Rush climbed up the inside of the mech’s armor, following any visible cables he could find. At least one of them had to lead to a battery.

“Elvis, do some scans,” Rush commanded. “I need to find a battery, fast.”

“Already underway, Mr. Rush,” Elvis said. “There should be one close by.”

While Rush usually only looted a few batteries from fallen mechs for personal use, and left the others for the Junkers to claim and sell, each mech usually featured dozens. Much like in the suit, they acted as reservoirs of power, ensuring energy was evenly distributed even at great distances from the central Kell Cell. There would likely be at least two within the mech’s lower leg.

As Rush searched, the leg stopped moving, and the entire mech shook.

“I asked you a question,” the mech thundered. “What the hell was on my back?”

Rush continued his search, much faster now.

“I don’t want excuses, I want answers!”

Though the mech’s pilot screamed, Rush didn’t feel any impacts, or any weapon fire. It was holding back for now, but Rush knew that would only last so long.

“Found it,” Elvis said. “To the right, open the red panel.”

The red panel was less “opened” and more “torn off” as Rush pried it loose and grasped the battery cell within. The batteries were designed to be easily removed, for maintenance reasons, and it came loose with a slight tug. Rush put the battery on his back and let Elvis take over installing it.

“Should be just a moment, Mr. Rush,” the AI said. “Though this raises the question of our next move.”

The battery clicked into place even as Elvis spoke. Rush glanced at the notification showing that his battery charge was now at 1.3/4 instead of 0.3/3, then blinked to dismiss it.

“Next, we go after the weapon,” Rush said, as he started to climb. “We take it apart or take it for ourselves. Either way, it can’t hurt anyone else.”

Rush reached the knee-plate of the armor and got out the power saw again. Thankfully this part of the anatomy was less pinchy, and he could saw his way out with much less pressure. Hartwell (or whoever else was talking to the pilot) did a good job stalling them long enough for Rush to cut his way free. As soon as he was back under Scrapworld’s perpetual sunlight, Rush headed up towards the mech’s waist. The arm the railgun was mounted on dangled about twenty feet from the waist of the colossal machine.

“Do you think I could make the jump, Elvis?”

“It’s possible, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Hmm. Maybe I can bait the mech into swatting us again…”

“On second thought, let’s try the jump,” Elvis said. “We have enough battery to survive the fall and still fight now, after all.”

Rush jumped without warning. As he hung weightless in the air for a moment, Elvis wondered if this really was a good idea. It worked, if only barely. If not for the magnetic gauntlets, Rush would’ve had no way to grab on to the mech’s wrist and stop himself from falling, but thanks to the magnets, he held in place. He also made a very loud clanging noise.

“Hmm?”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Elvis’s nanomachines quivered as the eyes of the mecha turned down towards them. Rush looked over his shoulder and waved.

“You!”

The fist came down, and Rush scampered to the far side of the railgun. The arm started to swirl and spin as the pilot tried to shake Rush off again, but he found a ridge in the armor plating and held on tight to supplement his magnetic grips. He held firm, but that didn’t make being violently shaken a pleasant experience.

“Any—ugh—any way to strip the railgun, Elvis?”

“I’ll make an effort,” Elvis said. “And do try not to throw up, Mr. Rush, this is a brand new helmet.”

Elvis’s nanomachines flowed out of the armor and into the weapon Rush clung to. Soon, the shaking stopped, and Rush went up as the limb raised and came to a halt in front of the mech’s cockpit. Apparently the pilot wanted a closer look.

“What the hell are you?”

“Something,” Rush said. The mech swatted at him again, and Rush swung to the far side of the wrist. “Elvis, how long is this going to take?”

“Forty seconds, at least,” Elvis said. “Probably extended by-”

Rush dodged another swinging blow.

“-by that,” Elvis concluded. “One minute and thirty seconds, most likely.”

“Got it. I’ll keep us alive.”

“Please do!”

A minute and a half was a very long time when dodging colossal fists. Rush kept his breathing steady and his feet ready to move as he ducked and weaved around the forearm of the mecha. He also avoided looking down. Rush wasn’t bothered by the height, but Elvis saw through his helmet cameras too, and apparently the goo was scared of heights, for some reason.

“Thirty more seconds, Mr. Rush,” Elvis said. Rush was a little too busy dodging to respond, but he appreciated the update. “Twenty.”

Rush kicked off a gap in the armor and rolled to the side, latching on with his magnetic gauntlets at the last second before he fell.

“Ten.”

Rush swung his way to the other end of the arm, and the leapt up towards the elbow as another blow came.

“I don’t like the countdown, Elvis.”

“Apologies,” Elvis said. “It’s done anyway.”

“Great,” Rush said, as the visor of the helmet lit up with a new message.

New Weapon Online:

Railgun: Magnetic acceleration fires a precise projectile over long distances. Effective against armor and shielding at long range. Requires charge time.

The popup once again included helpful illustrations of a railgun charging and firing, but Rush ignored them. The last component of the railgun fused into place on his gauntlet as Rush raised it towards the cockpit. He examined the glass shield for a second, and then lowered his railgun.

“Don’t like the angle,” Rush said.

“Well it may be the best we’re going to get, so-”

Rush stood up and made a run towards the cockpit.

“Oh, Mr. Rush, why do we always do this?”

Elvis hadn’t even finished complaining by the time Rush leaped off the arm and into the open air. He dove for the torso, palms out, and managed to lock onto it with his magnets after falling a few feet. Without missing a step, Rush started to crawl up the torso, then the neck, until he was directly below the cockpit. His gauntlets couldn’t latch on to the reinforced glass, so he settled for peering through the window. A very confused pilot looked right back.

“What the fuck?”

“Hello! You should lean right!”

The pilot failed to take Rush’s advice. It didn’t matter anyway. There was plenty of room between the pilot and the power node. Rush raised his new railgun and fired.

The lightning-fast projectile fired at point blank range turned the armored glass into powder on impact. Without losing speed, the bullet tore through the glass, the open space of the cockpit, and left a crater in the power node as it traveled. It vanished into the air behind the mech’s head and whirred into the distance as the devastated machine began to plummet.

“Remember to stay buckled in,” Rush said. Then he dashed up and over the mech’s shoulder, out of sight.

In a rare display of intelligence from a bandit, the pilot did stay seated as his mech plummeted. It made clutching his communicator easier.

“You! Commander! What the hell is going on here?”

The knees of his mech collapsed out from under him, and the impact nearly shook the communicator out of his hands.

“I did everything you said, and some metal thing attacked me!”

“Yes, I know, that’s why I asked you to do it.”

“You bitch,” the pilot snapped. “I’m going to fix my mech, and when I do, I’m going to find you, and I’m going to-”

“I’m sorry, can you speak up? I can’t hear you.”

“I said I’m going to-”

“I can’t hear you, try putting the communicator right in front of your mouth!”

The pilot did so, and started screaming directly into it.

“I’m going to rip your head off and stick my-”

The communicator exploded, and took most of the pilot’s head with it. Back in her office, Commander Vera Howle leaned back into her chair and dismissed the trooper holding the detonator.

“Terribly uncouth,” Howle said, to no one on in particular. “This is why we never try to recruit mech pilots, you know.”