could disable or destroy it. She selected the mech closest to her, tilted her head, and pulled the trigger.

  Once again, the rocket on its back kept it in the air for a few seconds before it lost altitude and finally impacted hard into one of the nearby buildings.

  Hammerhand knew the Guardians were coming in closer and that they likely already knew where the signal was coming from. Whether they merely ignored the danger of not being able to contact their troops or if they were en route to her to put an end to it, she didn’t know. Either way, it was another distraction for them to have to deal with.

  It was like Tinker said. The Knights were best able to fight a guerrilla-style battle, and that was how they currently fought.

  The ground shook and smoke billowed from the buildings at the edge of the settlement. Bright flashes of light followed quickly when the fertilizer exploded and debris flurried from the blasts while the buildings began to topple and fall into the streets below.

  One of the Guardians at the back of the line twisted and tried to take steps back to avoid one of the falling structures.

  Its size made for slower movement, and the building collapsed on top of it and brought the mech down with it.

  The pilot was probably not dead and the mech would be able to pull itself out from under the rubble. But, as the dust started to settle, Jessica13 noticed smaller figures move within the wreckage with determination and hurried focus. The townspeople had gathered to make the most of the opportunity. Tinker had given them tools and they now took the mech apart to reach the pilot inside and kill him.

  "It’s not a good way to go," she whispered as she trained the scope on the other Guardians, who now realized they were almost completely trapped.

  Once they halted, more people began to appear from the buildings around them and threw what appeared to be heavy tanks of gasoline, alcohol, or other flammable liquids that quickly caught alight. The flames had less of an impact as their armor was thicker than the other mechs, but it was still a nuisance and one that could prove deadly for the pilot inside. The heat could build to a level where it would broil anyone caught within.

  In their distraction, Hammerhand appeared. The Excalibur was almost a quarter again larger than the Guardians, and they lacked the same kind of close-quarters weapons.

  Of course, he had no plasma bolt cannons either, but when they were up close and personal, it didn't matter.

  The first Guardian was struck across the side of the head when the knight stepped out from where he had hidden. He swung his hammer in a high arc that knocked the mech closest to him aside as the rocket on the back of the hammer lit up. The side of the target was left dented and the gyros struggled to cope with the impact until it crashed heavily into a building on its right. More rubble avalanched onto it to drive it to the ground as Hammerhand moved forward and brought the hammer into another overhead swing that continued in a powerful downward blow.

  The rocket flared and the weight of the weapon bore down on the top of the Guardian to leave a massive dent and almost fully crushed its head. It was impressive and painful to watch.

  The three Guardians that remained realized the danger they were in and tried to back away from the massive mech that now moved inexorably closer. Their plasma cannons flared and fired, but Hammerhand was ready for them, his shield up and active. He pushed forward as the super-heated slugs pounded into the pale blue film and went no farther.

  The Knights’ leader advanced with heavy steps that made the earth shudder around him. The shield thrust into contact with the Guardians in front of him and drove them back into the ruined buildings.

  All three struggled to retaliate but their smaller mechs weren’t capable of producing even a quarter of the power the Excalibur could. They nevertheless stood their ground and locked themselves in place to try to fight back.

  The shield dropped and they almost fell forward when the resistance vanished. The hammer rose and the rocket flared behind it. It swung relentlessly and bulldozed most of the closest mech with it. A wave of dirt was dislodged when the weapon connected with the earth and the damaged mech slowly lost power and remained on its knees.

  The other two seemed uncertain as to whether to run away or keep fighting, and both expected the shield to come up again. It didn't, but the hammer did and catapulted one to the side. Hammerhand quickly reversed the weapon in his grasp and activated the rocket again to launch it into the last of the Guardians. It stumbled over the rubble of the fallen buildings behind it and fell.

  The Auburn rebels rushed in to deal with the second mech and began to remove pieces. The hammer had caused too much damage to allow it to fight them off.

  The second was still active and tried to pull itself slowly to its feet, which left Hammerhand no option but to deliver a killing blow. The hammer swung into the area of the cockpit and crushed the man inside.

  More explosions now rocked the battlefield, and Jessica13 stared as other buildings fell to block any chance of escape by the raiders who were still in the town. They attempted to withdraw and clearly hadn't expected the opposition to be this fierce. None of Athena's fighters remained. All the mechs that had worn her colors and adornments had been felled early in the fight, and the newer mechs were quickly disposed of as well.

  She raised her rifle to study the edge of the hamlet. The elation that had begun to rise in her chest slowly stopped its swelling when she saw additional companies of the clean and newer mechs begin to assemble on the perimeter.

  With her jaw set, she pushed her mech into motion and motioned to the Auburn rebels to indicate that more attackers would soon be incoming.

  "I hope the word gets to Hammerhand soon," she said softly.

  "Assuming he doesn't know already," Mini replied.

  This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Not at all.

  While he knew military operations never quite went according to plan, this now bordered on the ridiculous. Athena had insisted that the operation was necessary and had forced them into an action he hadn't agreed with. Of course, when the hell did the higher-ups ever give the officers on the ground any kind of say over how anything was run?

  Commander Maxwell2 had been the leader of Delta company for a while, but he hadn't seen anything that could compare—ever. Casualties like this were unheard of.

  "Fucking Epsilon dumbasses," he muttered. He knew the
comms being jammed the moment they had begun their offensive was not a coincidence, but any attempt to reach the location of the signal jammer had ended in disaster.

  What should have been a simple invasion seemed set to become a massacre. Their people were being slaughtered inside Auburn.

  He'd warned them that heading in would get people killed. Their troops would be funneled and their numbers would mean nothing.

  There was nothing they could do to make up for the mistakes of the past. All they could do was look to the future.

  Maxwell2 picked up the controls of his mech and marched toward the front lines of his squad. Delta Company was one of the finest groups of men he'd ever had the opportunity to serve with, much less command.

  Small groups had begun to pull away from the town and managed to find a way over the rubble of the buildings that had been demolished to beat a hasty retreat.

  "Fuck," he snapped. "All right, Delta Company, form up. We'll head in to fight!"

  One of his lieutenants stepped forward. "Sir, we were ordered to hold Delta company in reserve."

  "FEMA City Command gave us the orders to stay in reserve until we were called in to help. If that isn't a cry for help, I don't know what is."

  He directed their attention toward the stragglers retreating toward them.

  "But sir—"

  "Was I unclear, Lieutenant?"

  The man took a step into the ranks. "No, sir!"

  "Then form up. We'll engage the enemy. Send the signal to the rest of the companies and let them know we'll probably go dark once we get there."

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  They hadn't expected this, although the Knights had filled them with some confidence. There was something about their leader, Hammerhand, that inspired them to fight when the thought of running had felt more enticing. It was impossible not to feel heartened after hearing that man talk.

  "They're retreating!" one of those close to him stated and the others cheered.